“Rocky” is a pop culture milestone whose iconic appeal continues to this day, as evidenced by the “Creed” series starring Michael B. Jordan. First and foremost, the Boxer series is of course associated with Sylvester Stallone, who as Italian Stallion not only conquered the hearts of the audience, but also delivered his absolute masterpiece with the first part from 1976. The official DashFUN review therefore gave the classic the absolute top rating of 5 out of 5 stars.
The sequels, which today often rather than guilty pleasure are cited, but are still absolute cult films, did not come close to the quality of the original – and “Rocky V” is not really popular even among fans of the series. No wonder that the boxer from Philadelphia was quiet for many years. In 2006, 16 years after the last part, Sylvester Stallone decided to revive the franchise again.
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And with “Rocky Balboa” airing on Nitro today, July 5 at 10:05 p.m., Stallone has made an impressive comeback. Because not only was the commercial and artistic failure with “Rocky V” made to be forgotten. “Rocky Balboa” is also a tremendously atmospheric continuation of the original and proves that Stallone not only has plenty of charisma in front of the camera, but is also a competent director.
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In the official DashFUN review, “Rocky Balboa” received an impressive 4 out of 5 possible stars. Our author Carsten Baumgardt writes about the film: “Stallone got out of the debacle ‘Rocky V‘ learned the right lessons and contributes ‘Rocky Balboa‘ a coherent milieu drama that breathes the spirit of the masterful first part.”
Even if “Rocky Balboa” doesn’t come close to the class of the original, Sylvester Stallone has managed to make an impressive comeback here. Stallone’s return to basics reflects precisely on the strengths that once made “Rocky” so legendary: “The atmosphere of dingy suburban Philadelphia unfolds brilliantly and can also be extended to the entire city through the family story.
The mixture of character drama and local color is elementary for the success of “Rocky Balboa”, because Stallone can show off his skills here not only through atmospheric snapshots of the city, but also as a people observer. The fact that the action star has also matured noticeably as an actor makes the drama of the plot all the more tangible.
In addition, the big boxing match is staged in an incredibly dynamic way, even if you go overboard with a few antics (black-and-white images that are stylized with colored blood). Stallone and his opponent Mason Dixon (Antonio Tarver) are in top form and meet at eye level. So fans of the Italian Stallion get exactly what they were once so painfully denied with “Rocky V”: A real “Rocky” film!
Former world heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) has long since left the ring. Today, his boxing heroic deeds are primarily used to entertain his guests, whom he serves in a small Italian restaurant. Rocky is still a legend to be respected. As a result, the relationship with his son Rocky Jr. (Milo Ventimiglia) is very difficult.
Rocky continues to mourn the loss of his wife, Adrian (Talia Shire), who passed away from cancer. Slowly, however, he approaches the waitress Marie (Geraldine Hughes), whom he knows from before. Boxing, on the other hand, is in crisis. Undefeated world heavyweight champion Mason Dixon (Antonio Tarver) has practically won himself to death, the audience turning against him because he no longer has any competition. But Rocky allows himself to be persuaded to an exhibition match against the reigning world champion…
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