Yo
Take me back . . .The first time I ever heard the greeting "Yo!" was in the original Rocky. ("Yo! Adrian!", "Yo! Paulie!", "Yo! Butkus!") I must have seen it on video in about 1980, '81, and I loved it. The fact that you have to now refer to it as "the original Rocky" is a crime, but of course, it turned into a franchise. I saw Rocky II, which had interesting things to say about fame, but after Rocky III, I tuned out. Thus it was with high expectations that I taped last year's Rocky Balboa on Sky Movies last week, and caught up with last night. I'd read good things about it, but I didn't honestly expect it to be this good.
Sylvester Stallone wrote and directed it, which is as it should be. And, 17 years after Rocky V (the one where he had brain damage and trained up his son), the whole thing was a nostalgia trip for fans of the original. Adrian is dead (not sure whether Talia Shire declined to appear, or whether this was always the plan, but it worked dramatically, as it put Rocky in a retrospective state of mind, harking back to past glories), and Paulie is still at the meat plant. Rocky's running a restaurant, telling boxing stories to the customers and trading on his name in what seems to be a fairly respectable manner. His son, now called Robert rather than Rocky Jr., works for some financial corporation and is uncomfortable living in his dad's shadow. (This subplot is notable only for the appearance of Heroes' Peter Petrelli, and is somewhat tossed off.) Anyway, after a computer-generated hypothetical bout across the generations is staged on a TV sports show, pitting Rocky against the current world champ Mason Dixon (played by an actual boxer, Antonio Tarver), Rocky decides to come out of retirement. As with the first film, he merely wishes to "go the distance".
There are many treats for Rocky fans. He and Paulie go on a tour of Philadelphia to mark the anniversary of Adrian's passing and visit the pet shop where she used to work, and where Rocky used to buy turtle food (he still has turtles), and the ice rink where they courted. Bill Conti's score is effectively a tribute to the music of the earlier films, and Take Me Back appears at the beginning, to ease us back in Philly life. Pedro Lovell reprises a small role from the original, Spider Rico; we see Mickey and Adrian in hazy flashback; Little Marie, the smart-mouthed kid from the original whom Rocky escorts home and gets an insult for his troubles, is now grown up, and almost becomes Rocky's love interest; Butkus is replaced by a rescue dog, a mongrel he names "Punchy", which is what the other boxers called Rocky in Rocky III.
Although I hate boxing, I have a soft spot for boxing films. I don't know why. And I really liked Stallone's decision to frame the final bout as if we were watching it on HBO pay-per-view. It's easy to knock Stallone, now 60, and we're next seeing him reprise John Rambo, but there's something real and crunchy about him, and let us not forget that he was totally unknown when he won Best Picture in 1976 for a film he wrote and directed and starred in. And he taught us the word, "Yo!"
posted by Andrew Collins @ 6:59 PM
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21 Comments:
The only Stallone film I've ever seen was Cliffhanger, but though that was terrible I still have a sneaky regard for the man. And his mother.
I've never seen any of the rocky films, probably because I don't like boxing. I think the last film I saw with sly in was Judge Dredd.
I thoroughly enjoyed Rocky Balboa, and thought it was an interesting comment on fame, and the fact that ex-famous people can't give it up. Seeing Rocky come back for one last hurrah rang very true when boxers such as George Foreman fight well into their dotage, and indeed there's no difference between that and Stallone fetching his old characters out of the cupboard to tread the boards one last time.
Like you Andew I can't get out of the habit of "tapng" programmes using my Sky+ device. We need a new verb and "Skyplussed" is cumbersome and not applicable to other PVR's. In another context "Googled" seems to have become acceptable these days and I think we need something equally snappy. "Recorded" still works but is a bit 20th century. Anyone one got an idea?
I loved it, nearly in tears for Rocky's lost glory days, or was it for my own.
Nice to see a critic willing to stand up and say it was good.
Well done Sir.
I rather lost track of the Rocky films after the first one, my recollection of the Rocky films was Rocky fights Mr T, Rocky fights a Russian (cold war metaphor ahoy!) and Rocky becomes a manager, I can't recall the other ones.
I agree with Andrew Collins about boxing films, it seems a sport very well suited to films, there have been more films about boxing than any other sport..
Brain damage and the Nevada State Boxing Commission are two things that do not go hand in hand.
As the man who wrote the article pertaining to Hollywood’s darker days, linking movie plots to the state of its ailing nation, surely you must agree that this movie fits into that equation quite obviously. I rather think that Sylvester, and his many film roles fits its (USA) persona rather well.
