Scan and Pan
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Rocky Balboa
This film finds a widowed Rocky living alone and reliving his glory days by telling stories to the patrons of his restaurant. His son is somewhat estranged and he doesn't seem to have much else in his life but past memories. After he befriends a woman trying to raise her teenaged son alone, Rocky realises that his life isn't over and decides to try boxing again. When a televised computer simulation shows that Rocky in his prime would have defeated Mason Dixon, the current champion, Dixon's managers find a way to get the well past his prime Rocky into the ring with their client for a highly publicised exhibition fight.
Writer/director Sylvester Stallone serves up a surprisingly low-key, character-driven film that recalls the themes of the original Rocky while providing a fitting coda to the series. A film about an aging, washed up Rocky getting into the ring with a man half his age could easily turn into self-parody, but it doesn't, and it reminds us that what makes Rocky great is his heart rather than his fists. Stallone eschews the slickness of the later films for a bare bones filming style that recalls the raw feel of the original film (which was directed by John G. Avildsen), and cinematographer Clark Mathis (the 2005 remake of the Night Stalker television show) perfectly complements his director's vision. The fight scenes were mostly shot using digital HD cameras to give them a live feel, while the rest was shot on film. Bill Conti's score is solid and he finds ways to work his famous "Rocky Theme" into quite a few scenes, sometimes subtly, sometimes not.
Stallone returns to the role that made him a star and delivers his best performance in years, if not one of the best of his career, and he's genuinely moving at times. He has sleep-walked through far too many routine action films during his career, but he reminds us here that he's also a skilled actor. Two of the best scenes in the film are when he's turned down for a license by the boxing commission and when he confronts his son. Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes) is effective as Rocky Jr., who feels overshadowed by his father and unable to live up to expectations, and Burt Young is good once again as Rocky's brother-in-law, Paulie. Belfast-born actress Geraldine Hughes sparkles as Marie, the woman Rocky befriends (and a character who appeared as a young woman in the first film, played by a different actress), and James Francis Kelly III is charming as her son in limited screen time. Boxer Antonio Tarver is believable enough as Mason Dixon. Mike Tyson has a cameo as himself.
This film is far better than anyone could have expected and it ensures that the series goes out the same way it came in: as a champion.
Like the title character, the 30-year-old film franchise returns to the ring for one final fight, and it's a good one.
This film finds a widowed Rocky living alone and reliving his glory days by telling stories to the patrons of his restaurant. His son is somewhat estranged and he doesn't seem to have much else in his life but past memories. After he befriends a woman trying to raise her teenaged son alone, Rocky realises that his life isn't over and decides to try boxing again. When a televised computer simulation shows that Rocky in his prime would have defeated Mason Dixon, the current champion, Dixon's managers find a way to get the well past his prime Rocky into the ring with their client for a highly publicised exhibition fight.
Writer/director Sylvester Stallone serves up a surprisingly low-key, character-driven film that recalls the themes of the original Rocky while providing a fitting coda to the series. A film about an aging, washed up Rocky getting into the ring with a man half his age could easily turn into self-parody, but it doesn't, and it reminds us that what makes Rocky great is his heart rather than his fists. Stallone eschews the slickness of the later films for a bare bones filming style that recalls the raw feel of the original film (which was directed by John G. Avildsen), and cinematographer Clark Mathis (the 2005 remake of the Night Stalker television show) perfectly complements his director's vision. The fight scenes were mostly shot using digital HD cameras to give them a live feel, while the rest was shot on film. Bill Conti's score is solid and he finds ways to work his famous "Rocky Theme" into quite a few scenes, sometimes subtly, sometimes not.
Stallone returns to the role that made him a star and delivers his best performance in years, if not one of the best of his career, and he's genuinely moving at times. He has sleep-walked through far too many routine action films during his career, but he reminds us here that he's also a skilled actor. Two of the best scenes in the film are when he's turned down for a license by the boxing commission and when he confronts his son. Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes) is effective as Rocky Jr., who feels overshadowed by his father and unable to live up to expectations, and Burt Young is good once again as Rocky's brother-in-law, Paulie. Belfast-born actress Geraldine Hughes sparkles as Marie, the woman Rocky befriends (and a character who appeared as a young woman in the first film, played by a different actress), and James Francis Kelly III is charming as her son in limited screen time. Boxer Antonio Tarver is believable enough as Mason Dixon. Mike Tyson has a cameo as himself.
This film is far better than anyone could have expected and it ensures that the series goes out the same way it came in: as a champion.
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