Hey, all. Capone in Chicago here. There may already be a few too many reviews and related articles on this site about this film, so allow me toss one more set of paragraphs praising this work.

One of the greatest surprises at this or any other Butt-Numb-a-Thon was how much the closing chapter in the six-film Rocky series genuinely moved me and everyone in the room. There is nothing like the feeling you get having a couple hundred of your nearest and dearest chanting “Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky!” and meaning every word of it. It makes me feel very, very old to think that the first Rocky came out 30 years ago, but watching it again recently made me remember why there was a time when Sylvester Stallone was not an action hero or an icon; he was simply an actor born to write and play a character that was so incredibly close to his heart. It didn’t matter if Rocky won his first major fight against Apollo Creed; that wasn’t the point. He went the distance with the world telling him he could not. His fight wasn’t against a man but against a time and place that seemed always ready to push him down and refuse to let him rise up from his working-class roots.

Rocky Balboa is the closest Stallone has gotten to capturing the spirit and purpose of the original film. He has written and directed this heartfelt effort, and he reminds us one more time in the guise of this aging, worn out man that we all have a little fight left in us. More than an opponent, the death of his wife Adrian has come close to defeating him as a man.

He has opened an Italian restaurant in South Philadelphia and spends most nights there entertaining customers with his war stories, providing a living, breathing highlights reel of his fight career. It both sad and empowering to see him leading a fairly successful life and still get recognized everywhere he goes in the city. When ESPN (who must have co-produced this film for the amount of product placement they get here) runs a computer-simulated fight between Balboa and the current heavyweight champ Mason “The Line” Dixon (actual boxer Antonio Tarver) and Rocky wins, Dixon’s team sees dollars signs and a chance to legitimize their client in the eyes of boxing fans who think he’s only fighting guys that are guaranteed wins.

Rocky almost doesn’t have a choice but to take the exhibition fight as he is swept up in the thrill of the moment. Many things are going on in his personnel life that might be helped if he takes this fight. An estranged relationship with his grown son (Milo Ventimiglia) seems at stake, as does a newly formed bond with a local bartender named Marie (newcomer Geraldine Hughes) and her would-be thug son. One senses that Rocky sees these relationships firming up and getting stronger if this fight happens, and why not?

One of the most interesting things Stallone chooses to do with Rocky’s opponent is make him a somewhat decent guy. Dixon is not a super villain the way Mr. T or Dolph Lundgren were; he’s just a young man still more comfortable being selfish and safe than being a real fighter. These two men have a lot to learn from each other.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Burt Young’s perpetually cranky character Paulie, Rocky’s brother-in-law and constant grumpy companion. The fact that this man is still alive is cause for celebration.

I will confess that the idea that Stallone is now eyeing a fourth Rambo movie does not thrill me. At least with Rocky Balboa, the stated intention was to retire the character with this film. Stallone is playing his age, and the film is essentially about an older man not giving up on life just because he is past his prime in his chosen profession. The climactic boxing match is exciting, but hardly unpredictable. And as much as I liked seeing Stallone throw a few punishing blows once again, I enjoyed the quieter story of Rocky in his twilight years more. Seeing Rambo in his twilight doesn’t hold quite the same appeal. Rocky Balboa reminds us that certain movie characters are legendary for a reason; they not only make us cheer for their wins (real or symbolic), they remind us that life is worth living. It may sound hokey, but at the end of this film, my first thought was, I hope I’m still able to do something that life affirming when I’m 60.

Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com