Rocky Balboa (2006)

Preceded by: Rocky V (1990)

	Director: Sylvester Stallone	COUNTRY USA GENRE Drama/Sports NORWEGIAN TITLE Rocky Balboa RUNNING TIME 102 minutes
	Producer: William Chartoff Kevin King Charles Winkler David Winkler
	Screenwriter: Sylvester Stallone

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Rocky Balboa	Sylvester Stallone
Paulie	Burt Young
Rocky Jr	Milo Ventimiglia
Marie	Geraldine Hughes	½
Mason Dixon	Antonio Tarver
Steps	James Francis Kelly III
Martin	Henry G. Sanders

Review

This poetic, beautiful, and dignified film is a worthy swansong for the great character of Rocky Balboa – as well as for Sylvester Stallone himself. Thirty years ago, Rocky propelled Stallone into superstardom, but more importantly, one of the best written characters in modern American cinema came to life. He lived through the honest story of the original – and through the eventually semi-exploitative sequels of the '80s. But the character itself never really sold out. It's hard to imagine a more apt basis for a final sequel than what Stallone has written and directed with Rocky Balboa. The simplicity and sincerity of Stallone's characters and message is both a relief and an inspiration. The years and passion of Stallone's work with Rocky shine through, as though they are merged together as one. Stallone portrays this character with recognisable pleasure and gratefulness, while at the same time conveying a sadness that marks a true swansong. Stallone's script may not be remarkable, but it contains everything longtime Rocky-fans expect, while still maintaining the necessary credibility and honesty. A fine achievement by Stallone, and one which almost lifts him back to the level he reached in 1976. Every misstep along the way is forgotten.