The Bus

The other thread had a lot of non-movie stuff in it. I always like when there's a reviews-only thread but certainly if the mods want to merge it, that's fine.

I'll start off with saying that I've never seen any Rocky movies. I know how Rocky ends and my roomate made me watch the montage in Rocky IV but that's it. I don't know how I got through the entire 1980's, but I never saw a Rocky movie.

Second, for the geographically challenged, Delaware is about 30-45 minutes outside of Philly. We have our share of Philly residents and we're more familiar with the city than, say, someone in Texas. OK, sorry, had to get the obvious out of the way.

OK, here's my review:

I just got back from the theatre and feel like either hitting some ribs or sitting down and watching all the Rocky movies for the first time. I've never felt so much energy in an audience: not in Lord of the Rings, not in Star Wars, nowhere. I thought I was in for a quiet evening at the theatre with Rocky Balboa but I sat down to a sold-out crowd.

The movie moved predictably for a sports comeback movie: the setup, the character development, the training montage, the event, the redemption. There's not a single ounce of surprise in the entire movie. Stallone doesn't even handle the camera extremely deftly: some shots could be great but are wasted, others you can feel are supposed to look magnificent but aren't.

But that's middling pedantry. Like the main character, Rocky Balboa is extremely rough around the edges and looks a bit funny when it tries to be polished, but it is as genuine as it gets. The movie does a great job of capturing modern day Philly and reflects that nicely off Milo Ventimiglia's Rocky Jr. Like his father, he's trying hard to fit into the hustle and bustle of the present, and for a while, we can't tell if he feels sorry for his dad, for himself, or both. He's a nice foil for Stallone, as is Geraldine Hughes, who plays Rocky's platonic love interest; fans of the series will be glad Burt Young was able to be in the movie as well. Their stories help move along the movie and make the otherwise usually slow middle in these kinds of films more than bearable.

The script and dialogue misfires a couple of places with almost wince-inducing lines, but you'd have to be a cold-hearted cynic to not let that slide. The movie lumbers along at a steady pace until the third act. You see Rocky's silhoutee running against the sunrise and hear the horns from "Gonna Fly Now". I may have never seen the movies, but this still gets a smile out of me, seeing this in the theatre. The rest of the audience is now clapping wildly, hooting. It's a moment of incredible energy and the movie doesn't let up for its last half hour.

At this point, Stallone makes an interesting artistic choice: most of the fight is done from the perspective of us, at home, and it's filmed on high def video. This is handled masterfully, and doesn't take away from the momentum at all.

By the time the curtain falls on Rocky Balboa, everyone is cheering. It's nice. Movies as real as this don't get made anymore.

Recommended.

needlz

Bus . . . excellent review!!!

I'm glad you started a new thread on this with something more real. Of course being a Rocky fan, I was pumped when I first saw the trailer . . . got goosebumps and I can see that happening when I go see this as well.

Anyways, good to hear the positive vibes you got from the audience . . . I hope this movie does real well. Can't wait to see it!!!

Michael Ballack

Nice one Bus. I couldn't put that in words myself.

jeffkjoe

Hey Bus:

I'm from the other end of the spectrum, I grew up with the Rocky series.

I first watched Rocky on CBS in 1979 and then saw Rocky II III IV V and now Rocky Balboa in the theater. I had seen every Rocky movie more than 100 times each (except the dismal Rocky V, which only got less than 4-5 full screenings from me) So, I'm a biased Rocky fan, but let me add my 2 cents to Rocky Balboa:

I love Rocky I, II, and III. If Stallone could have taken a page out of Babe Ruth's life and retired at the height of his glory, he COULD have retired his character back in 1982.

I view Rocky IV and V as severe let-downs. Anyone who views Rocky IV as their favorite is out of their minds, in my opinion. Come on, Paulie's robot?

Rocky Balboa isn't perfect. The movie is predictable, but how it gets from A to B makes this the most entertaining Rocky movie since Rocky III. It does feel a bit rushed from the time when Rocky trains to when he fights Mason Dixon, but the script overall is very tight, and it actually feels like Stallone had something new to say about these characters. More than Rocky IV and V.

JZ1276

this movie was awesome. the end.
btw, they shouldve made the training montage a bit longer. Seemed like he lifted some weights, ran up the stairs once, then went right into the ring looking in excellent shape.

Yeti4623

I'm a pretty huge fan of the series, especially of II and IV. I thought the ending to the new one, was fitting, but most of the movie, is sad, embarrassing, and underwritten. I even liked it less than the Fifth one. At least V tried a new angle, even though it was pretty badly executed. THe new one feels like a remake of the original, and tries too hard to be deep and emotional, in nearly every scene.

Wildo1966

I saw Rocky in the local movie house in 1976 with my father and grandfather. This Saturday I am going to see Rocky Balboa with my father and my son, it will bring back some great memories from 30 years ago! I bet we will all cheer just as much!

Birrman54

I saw it last night in a sold out crowd. Lots of energy in the room, everyone seemed psyched to see Rocky again.

I thought it was pretty solid, not the best film of the series, but a much more fitting end to the series than V.

Shannon Nutt

Saw a late show last night in a nearly sold-out theater (is this good news, or simply the must-see fans going on the first day?). LOVED it. Believe it or not, this is perhaps the most realisitc of the ROCKY movies...at least the most realistic since the first two.

Without giving spoilers, there's a scene where Rocky breaks down in front of Paulie that had me close to tears. It one of the best scenes Stallone has ever performed.

And we FINALLY find out Duke's last name (and confirm Paulie's last name). That was fun to see.

