Rocky Balboa Delivers One Final Round at Box Office

Rocky Balboa once said, “It aint over ’till it’s over,” well folks, it’s finally over. Sylvester Stallone delivers one last punch as The Italian Stallion, Rocky Balboa, in the final installment of the “Rocky” franchise. “Rocky Balboa” delivers all the punches and jabs that make this movie great. Actor/Writer/Director Sylvester Stallone delivered a solid conclusion to the five previous films and gives the series an ending that leaves the audience loving Rocky even more than they did when the first film premiered in 1976. As a widower who consistently looks back on his past, Balboa owns a restaurant in South Philadelphia called Adrian’s. He talks to customers about previous fights and signs autographs and takes photos with them. His wife’s brother Paulie shows Rocky a virtual fight between the Heavyweight Champion Mason “The Line” Dixon and Rocky Balboa. After seeing this, Rocky’s interest in the sport of boxing sparks again. He comes out of retirement, and he plans to only fight in local clubs and in the community. However, in an attempt to gain publicity, Dixon’s managers pit Rocky against Dixon in real life. Rocky agrees to Mason Dixon’s proposal, and despite being mimicked and mocked by the media and fans, 60 year old Balboa trains and steps back into the ring for one final time. In the first film, Rocky runs to the top of the steps that lead to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In the last film, Balboa does it once more, this time with his dog Punchy. The training sequences throughout the movie and the story behind Rocky’s final fight make this movie a wonderful experience for the entire audience. The final fight of Balboa’s career against Dixon is perhaps the best fight in all six of the films. Because you know that it will be Rocky’s final fight of his long career it becomes more and more emotional as each punch is thrown. The fight scene in this movie will have you clapping, chanting, and cheering for Rocky Balboa. Not only was Stallone’s acting great as the 60 year old boxer, but the rest of the cast put on a great performance on the screen as well. Antonio Tarver, a current boxer and the former light heavyweight champion of the world, plays the role of Mason “The Line” Dixon, the Heavyweight Champion of the World. Tarver played the role with pizzazz and flair, and in the end you grow to love the man who the fans despise. Milo Ventimiglia also puts on a great performance playing Balboa’s son Rocky Jr. Ventimiglia and Stallone share a great chemistry in the movie, and the two also share a powerful scene together in which Rocky Jr. explains to his father that he does not like living in his father’s shadow. The final installment ends with the audience loving the character of Rocky just as much, if not more, as they did thirty years ago. The entire franchise of films has lived on for ages, and will continue to live on for many more years. “Rocky Balboa” is a film that does not disappoint and is a solid ending to a great story. With all the disappointing sequels being made today, “Rocky Balboa” delivers a strong knockout at the box office. This is definitely one of the best films of 2006.