Rocky Balboa
Review by Fritz Esker
While I eagerly awaited the return of James Bond with Casino Royale, in large part because of my childhood memories of watching Bond films with my dad and my brother, I have no such sentimentality towards the Rocky movies. I’ve seen them all, but not as a child. Both of my parents have a distaste for boxing (one, incidentally, that I share – I’m in general a rabid sports fan but have never warmed to the sight of two people beating each other nearly to death). As a result, I didn’t see any of the Rocky films until I was older. As most would agree, the original is a good film that holds up well 30 years later. The sequels have their interesting components: the blatant homoeroticism of the beach scene in Rocky III, which helped pave the way for Top Gun, history’s defining homoerotic movie masquerading as an action flick; the jingoism of Rocky IV, where Rocky battled a Soviet superman. But, because I lacked any sentimental attachment, I greeted news of a new Rocky film in which a 60-year-old Sylvester Stallone would fight an exhibition against a twenty-something heavyweight champion (played by real-life boxer Antonio Tarver) with sneering disdain. I expected a train-wreck, a disaster on the order of Lady in the Water. However, to my pleasant surprise, Rocky Balboa is actually kind of endearing.
Don’t get me wrong, from a film criticism standpoint, Rocky Balboa is a highly flawed film and one a critic could pick apart with little to no effort. Whenever Stallone feels the need to deliver a big speech about the meaning of life, the film comes screeching to a halt. His relationship with his distant son (Milo Ventimiglia), who resents living in his father’s shadow, also feels forced and awkward.
However, the film has one major saving grace, and it’s one that may surprise some people: Stallone the actor. Before I delve into that, allow me a digression. In the 1980’s, I generally preferred the action films of Arnold Schwarzenegger to those of Stallone. The main reason why was that most of Schwarzenegger’s films had a sense of humor. It was clear Ah-nuld knew he was in big budget B-movies, but was determined to have fun doing them and didn’t take himself too seriously. Contrast this with the utter humorlessness of some of Stallone’s ‘80’s efforts like the Rambo sequels (I actually do think First Blood is underrated) and Cobra, and that’s the main reason why I always preferred Arnold. However, in much of Rocky Balboa, Stallone has that self-deprecating sense of humor and it serves him very well. The character of Rocky, who at the start of the film is running his own restaurant (called Adrian’s, after his deceased wife), has an undeniable, lunkheaded, Yogi Berra-ish charm about him (Stallone even quotes Berra in an amusing scene). Will the performance win an Oscar? No. However, Stallone is so darn likable as Rocky that it makes you forgive the film’s more hamfisted scenes.
In some other aspects, Stallone does show some admirable restraint. The climax, while still incredibly far-fetched, actually is the first one of the Rocky sequels to harken back to the original’s lesson: that most of life’s greatest victories are actually moral victories. As a bonus point, the climactic fight features a genuinely hilarious cameo. Rocky Balboa is indeed preposterous and there are too many preachy moments. But, there is something infectiously enjoyable about watching a performer who is relaxed and clearly having fun with his role, as Stallone does here. When all is said and done, despite the films flaws, only a complete Scrooge would fail to smile for Rocky.