When I moved to Las Vegas in 1986 to stay, I lucked out and got a two-week gig as an extra in the Sylvester Stallone movie, Over the Top. The filming took place at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel and dealt with the World Series Arm Wrestling competition that Stallone's character enters so he can win enough money to take care of his son. I was used in several different scenes as an extra, but the one that clearly stands out for me is when I played a member of the audience in the wrestling arena. Before Stallone would come onto the set to film a particular scene in the arena, the assistant director would rev the audience up by playing the theme to Rocky, "Gonna Fly Now." Of course, the audience didn't really need to be revved up for Stallone. I, and the hundreds of other people sitting in the stands, saw Stallone as his fictional character, and we would stand up and cheek out of pure adulation. To us, Stallone was Rocky.
Things haven't really changed much since that moment in time twenty-five years ago. For me, Stallone is Rocky and will always be. I still get a big, goofy grin on my face whenever I hear the theme to Rocky. So for me, the movie, Rocky Balboa, was a dream come true. It was a chance to relieve the original "Rocky" movie and to reach a better understanding of the last thirty-fve years of my life. More than that, however, it gave me hope for the future. Rocky Balboa is a true spark of life for all of us in my age bracket who are having trouble moving ahead. This is a movie about not giving up and being able to take the hits that come your way. It's certainly true for the character of Rocky as well as its creator, Sylvester Stallone and what he had to go through to get Rocky Balboa made. Let me just say this. The budget for Rocky Balboa was around twenty-four million dollars, which is low for a movie in today's time. For a film to break even, it has to make at least three times what it cost, which also covers distribution and the percentage that the theaters get from the sell of each ticket. The worldwide gross for Rocky Balboa was right around $148,000,000.00. Stallone did what was thought to be impossible by others--he gave new life to Rocky and made another hit movie!
In Rocky Balboa, our lead character is now living in South Philadelphia and is struggling from the lost of his wife, Adrian, who died of cancer. His only friend appears to be Paulie (played by Burt Young), who's still working at the meatpacking plant. Rocky and his son, Robert (played by Milo Ventimiglia), have grown apart and see very little of each other. Though Rocky owns and operates a small Italian restaurant called Adrian's, his heart isn't into it. He has little to look forward to and sees his life as nearly over. The only pleasure he gets is from visiting Adrian's grave.
Everything begins to slowly change for Rocky when two important events take place. The first is when Rocky runs into Marie (played by Geraldine Hughes), a person from his past who gives him a reason to keep going forward with his life. The second thing is when a sport's show does a virtual reality computer fight between him and the new world champion, Mason Dixon (played by Antonio Tarver), displaying that Rocky, though older, would win the bout without any problem. This creates in Rocky the desire to fight again, but only on a local level. Dixon's people view the computer fight and immediately see a way to make a great deal of money.
After Rocky renews his fighting license, he's asked to do a celebrity fight against Mason Dixon in Las Vegas with part of the proceeds going to charity. Though hesitant at first to get back into the ring with a heavyweight champion, Rocky finally agrees to do so with Marie's encouragement. Robert, however, is totally against his father fighting again. He's lived in his father's shadow for years and this will only make matters worse. Rocky explains to his son that this is something he has to do in order to feel alive again. He also tells Robert that he has to stop blaming others for his problems and to learn to deal with life by not giving up when things gets tough. Of course, all of this leads to the preparation for the big fight and then to the fight itself. I still get goose bumps when Rocky runs up the steps to the Philadelphia Art Museum with "Gonna Fly Now" playing in the background.
What Sylvester Stallone was able to do with Rocky Balboa is to return to the roots of the original movie in the series and to tap into its heart and soul. You see it in the streets of Philadelphia, the poignant music of Bill Conti, Rocky's old home and Mickey's gym from the first movie, the shadows and dark overtones of the film, the return of Burt Young as Paulie and Tony Burton as Duke, and the haunting presence of Adrian (played by the lovely Talia Shire) throughout the film. Stallone put his own heart and soul into the making of this film, fighting an up-hill battle against the studios who thought his career was over. He wouldn't give up, knowing this film was a reflection of his own life and struggles.
Rocky Balboa is definitely the way the series needs to be ended. It's a direct mirror of what can be good in a person's life if he's willing to put forth the effort. I don't know about other people, but when I saw this movie on DVD, it brought tears to my eyes, but in a good way. This is the last Rocky movie. Stallone knew he was finally saying goodbye to his most famous character and to an intricate part of his own life. As the final credits roll in the movie, dozens of everyday people are shown running up the famous steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum. Each year thousands of people run up these steps and throw their arms victoriously up into the air just like Rocky did. That's how powerful the impact of this series has been on the mass public. I used to live outside of Philadelphia during my early teens. If I still lived there, you'd see me running up the steps, too. Well, maybe halfway up. I'm not in as good of shape as I used to be.
With regards to the DVD extras on Rocky Balboa, there's a fifteen-minute featurette on the making of the movie, another fifteen-minute featurette on doing the big fight scene at the finale, twenty minutes of deleted scenes with an alternate ending, bloopers, and a great film commentary by Stallone. This is definitely a movie that the fans of the "Rocky" series will love, and as the last words in the film say, "Yo, Adrian, we did it!"
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