Rocky Balboa (film)
Rocky Balboa is a 2006 American sports drama film starring, written and directed by Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to Rocky V and the sixth installment in the Rocky franchise. The film co-stars Burt Young and Antonio Tarver in his only acting role. In the film, Rocky Balboa, now an aging small restaurant owner, is challenged to an exhibition fight by hothead young boxer Mason Dixon.
Development for a sixth Rocky film began after Stallone expressed regret over the outcome of Rocky V, which was viewed as a disappointing conclusion to the series. Rocky Balboa includes references to characters and objects from previous installments, and Stallone was inspired by recent personal struggles and triumphs when writing the film. It is Stallone's first directorial effort since Rocky IV. Principal photography began in December 2005 and lasted until January 2006, with filming locations including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. In contrast to previous entries in the franchise, the fight choreography in Rocky Balboa was less scripted, featuring real punches thrown by Stallone and Tarver.
It was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Columbia Pictures, Revolution Studios, Chartoff Productions and Winkler Films, and theatrically released by MGM Distribution Co. in North America and 20th Century Fox internationally on December 20, 2006, sixteen years after the release of Rocky V and thirty years after the release of the first film. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its screenplay, Stallone's performance, and heartfelt exploration of Balboa's character, with many critics calling it a significant improvement over its predecessor, and many labelling the film one of the best entries in the franchise. It was also a commercial success, grossing $156 million worldwide. A spin-off, Creed, was released in 2015 and started its own series.
Plot
Sixteen years after his street fight with Tommy Gunn, Rocky Balboa, now approaching sixty years of age, is long retired from boxing and lives a quiet life in Philadelphia as a widower, having lost his wife Adrian to cancer four years prior. He now runs a small but successful Italian restaurant named after her, where he regales patrons with tales from his past. He also battles personal demons involving his grief over Adrian's death and his eroding relationship with his son Robert, now a moderately successful young corporate accountant. Paulie Pennino, Rocky's best friend and brother-in-law, continues to support him whenever he can, but is guilt-ridden over his past poor treatment toward his late sister and accuses Rocky of living in the past.Late one night, Rocky meets a woman named Marie, who was once a troublesome young girl Rocky had escorted home thirty years earlier. Marie now is a single parent of a teenage son named Stephenson and nicknamed "Steps", born out of wedlock. Rocky's relationship with Marie quickly blossoms over the following weeks and he meets and bonds with Steps, providing him with a much-needed buffer for his anguish.
Meanwhile, on the professional boxing circuit, Mason "The Line" Dixon reigns as the undefeated yet unpopular heavyweight world champion, often ridiculed for having never fought a true contender. This leads to tension with the public and his promoters and encourages him to return to his roots: the small gym he first trained in and his old trainer Martin, who sagely tells him that, inevitably, he will earn back his respect through a true opponent that will test him. ESPN later broadcasts a computer simulation of a fight between a younger Rocky and Masonlikened to a modern-day version of The Super Fightthat ends in a disputed KO victory for Balboa, further riling the champ. In contrast, the simulation inspires Rocky to take up boxing again, an intention that goes public when he successfully renews his boxing license. Dixon's promoters pitch the idea of holding a charity exhibition bout at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas to bolster Dixon's floundering popularity. In the midst of this chaos, Paulie is laid off from his job.
With some hesitation, both men agree to the match, creating a media buzz that stabs at Rocky's age and Dixon's credibility. Robert later makes an effort to discourage Rocky from fighting, blaming his own personal failings on his father's celebrity shadow, but Rocky rebukes him with a rousing speech: in order to succeed in life, "it ain't about how hard you hitit's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward!"; blaming others is the coward's way. The next day, Robert meets Rocky at Adrian's grave and reconciles with him, having quit his job to be at Rocky's side.
Rocky sets straight to training with Apollo Creed's old trainer, Duke Evers, who quickly surmises that the aging Rocky can only compete by building his strength and punching power as much as possible. Alongside Robert, Paulie, and Steps, he uses the same unorthodox training methods that he used for his first fight with Creed, such as using sides of beef as punching bags. On the day of the match, Dixon easily dominates the first round, only to injure his left hand on Rocky's hip in the second. Rocky then makes a dramatic comeback, knocking Mason down, and surprising the audience with his prowess and chin despite his age. The two combatants beat each other severely throughout the full 10 rounds, ending with both men still standing, although Rocky gets the last punch. Rocky thanks an appreciative Dixon for the match and tells him that he is a great champion, while the audience applauds the two fighters. The result is announced as Rocky exits the ring with his family and friends: a win for Dixon by a close split decision, but Rocky does not mind the outcome, and the crowd gives him a final standing ovation.
