Issue 151

Rocky Balboa

29th January 2007

Sixteen years after Stallone stopped swinging as the 'Italian Stallion', he resurrects his most profitable incarnation and returns to the ring for one last bout in very much a 'does-exactly-what-it-sayson- the-tin' final offering.

Echoing the antics of George Foreman (he was a boxer before he made a grill) small restaurateur Rocky Balboa decides that it's worth fighting again, having overcome the death of his wife, being alienated by his son and generally forgotten about. When a fight simulation shows Rocky at his prime beating cocky, paperchamp Mason Dixon (Antonio Tarver), the montage is on to prepare for the big-money, Vegas fight.

Stallone's charm seeps through and you really feel for aging Rocky despite the cheesy dialogue coming out of the side of his mouth. Well shot, especially the abstract fight sequence, but Dixon is the let down as he lacks the cartoonish hilarity of such greats as Clubber Lang ("I don't hate Balboa! I pity the fool!") and Ivan Drago ("if he dies…he dies").

Perhaps more so than any Rocky film previously, the first hour and a half is generally dull, banal and ultimately not what the average Rocky viewer wants to see, but soon enough the iconic theme gets the heart racing and the big fight finale returns Rocky to the cheering, camera flashing big stage the entire audience wants to see him on.

Although this latest instalment is unlikely to repeat the original critical reception of 'Rocky', it is a must for any fans of Stallone or feel-good sports films.

Chris Sloley