December 31, 2006

Rocky Balboa

No Eye of the Tiger!? WTF!?

Sylvester Stallone returns to the big screen for the sixth time in Rocky Balboa as everyone's favorite working class hero and the title's namesake. The news alone seems like it should be enough to have the critical world groaning and the heads of the execs that greenlit it rolling. However, although by no means great, the film is much better than one would expect. With a nod to Raging Bull, the film opens with what is actually a genuinely spectacular shot. In high contrast black and white, a boxer is shown alone in the ring bobbing and weaving. A typical boxing movie cliche most likely intended to highlight the solitary nature of being alone in the ring duking it out "mano y mano." Further adding to the gravity of the shot is the fact that it's in slow motion. So far so good, it's a nice shot, but then the flash bulbs from the cameras go off. With the first flash we see the crowd behind him suddenly jump out of the dark. Not only is there a crowd behind him but it appears to have been shot with a long lens thereby flattening the background and making the crowd look like a wall of people menacingly towering over him as if he were just an animal in a cockfight *cough*.

The shot reminded me of Bosch's Christ Carrying the Cross and actually made me gasp as well. It's unfortunate then that the film starts off on such a high note because it's a film that had a lot to live up to in the first place. Luckily, it doesn't let down too much.

Rocky spends his days mourning Adrian and when her face isn't superimposing itself over everything he looks at, he does what any washed up sports hero does: he runs a restaurant. Rocky meets a girl in the film but Stallone's character is the exact opposite of James Bond when it comes to "being like a man." He befriends her but out of loyalty to Adrian the relationship never progresses beyond that and she respects that. One person Rocky can't seem to get any respect from is his son. Forever living in his father's shadow, his son is all hung up on the idea that the only reason he's gotten anywhere in life is because of who his dad is, all his self pitying is put to an end when Rocky gives him a hilariously over the top but still poignant (at moments) inspirational berating. Rocky Jr. is well cast but unfortunately the relationship between the two isn't fully explored and is probably the films major missed opportunity. Another missed opportunity is in the cinematography which is brilliant in a few moments and laughably bad at too many others. One of the stars that the camera just eats up is working class Philadelphia. The neighborhoods that Rocky takes place in are full of character and criminally underutilized.

Side stories and cinematography aside, the real reason we're here is because of something silly ESPN did. Using computers, they simulate a match between a young Rocky and the current reigning Heavyweight Champion, Mason "The Line" Dixon. One thing leads to another and Rocky becomes convinced that he needs to return to the ring to do what he does best: get hit really hard over and over again (because it's not how hard you can hit but how hard you can get hit). After a battle with the Philadelphia boxing commission (which Rocky wins with another inspirational berating) Rocky is set to box the brash young Mason Dixon.

The remainder of the story unfolds how you would expect it. There's a montage then there's the boxing match. The match is shot in a mishmash of varying styles, most notably that of a Gatorade commercial. Yes, there are shots where everything is black and white except the blood. No, he's not sweating Gatorade, but it's close enough. But, as silly as the match is on every conceivable level, it's hard not to get wrapped up in all the excitement.

Sylvester Stallone's cinematic vocabulary is as limited as Rocky's actual vocabulary and it shows. His use of superimposition, slow motion, hokey shots, etc. are amateurish but charming. However, to tell a story like Rocky Balboa one doesn't need a large vocabulary and by borrowing some good and bad ideas and sticking to the game plan, Stallone does an admirable job bringing this final chapter of the series to the screen. It's nearly the year 2007 and Rocky's "mano y mano" views on life are a bit old fashioned but he's a good guy and he's fun to root for and so is this film.

NOTE: Ain't It Cool News recently did a 20 part question and answer with Sylvester Stallone that's surprisingly candid and very funny. The bad part is that it's split into 20 parts and it hasn't all been compiled onto one page yet so you may have to do some searching to find it.

Also, don't be misled by the remix of Eye of the Tiger that's in the trailer because IT'S NOT IN THE MOVIE! Wtf?