Rocky Balboa
By Cory Peynado, Blockbuster.co.uk

“Its not about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can GET hit, and keep moving forward”

Now in his sixties, who would have thought Sylvester Stallone could lace up his gloves one final time and prove to us that he still has some stuff in the basement? Hitting the big screen (see what I did there) for the sixth time now, the Award winning underdog story concludes in spectacular fashion. Written, directed by and starring the man himself, this will be about as personal as it gets when it comes to Stallone’s passion for Mr Balboa.

I can imagine the Italian Stallion had plenty of reasons to add this last chapter. In fact I was pretty excited when I first heard about it. Fan requests must also have been a big factor in his decision. Being constantly hounded about another Rocky film since the seemingly disappointing last instalment in 1990 must have forced him into action… helped along by a personal desire to see this special character go out in style.

This time we step into Rocky’s life well after his boxing career has finished and he’s proudly running an Italian restaurant in Philadelphia called Adrian's. He seems perfectly content with the way things are, and talking to his customers about some of the great moments back in his boxing years is about as close as he gets to the ring these days. His son is also quite distant now. He’s eager to shake off the fame aspect of his father’s life because he feels it has only had a negative effect on him growing up.

“It doesn't matter how this looks to other people. If this is something you gotta do, then you do it. Fighters fight.”

It becomes more and more obvious that Rocky still has something left bubbling inside of him, something left to prove, something to show that he’s not afraid of getting back up and facing whatever it is that has knocked him down and after watching a computerised simulation fight between himself and the latest title holder on T.V. his fists only become more twitchy. His interest is not really in winning, but just getting up there and doing what he loves.

Since Rocky actually wins the simulated fight it’s not long before the current champions promoters approach Rocky at his restaurant to pitch a fight between the two of them and despite a lack of encouragement from some of his loved ones Rocky decides to take up the offer and gets himself back into training. As usual its not difficult to take sides with Rocky and start spurring him on as he runs up those famous steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and begins to faces his final demons.

I fully agree with the critic’s opinion of this last instalment being the best one since the first film. I think this is due to the fact that he must have worked long and hard to ensure that Rocky was given a decent and well deserved send off and he has pretty much succeeded. Fans of the previous films will find everything they liked about their hero right here, from the return of "Little" Marie in the first Rocky film to the return Rocky's bad boy trainer "Duke" Evers. And if you haven’t seen any of the other films (liar!) then you’re just in for a really uplifting and inspiring new story. Don’t miss out!

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