I also loved how it opened with "Take You Back"...because that's exactly what ROCKY BALBOA does -- recaptures the thrill of those first few movies.

Still have no idea if the public is going to flock to this, but Stallone couldn't have made a better film or given a better send-off to this character. In many ways, it reminded me of seeing STAR TREK VI after the disappointing STAR TREK V. It both redeems the franchise and gives it a fitting "goodbye".

Dr. DVD

Saw it last night as well with a near sold out crowd with a bunch of friends who grew up with the series like me. Cheesy at times, yes, but damn it we loved it! The audience more or less exploded when the "Gonna Fly Now" montage began, and Stallone still plays this role like he was born to do so. Great movie, though not a classic.

Zodiac_Speaking

Probably the most entertaining movie and a great theatrical experience. I really liked the script as Sly had something very important to say.

Damn good movie.

Grade: B+

Indy Jones Fan

I was pleasantly surprised at just how good this movie was. I wasn't even going to give it a shot until I got free passes to a screening and as it turns out it was one of the better movies I saw this year. I sat in the theater numerous times while the Rocky Balboa trailer played and listened to the sneers and chuckles from the audience. I only hope some of those people end up watching the movie as I did.

needlz

Yeah, I was worried about the sneers and chuckles from the crowd during the trailer. I think it is currently playing to the hard-core Rocky fans. Once the solid world-of-mouth and reviews get out, then I think the non-Rocky crowd who chuckled may come around as well.

I can imagine the the thrill when it opens with "Take You Back" or during the training montage . . . it looks like Sly may have done this right and has a big hit on his hands . . . good for him!!!

The Nature Boy

I had a great time, if you want to see this, go this weekend with a crowd fresh to it, it really ads to the experience. It's not high art so those of you who can't take the occasional chatter or cell-phones, this is worth the cash for your theater experience. I went to an 11pm showing on a damn wednesday night(granted a lot of people are starting to get off for work) and the place was SOLD OUT!

It's not better than the first 4, but its not worse either and it belongs with them and its worth going if you like the character just to get V out of your mouth! Some suprises throughout too, just in how Rocky acts, the movie will keep you guessing.

And the best thing of all, probalby the first true time in the history of the series where you didn't know how the last fight was going to end. I think you might have THOUGHT he'd win in the first one, so that might have been suprising. But I had no idea where this movie was going into the final fight and it was great suspense and the place was going apeshit at moments in that last fight.

Great time and actually in a weak year of movies, this might sneak into my top 10.

d2cheer

Over 6 Million on Wednesday alone, looks like this might a hit at the Box Office!!

bhk

Great review. I'll see it with my family this weekend.

Shannon Nutt

Anyone have a list of top Wednesday openings in Dec? I'd be interested to see how it ranks on that list. Considering Night At The Museum is coming out tomorrow (I'm sure it sucks, but you KNOW teens will flock to it), I'm not sure Rocky can do those numbers throughout the weekend.

I'm crossing my fingers for a $30 million + opening by Tuesday morning. Stallone deserves this...he made a great film, when most of us laughed at the idea.

MBoyd

Loved it. Any Oscar hopes? Seriously. A dark horse contender so to speak. Best supporting for Burt Young?

jeffkjoe

I agree. Stallone deserves a hit.

This is a real comeback story. A film that everyone thought was a joke becomes a critical AND box office hit?

Lara Means

I'm a big Rocky fan, but I felt this movie started off great and then got real lousy by the end of it. It's a shame.

SPiRAL

A client cancelled yesterday, so I left to catch the early show. The theater was about 60% full for an 11:30am show. It was great, a little cheesey at times, but I loved it. The crowd was pumped as other have stated.

toddly6666

Rocky Balboa is an excellent boxing movie, exciting and touching. Stallone is surprisingly a good writer, actor, and director. He sticks at what he knows. He certainly used what he learned in Copland. I've always loved Stallone. Hope he gets more headlining work now.

harrydoyle

I thought I read that STallone is going to pretty much step back from acting after Rambo 4?

OldBoy

What a perfect way to ressurect and then end a long dead franchise. Sly really paid homage to Part I in every way possible and biggest surprise of all...he succeeded.

As much as I love the action of Parts II-IV, the heart and warmth of I and RB make the series classic and a true movie lovers' movie.

The sentiment in RB wasn't overly schmaltzy and just plain worked. There was a lotttt of talking, but it was very good dialogue between all the characters. The actors played their parts very well and broke out of the stupid sterotypical character structure that was all too event in V. Antonio Tarver surprised me the most and i think he performed admirably. he didn't make his character otherworldly and you less minded the end result.

My only complaint, and it's minor, was making Geraldine Hughes' "Marie" a little too familiar if you know what I mean.

Milo playing "Robert" changed from "Rocky Jr." in V was good too and put to shame what Sage didn't accomplish (no offense, Sage!).

Sly was really on par with his performance in I and "Copland" . He really acted and gave it his best and though i don't think it was Oscar material as most credit should be for the more sincere Part I, he didn't do such a bad job and really made you believe that someone in their 50's could pull off what he did.

The character of "Rocky" will always be in the hearts of the underdog, not to mention the pantheon of classic movie characters, but more than that he really does seem like he could be out there or has been out there in real life and not just in fiction.

This was a great sendoff to very good film series and everyone involved should be proud that they took beloved characters and etched them into film history once more.

Plus, stick around for the end credits...very nice "one last sendoff".

iggystar

I've always been a Rocky fan...Rocky V broke my heart, Rocky Balboa was the diamond ring and flowers to make it up.

It's my favorite movie of the year. A fitting end to the series. I loved it.