I loved Rocky since I went to see Rocky III (first film I saw in a cinema on my own) and we all cheered Rocky on.
Balboa was a good film and Stallone should be applauded for it.
As for Rambo. There are paralells in as much as First Blood is a great film. There the similarities end because what followed was utter tripe.
It's easy to forget that the original Rocky also came out quite some time before Raging Bull, as well.
I'm not suggesting that Scorsese nicked any ideas, but sadly, the Rocky franchise was much damaged by the schlocky Dolph Lundgren period in the mid-80s.
My earliest memory of 'Yo' (being younger than you, as well, Andrew) was in Dempsey & Makepeace, oddly enough. Michael Brandon used to say it answering the phone a lot.
The original Rocky is a classic. Well-written and with the lovely Talia Shire too boot.
Subsquent instalments didn't do it for me though, I'm afraid.
What's that film where he was a champion arm-wrestler? That I liked.
Well Done Andrew, a great review for a great film. Warm hearted and surprisingly thoughtful I really enjoyed RB. As for other critics Pat, a certain Mr Kermode seemed to like as I remember.
Ian
Five Centres, the arm-wrestling film was called F.I.S.T. and had a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance by Anthony Keidis of the Chilli Peppers as Stallone's son.
Wasn't the arm wrestling film Over The Top? I'll admit to not having seen it. I'm afraid in the days when I watched such films I would have chosen Arnie over Sly, with the exception of Demolition Man, which made me laugh.
F.I.S.T was about unions in the 1930s. Over The Top was about arm wrestling.
I think that in Rocky V, he trained up a protege called Tommy Gunn (played by real boxer Tommy Morrison) at the expense of the relationship with his son. It was left to Paulie to help Rocky Jr fight the school bullues.
Agree with the above comments about the respective originals (Rocky and First Blood) being decent, thought-provoking films with great casts. The scene where Mickey begs Rocky to let him train him again is marvellously judged bit if cinema. Unfortunately their sequels descended into absolute panto very quickly, and seriously tarnished the two titles. Franchises (and how that word makes me shudder) never add to anything, with the notable exceptions of Godfather 2, Empire Strikes Back and the third Alien film. However, I'll probably catch RB when it hits terrestrial tv on your recommendation, Andrew, albeit not expecting too much.
Jon
As usual I’m out of step with you and everybody else on here Andrew but find it strangely reassuring.
Never seen any of the Rocky films – although I do remember Chris Kelly giving the original a good thumbs up on the wonderful ‘Clapperboard’ – and, as I refuse to watch ‘Escape to Victory’ ironically, everything I have seen Stallone in has been universally shite.
Maybe with the exception of Raging Bull, there aren’t any boxing films that can compete with the thrill of the real thing. Ever seen ‘Somebody up there likes me’? It always gets great write-ups. But it’s aged poorly, it’s clichéd tripe from start to finish and Newman, worthy legend though he may be, is at his most methody annoying in it.
Oh and I love boxing, I do.
Jon says that franchises never add to anything - how about the Bourne trilogy? I think the second film is better than the first.
Toy Story 2 is another great sequel.
The Batman franchise may have gone ridiculous in the nineties but Batman Begins was fantastic and the new one looks amazing too.
Franchises can be fun!
Zoe
Zoe, I agree with you about Bourne - the second is better than the first (and the first was pretty good!), and the third is certainly not the usual retread we've come to expect from part threes. Batman is an interesting case of an actual renaissance (perhaps similar to Pierce Brosnan turning up in Goldeneye and the Bond franchise rediscovering its mojo). I loved Batman Begins too. Toy Story 2 is also good. So, full house. But Jon is also right that, in general, franchise is a potentially very ugly word. (Lord Of The Rings doesn't count, as that was a finite trilogy - which, come to think of it, was Bourne. Maybe they'll ruin that with a fourth?)
I agree with Jon that the first three Aliens are good, but how awful was Alien: Resurrection? Star Wars is another problem altogether, I think.
Also, let us not forget how awful Spider-Man 3 was, after such a good start - and that was with the same director! If money is a motivating factor, as it certainly was with Rocky, it's a case of the tail wagging the dog.
Pretty much agree up until the penultimate sentence. Stallone took over from Rocky II but the first one was directed by John G. Avildsen who then came back for the fifth film.
Of course it was! You're right, of course, GD.
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