It’s unfortunate that all too often an actor associated with a franchise has the tendency to overstay his welcome in his particular role. For example, it’s pretty obvious that Roger Moore starred in at least one too many Bond’s when one watches A View to a Kill, as the actor, then at 58, was simply way too far past his prime to make a believable action star. Some also contend that while Never Say Never Again didn’t do Sean Connery any favors, Diamonds are Forever didn’t exactly show the original 007 in top form. I’ve also heard many say that Timothy Dalton did two too many Bond entries as well.
Superman may have returned this past year, but Bryan Singer decided not to include Christopher Reeve’s last two entries, Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace within the mythos for his film. This was largely because those two movies were awful and remained black spots on Christopher Reeve’s career. Speaking of black spot’s, George Clooney was somehow able to survive putting on Batman’s tights despite starring in the Dark Knight’s worst adventure, Batman and Robin, something his co-star, Chris O’Donnell, has never been really able to live down.
Sometimes it’s just better to get out of a franchise before the bottom drops out, such as when Peter Weller declined to return for Robocop 3. Vin Diesel and Michelle Pfeiffer both decided that one outing as xXx and Catwoman was enough for them, which both seemed to be smart career moves. Too bad far too many stars have not been so lucky.
One such star associated with a franchise was Sylvester Stallone and the Rocky series. While the first film is a celebrated Oscar winner for Best Picture, and entries II-IV are still considered fun entertainment, Rocky V is largely considered one of the worst films of its decade. Not fun enough to be really entertaining, yet still too glossy to have the gritty realism of the first movie, Rocky V was a movie trying to be for everyone, but ended up being loved by no one.
There’s just no keeping a good fighter down though. While the final efforts of Roger Moore’s Bond and Christopher Reeve’s Superman may have left a bad taste in collective mouths, Stallone was determined to not let the bell ring with Rocky Balboa getting knocked down by angry critics and audiences. Though it is completely atypical, Stallone was able to give the People’s Champion one last shot at glory and redemption.
Rocky Balboa Starring Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, Tony Burton, Milo Ventimiglia, Geraldine Hughes, James Francis Kelly III, Henry G. Sanders, and Antonio Tarver. Director Sylvester Stallone
When we catch up to the Italian Stallion, we find that he’s making it through life, but that he’s definitely taken some hits along the way. Like Rocky V, Balboa is still in his old neighborhood, but comparatively it doesn’t look as if Rocky’s headed for a dead end. He’s living life day to day, but he’s doing ok for himself, as he owns his own restaurant and he’s making it on his own, but we do feel there’s a deep loneliness.
When Stallone was contemplating bringing Rocky back to the big screen, he kept wondering how he could make Rocky worth rooting for personally. How could this character that just kept winning still be considered an underdog? Though he’s not on skid row anymore, he had to be taken to his lowest point. So Stallone took away the one constant that he’s had since the first moment we met him; his beloved Adrian. I think to some degree, you kind of had to feel sorry for Talia Shire when it comes to this series. Adrian may have made her a pop culture icon, because there was something about the character that seemed to keep Rocky’s feet on the ground and made him more human, even as he toppled giants in the ring. Unfortunately, she always had to be the dissenting opinion when it came to Rocky getting back in the ring.
The audience couldn’t ever side with her, because deep down we wanted to see the Stallion stand up to his enemies, only she would always try to stop him. From the second movie to the fifth, Adrian always had a scene where she simply stood there not approving Rocky’s decision to fight and then have to shrilly yell at him that he can’t win this time. Not only would Rocky end up having to win in the ring, he would always have to win her over as well. In the first sequel, this formula actually worked. By the third sequel, it was really tiresome. Still without her preseance, you can feel the aching emptiness that Rocky has to try to fill every day with memories and nostalgia.
When watching Rocky Balboa, you can see some things that make you wonder whether Rocky V could have actually worked if certain elements were tweaked. The two films actually have a lot of the same themes, but perhaps it’s the passage of time that makes Rocky Balboa so enjoyable and Rocky V such a letdown. Looking at just Stallone, you can see a world of difference because he’s not really the same person anymore.
In 1990, Stallone was one of the biggest stars in the world and Rocky was his biggest franchise. He had just come off his most successful and most over the top entry in this long running franchise. Sixteen years later, Rocky is perhaps Stallone’s last shot at getting back some of his limelight. He’s no longer the chiseled action star that made a living on being Cold Warrior, but a bit of a Hollywood has-been and desperate for one last shot at the big time. I love that there’s some weight in Stallone’s face again, like time has finally caught up with him. It makes him seem like the same Rocky Balboa again that we knew in the first and second films.
