Runtime: 102 minutes
Directed by: Sly Stallone
Starring: Sly, Burt Young, Milo Ventimiglia, Geraldine Hughes, Antonio Tarver
From: MGM/Columbia/Revolution
A movie which proves the power of guilt tripping.
Way back in 2015 I reviewed the OG Rocky; it is excellent to me as what an underdog story and a tale that anyone can be inspired by. Late 2018 I saw the sequels and talked about them. While they got sillier with each installment, at least they were fun... but let's do what this movie implied the audience should do, which was forget that Rocky V ever happened. As Stallone himself was not doing well when it came to his career, it seemed like the right time to make a more appropriate story to conclude this legendary character, the Creed movies excluded.
Balboa starts off totally lost; sure, he has a restaurant in Philadelphia and people on the street still recognize him. But he's unhappy as he is unable to get past the death of his love Adrian (from personal experience, I can tell you that it is quite difficult to get over a loved one's passing), he rehashes past glories constantly and has a fractured relationship w/ his son. To think that a goofy ESPN computer simulation fight had Rocky defeating current Heavyweight champion Mason Dixon (what a name; that is not so preposterous in this series, to be frank)... a fighter who is unpopular because no other fighter can give him a challenge. Goading from various people and a desire to prove himself sets up an exhibition fight which turns stone cold serious and it indeed is inspiring to see Balboa fix various aspects of his life.
Admittedly, a few moments can be a little silly and I laugh at not only the guilt tripping that Rocky does a few times in order to get his way (not to mention the minor character of Marie from the original movie appearing in multiple sequels); even then the overall product is pretty good as it does redeem the title character. I was happy by the end to see both him and Paulie doing better than they were at the beginning. Sure, Paulie is sometimes a real ass and is also a bigot-which is at least canon if you remember the third installment-but he is also devastated at Adrian's death as that's his sister and he feels like crap for his behavior towards him. I'll give credit to Sly and Burt Young for their performances here. Antonio Tarver as Dixon, at least this boxer is better as an actor that Tommy Morrison was as Tommy Gunn in V. Another moment that made me chuckle was that Mike Tyson is there as himself at the climatic fight; both him and Muhammad Ali are canon in this universe, which makes me wonder what the fictional title lineage looks like.
As I've mentioned in the past, boxing as a sport is something I don't like, for a multitude of reasons. Yet I like most of this franchise, as the fights themselves are far less important than the outcomes or how the results affect all the characters. Dixon vs. Balboa at least seemed more realistic than some of the pugilistic battles seen in previous installments. A 50's Rocky in the ring does not seem so far-fetched anymore considering a 54 old Tyson was in the ring a few months ago in what I heard rumored to be a glorified sparring session against Roy Jones, Jr. and until it was postponed yesterday, a pair of reprehensible human beings were going to have an exhibition fight themselves in a few weeks... yes I am referring to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Jake Paul.
Anyhow, eventually I'll discuss the Creed movies; it will be sooner than a few years from now.
No comments:
Post a Comment