Rocky returns home and visits Adrian's grave again, thanking her for helping him in spirit and saying "Yo Adrian, we did it. We did it."
Cast
- Sylvester Stallone as Robert "Rocky" Balboa, retired boxer and former two-time heavyweight champion.
- Burt Young as Paulie Pennino, Rocky's brother-in-law and best friend.
- Antonio Tarver as Mason "The Line" Dixon, Rocky's opponent. Dixon is shown as the current heavyweight champion of the world, but a fighter who is not shown the same respect as Rocky was when he was the world champion.
- Milo Ventimiglia as Robert Balboa Jr., Rocky's only son.
- Geraldine Hughes as Marie, a woman whom Rocky originally met thirty years ago.
- James Francis Kelly III as Stephenson, Marie's son, whom Rocky befriends.
- Tony Burton as Tony "Duke" Evers, Rocky's trainer who has been his head cornerman since Balboa's second fight with Clubber Lang in Rocky III. Duke previously trained Apollo Creed, who was Rocky's nemesis in Rocky and Rocky II ; Duke trained Rocky with Apollo's help in the third film, and he becomes much closer to Rocky after Apollo's death in Rocky IV.
- Henry G. Sanders as Martin, Mason's trainer.
- Pedro Lovell as Spider Rico, Rocky's former opponent and current employee at Adrian's. Lovell reprises his role from the first film.
- Jacob "Stitch" Duran as himself, Mason's cutman.
Production
Development
A plot element from Rocky V is not addressed in Rocky Balboa. In the previous film, Rocky Balboa was diagnosed with brain damage and advised never to fight again. Sylvester Stallone clarified this apparent inconsistency in an interview:Casting
Rocky Balboa gives nods to previous installments of the Rocky series via the casting. The most obvious is the return of Stallone, Burt Young and Tony Burton—the only actors to portray the same characters in all six installments. The character Marie appeared in the original Rocky; she was portrayed by Jodi Letizia. In this film, Marie is portrayed by Geraldine Hughes. Although Letizia did reprise the role for Rocky V, the sole scene in which she appeared was deleted. In it, Marie was homeless on the streets of Philadelphia. Another recognizable character who appeared in the previous five films, sportscaster Stu Nahan, provided the commentary for the computer-generated fight between Mason Dixon and Balboa. Nahan was part of the ringside commentary team during all the bouts in the first three films and the Apollo Creed -Ivan Drago fight in Rocky IV. He was diagnosed with lymphoma during the Rocky Balboa filming, though, and died on December 26, 2007. James Binns, who previously appeared as Rocky's attorney in Rocky V, appears as a boxing commissioner in Rocky Balboa. Finally, Pedro Lovell, who portrayed Spider Rico in the original film, returns to the role in Rocky Balboa as a guest and later employee at Rocky's restaurant Adrian's.Antonio Tarver's appearance in the film marks the sixth time an active professional boxer has appeared in the series; previous appearances include Joe Frazier and Pedro Lovell in Rocky, Roberto Durán in Rocky II, and Tommy Morrison and Michael Williams in Rocky V. Stallone initially wanted Roy Jones Jr. to portray Dixon, but after Jones did not return Stallone's phone calls, he tapped Antonio Tarver to fill the role. Tarver accidentally knocked out Stallone during the filming of one of the segments of the fight.
A number of sports personalities portray themselves. Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant and Max Kellerman comprise the ringside broadcast team. Sportswriters such as Bert Sugar, Bernard Fernandez and Steve Springer also appear. As for actual boxers, Mike Tyson makes a cameo appearance, taunting Dixon as the fighter enters the ring. Lou DiBella, a real-life boxing promoter, portrays himself as Dixon's promoter. Several of ESPN's personalities also portray themselves. SportsCenter anchor Brian Kenny is the host of the fictional Then and Now series, while Cold Pizza and 1st and 10 hosts Jay Crawford, Dana Jacobson, Skip Bayless and Woody Paige also appear. Ring announcer Michael Buffer appeared as himself, as did referee Joe Cortez.
Regarding his decision not to have Talia Shire reprise her role as Adrian Pennino, Stallone told USA Today that, "in the original script, she was alive. But it just didn't have the same dramatic punch. I thought, 'What if she's gone?' That would cut Rocky's heart out and drop him down to ground zero." Shire herself said that, in her view, "The film has great regard for the process of mourning. Sly uses mourning to empower Rocky, and Adrian is made very mythical."