As you spend more time with Rocky you realize this is that same Rocky and not the superhero he became. He tells his goofy little jokes, and he’s not the sharpest of tacks, but that’s part of Rocky’s charm. Visually, Stallone even gives you little winks to the past that complete his transformation back into this character. Balboa still has his turtles, Cuff and Link, though they’ve grown in size since the mid-seventies. Rocky’s also got those same goofy glasses that made his look ridiculous when he was writing down names of the guys he was supposed to shake down for Mr. Gazzo.
It’s on this level of reconnecting with characters that we grew up loving that Rocky Balboa really works. Not only is there Burt Young’s Paulie, who is as lovably cranky as ever, but also we catch up with people that we haven’t even seen since the first movie. First of which is real life boxer Pedro Lovell, whose Spider Rico was the first fighter we saw Rocky go up against in the original film, and is the only role the man has ever played onscreen Here he gets a few scenes which are absolutely hysterical, and in some ways almost steals the movie.
We also catch up with Rocky’s son, Rocky Jr., played this time by Milo Ventimiglia. In another theme repeated from Rocky V which is done much better this time around, Balboa must once again try to reconnect with his son who this time is desperately trying to remove himself from his father’s shadow. Played with subdued anger, Ventimiglia isn’t able to really get enough screen time to really bring depth to this character, but at the same time we sympathize with him. The “Adrian” role almost falls to him, as he tries to stop Rocky from returning to the ring, but as Rocky finally breaks through to him, we like this version of Rocky Jr. best of all.
Perhaps the most surprising element of the film is the reemergence of the character of Marie, the young girl that called Rocky a “Creepo!” in the first movie. Played by newcomer Geraldine Hughes, this grown-up version of Marie (now in her forties) is just another lost soul that Rocky is able to connect with. While the subplot never turns into full-blown love, the scenes together are subtle and touching. She’s a natural fit into the film, and Stallone never tries to make her a replacement for Rocky’s true love, Adrian.
So, notice how I haven’t really spoken about the movie’s boxing element? What is really wonderful about this installment is that the boxing match is all in the background, that the movie is more about this man trying to get his life together and prepare himself for life after boxing. That the boxing element is mostly successful also helps propel this film past the original’s more artistically challenged sequels.
There seems to be another layer of authenticity that we’ve never really seen in a Rocky movie before, as I think it helps quite a bit in making this world more real by including HBO and its Pay Per View announcers, as well as including ESPN into the mix. I also love how they can tap into the disenfranchisement of fans when it comes to the state of Professional Boxing, but not to the point of going after specific individuals like he did in Rocky V. For me personally, Rocky was one of the reasons I started watching Boxing to begin with, even though the fights in the movie aren’t very realistic. I just happen to like how Balboa represents old school boxing, where the film’s Champion (Antonio Tarver’s Mason Dixon) represents some of the bland commercialism that has made the sport a laughing stock to some degree.
This is not to say that the film doesn’t have its share of problems. The fact that Rocky gets back in the ring at close to 60 is pretty ludicrous, though we’re able to buy it for the most part. Then, we’re treated to an awesome training sequence montage, but I wish that we could have somehow gotten more training throughout the movie. It just seems like we get a small morsel of what we want, when we should be getting a full course meal of training sessions as Rocky prepares for one of the most important fights of his life.
Perhaps the film’s biggest fault is with former Light-Heavyweight Champion Antonio Tarver’s Mason ‘The Line’ Dixon. I like that he’s not the personification of evil like some of Rocky’s cartoonish opponents have been. Then again, we’re just not given enough background on this guy to really flesh him out in the way that we’re able to see Carl Weathers’ Apollo Creed. We know Mason has problems with his image and that he’s lost sight of his real goals in boxing, but it seems as if there’s something under the surface that we never get to see. Stallone wrote the character to try and be more sympathetic than any opponent since Creed, but he just doesn’t quite make it.
The film culminates in a fight that ranks as one of the best of the series, with Bill Conti’s work in top-notch form wrenching out as much emotion as possible. There’s also a lot of black and white used in the sequence, which is also kind of brilliant in the way it creates mood and tension. I’ll admit that with a real fighter in the ring, Stallone does seem to be a little more outclassed than usual, but it’s not difficult to really root for the Stallion if you just let yourself get caught up in the proceedings.
In the end, Sylvester Stallone gets to retire this beloved character with honor instead of with the blemishes of Rocky V. Unlike so many actors that went “one too many” Rocky gets to walk off into the sun, happy with his life’s accomplishments. It’s a rare treat to get a gift from a film maker that seemingly washed up years ago and get something this enjoyable. Just like he had with every fight, Rocky always had enough to go that last round, and with Rocky Balboa he finally got that last knockout.
Picture Credits: impawards.com, cinema.com
