Rocky Balboa

The idea of the whole movie is a little far fetched, but it has its interesting points. You can’t help feeling a certain trepidation. However, from the very beginning it’s clear that their trepidation is unfounded. All the sentimental roaming around Philadelphia, his long contemplation, looking back on life, telling time-proven truths all seem sincere. It is a very personal picture that Sly put his “heart" into and that makes it all the more endearing. In fact, this is evident to the point that almost nobody will see anybody else than him himself in the role of Rocky. What significantly damages the movie is the boxing match itself. For one thing, it seems somehow superfluous here, it’s shot strangely, lacks energy and is overall uninteresting. Which, in view of the fact that it takes up the whole last third of the playing time, is displeasing. But the worst thing are the final credits. They are indescribable hell. Even so, meeting up with Rocky Balboa at the beginning of the autumn of his life isn’t boring, it’s old-fogey agreeable and surprisingly not at all ridiculous. If I were Stallone I would leave my boxing gloves hanging on their hook from now on. After all those years of service they have earned a good rest. (01/12/2008)

The disheveled and smiley Sly wanders around Philadelphia, giving advice to everyone around him while being unsure of himself. I would take that as a light prologue to the sympathetically boxing finish with enthusiasm, but when he talks, advises, and sadly looks for two-thirds of the movie, it becomes boring. It's not unwatchable, but still a bit unnecessary because as soon as Rocky returns to training, runs up the stairs and enters the arena, adrenaline, tension, and cheering are also there. The fight against Dixon is incredibly well shot, but it really bothers me that the champion's actor is skinny and lacks the typical muscularity of a boxer, so I can't maintain a serious face when talking about "heavyweight". On the other hand, I can forgive many things without words because I really wanted Stallone to succeed and thanked him for not letting the series end in miserable waters in his old age. (10/18/2007)

The last (I hope) Rocky doesn't surprise with anything, the story is again simple and straightforward, with a pinch of combat adrenaline, and life wisdoms that sound out of Harlequin books, some of which caressed the soul. Rocky's final farewell to the audience in the boxing ring (and symbolically, Sly's farewell to this character, which suddenly catapulted him to the cinematic Olympus) left me surprisingly cold, but there’s no denying that it is a worthy farewell. Mainly because there is no lack of insight, Stallone faces the advancing years head on and occasionally throws down some nice and funny lines. In short, Sly made me happy. The film is worth 3 stars, the fourth one is thrown in for nostalgia’s sake, which Sly enlivened with several functional short flashbacks. And why not admit it, I have a soft spot for this hard-working "Italian Stallion". (01/09/2007)

Perhaps the saddest, slowest, and most sentimental of the entire saga, with an absolutely banal storyline and a ton of outrageous clichés. Nevertheless, there is one key word that nobody can resist, not even Hollywood triviality and its classic effort to squeeze as much money out of the viewer as humanly possible, and that word is nostalgia. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen him, you still can't help but root for the protagonist, and Stallone definitely deserves clenched fists not only for the gripping and touching scene in the meat-packing plant, for which I would gladly award him an Oscar in the imaginary category of the best performed moment of the year. His fists are still strong and even though the finale is heavily edited and confusing, it's still worth watching. The pleasant supporting roles bring joy, the typical cloyingness is annoying, and the blatant simplicity is striking, but they squeeze everything out of it and the legend can end with honor. (08/15/2007)

He got hit and got to his feet. He got another one and got up again. And again. And again. It may seem like a simple idea to some, and it is simple, but it is also important. Sylvester Stallone returned to old familiar ground with Rocky in the previous installment, in which he also had trouble with his son and also had to fight again... But neither the audience nor he himself were satisfied with the film, and so after sixteen years a remake was made. Luckily. It is a more than worthy conclusion to the whole saga, which is not drowning in nostalgia, melancholy or tears, and although it is sad, it is also full of hope. Four and a half. (01/10/2016)