Rocky Balboa

a pleasant surprise from sylvester stallone (2009-01-05) Rating: 5/5
This movie is arguably the best one in the series, minus the original. It's not about the aging Rocky that's been overexposed by the American public. No, it's the story of a former boxer whose nostalgia for his former days of glory haunt his every move. His son doesn't understand, people from his neighborhood don't understand: Rocky is older, wiser, sadder but he still has a little bit of his former self there. In fact, he's still the same person, it's just that he doesn't move as quickly. But the movie glides gracefully through the timeless story of holding onto your dreams forever.
Inspirational (2008-12-20) Rating: 5/5
This is an awesome movie that makes you realize that anything is possible as long as you have hope.
A Good End To A Great Character (2008-12-11) Rating: 3/5
After the terrible "Rocky 5",some 16 years earlier,I had given up on Rocky sequels.There had been rumors of"Rocky 6"circulating for years.I was adamant that after"Rocky 5",I wouldn't pay money to see another stupid"Rocky"picture.And yet after 16 years,I kinda missed Rocky,I decided to see the film.I left the theater quite impressed and moved;Stallone put the heart back in Rocky.No more cartoonish bad guys,no more rehashing,no more let downs;This was one of the best Rocky films in years.It was actually paying tribute to the character,and the many memories Stallone gave us as Rocky,some good,some bad.It was nice seeing the return of old Characters like "Spider Rico"and"Marie From The Atomic Hoagie Shop".It was also nice to see Burt Young,as A different Pauley.As A man who felt resentment,for the way he treated Rocky and Adrian.The only things that hurt this movie,was that Adrian had died,and it sucked not having Talia Shire in this sequel.Plus it was pretty far fetched seeing A 60 something Stallone climbing into the ring.But the heart and memories makes you enjoy this Picture.A good ending,to A great Character.
A Welcomed Return (2008-11-30) Rating: 5/5
Rocky Balboa is the Amazing follow up to Rocky V in which Sly returns to play the aging boxer who is now mourning the death of his beloved wife Adrian and trying to keep his relationship with his son strong.He also has Paulie around alot as Paulie is now the closest person.Alot of characters from the Original Rocky are around including Spider Rico and Lil Marie.Also returning to help him train for an Exhibition fight to prove he can still do it is Duke (Apollo's old trainer).The Acting and Story is Strong and it's a defintite crowd pleaser.Stallone is better than ever!
a better end to the series (2008-11-22) Rating: 4/5
Rocky Balboa is pretty much what you'd expect. Rocky's retired from boxing and running a little Italian restaurant where he gives fellow former boxers free meals and entertains the customers with stories from his days as the champ. But Adrian's dead, and Rocky's living in the past, and their son is tired of living in his famous father's shadow.

The current champ, Mason Dixon, is suffering from a bad reputation. He's had nothing but knockouts, so boxing fans are complaining that he's only taking easy fights and that he's not a "real" champ.

A computer simulation fight between Rocky and Mason Dixon that shows Rocky winning brings everything to a head. Rocky wants one last fight, and Mason Dixon's promoters want an exhibition match between the two to shore up Mason Dixon's reputation.

There are a lot of flashbacks, of course, and the training scenes are similar to Rocky IV, contrasting Rocky's working-man methods with Mason Dixon's high-tech. And we get the raw eggs and beef carcasses, too, just because.

And there's a new girlfriend for Rocky, to add a little hope for the future for him, since this really has got to be his last fight.

It's not nearly as good as the first movie, of course, but it's a much better end to the series than Rocky V.