I was trying to come up with something witty to tie into the film to start this post. But alas, I cannot. The only word which really comes to mind when I think of the film is “distracted.” Overall, I did enjoy Rocky Balboa, though a few of the bit parts were either unnecessary or poorly written, namely the role of Rocky’s son.
This was a good film, not a great film, as some of the critics are saying. Nothing compares to the original Rocky, and this film doesn’t come close. We see how Rocky has progressed in life, business and love, and see flashbacks and remembrances of the important people in his life. Yes, I’ll admit I pumped my fists and shouted out “all right!” when the theme music blared out of the speakers. I felt really good and ready to kick some major ass while listening to the music. He gave two wonderful speeches, both from the heart, and when he broke down in front of Paulie, well, I think I did a little bit, as well. We all want to believe our heroes are immortal and without pain and fear. Still, there’s something that bothered me throughout the film …
Color me superficial, color me inquisitive … most of all, color me distracted. Stallone naturally takes up a majority of the screen time, and all I could think of each time I saw him was, ‘what has he done to his face?’ Is that Botox? Is that plastic surgery gone really bad? Has he been ill and his face is partially paralyzed? I don’t know the answers, though considering everything I saw in the film, I’m leaning towards the first two questions. Mind you, The Italian Stallion is 60, according to IMDB, and yet I can’t get over thinking he’s fallen into Hollywood’s notion of staying young. Baby, you ain’t young no more and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Your body is still smokin’, you’ve got your mental faculties about you, and you throw a mean left, just like back in the day. If you did have invasive procedures, Botox, etc., whatever went down completely took away from my overall enjoyment of the film.
I liked Rocky Balboa, but I didn’t love it. It’s a sweet film which plays on and emphasizes all we know about the great Rocky. Note to Santa for Christmas 2007: No need to include this DVD as a stocking stuffer.
