15.12.06 – By Tim Neilson: Sylvester Stallone, now 60, resurrects the Rocky character once again for theatre viewers in the latest installment called simply “Rocky Balboa,” which opens in theatres on December 20th. As usual, Stallone controlled all aspects of the film, writing, directing and starring in the film, which has former light heavyweight champion, Antonio Tarver, starring as “Mason Dixon,” Rocky Balboa’s adversary. Stallone is in fine form, showing some of his best acting in years, possibly dating back as far as “Rocky 2,” made in 1979. It was after this movie, I feel, that Stallone’s acting ability seemed to slowly melt away, as he transformed into a pretentious, body conscious, ham actor, who tended to over act to the point of embarrassment.
Along the way, Stallone became almost obsessed with his body, exercising hours a day with little to show for it other than making him look even smaller than his 5’9″ already done for him to begin with.
In the original two Rocky movies, Stallone was at least marginally believable as a heavyweight, in particular, because of his natural bulk, which included a normal amount of fat for a heavyweight fighter. However, starting with Rocky 3, Stallone went on a crash course exercise and diet regimen that stripped off between 25 to 30 pounds, thus making him look more like a middleweight than a heavyweight. Even worse, it made him look somehow older, like a person in the late 30’s, which is sometimes the case when a person takes off a dramatic amount of weight.
In “Rocky Balboa,” Stallone is stripped and defined as usual, but in selecting Tarver, 38, a fighter that normally resembles a bean pole, it somehow makes Stallone look a little more like a heavyweight. Tarver, though, is reported to have bulked up to 200 lbs, for the role, still making him the lightest heavyweight since Floyd Patterson. But, heck, don’t they say that the camera adds at least 20 pounds?
Of course, the premise of having a 60-year old former champion take on a heavyweight champion takes a bit of a stretch of the imagination. However, not so much when you think of fighters like George Foreman and Larry Holmes, both of which fought well into their mid-40s. Stallone takes this idea to the extreme, though, turning into a farce. Nevertheless, it’s palatable if you don’t think about it too hard.
The central focus of Rocky Balboa, deals with the Rocky character making yet another comeback, this time against “Mason Dixon,” the heavyweight champion, who has taken a lot of heat from the fight fans because of his tendency to fight marginal opposition. (Obviously, a page borrowed from countless champions from various weight divisions.) Here’s the strange part, though: Instead of fighting someone good, and thus shutting the fan’s yaps, Mason Dixon decides to fight Rocky Balboa. I don’t go beyond this, for fear of spoiling the outcome. However, I’m sure you can probably guess the winner in this one.
Nevertheless, the acting is good, particularly Tarver, who seems like a natural behind the camera. In fact, the various clips that I’ve viewed, Tarver often seems to be the better actor, seeming completely natural behind the camera compared to some of Stallone’s more wooden moments. Of the various opponents for Rocky in the other movies, I’d have to say that Tarver does a better acting job than Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed in Rocky 1-4), Mr. T (“Clubber Lang,” in Rocky 3), Dolph Lundgren (“Ivan Drago,” In Rocky IV) and Tommy Morrison (“Tommy Gunn” in Rocky V).
Like many of the Rocky movies, this movie was made for a small sum, only costing 24 million to make, almost guaranteeing a profit, even if the movie turns out to be a stinker. However, it’s likely to do well in the box office, in my opinion, because of the long gap between this and the last Rocky movie (Rocky V), which has been 16 years. It’s hard to believe that it’s been that long since the last one. It’s even harder to believe that Stallone waited this long to come out with another sequel. Many fans have probably long forgotten how bad the last three Rocky movies were and will probably be eager for another fix. For me, this film goes a long ways towards erasing the lasting image of the last few duds.