Rocky Balboa review
My Rating: 4.4/10
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10 Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 76% Metacritics Rating: 63/100 My Favorite Quotes: 1. “I'd hold you up to say to your mother, "this kid's gonna be the best kid in the world. This kid's gonna be somebody better than anybody I ever knew." And you grew up good and wonderful. It was great just watching you, every day was like a privilige. Then the time come for you to be your own man and take on the world, and you did. But somewhere along the line, you changed. You stopped being you. You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you're no good. And when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame, like a big shadow. Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that! I'm always gonna love you no matter what. No matter what happens. You're my son and you're my blood. You're the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, ya ain't gonna have a life. Don't forget to visit your mother.” – Rocky Balboa Former heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Balboa has come to the decision to come out of retirement to fight the current boxing champion of the world Mason Dixon. Unfortunately, this movie did not live up to my expectations. In comparison to the very first “Rocky” film, this sequel was far less entertaining and emotionally engaging. Obviously, they brought back the exact same theme song, but it lacked the same inspirational affect that the first film so perfectly attained. Also, the fighting scene seemed as if it were some extremely unrealistic WWE wrestling match. Which was a major turnoff in terms of a climactic action sequence. To add insult to injury, characters were just pushed under the rug so to speak and offered little to no importance. For example, Maria’s child Stephen appeared to be a key character near the beginning of the film, but as the movie progressed Stephens screen time became almost unnoticeable. I understand the significance of the dog and how it was symbolism, that old dogs can still learn new tricks, but was it necessary? Although many things were major distractions and disappointments, I will admit there were a few things that I enjoyed. Those things include the dialogue (especially Rocky’s famous quote), the nostalgic flashbacks/illusions, and the connection with Maria from the first film. One quick thing that was just very funny to see was Max Kellerman as one of the fight commentators. Ultimately, “Rocky Balboa” should not be uttered in the same sentence as the original “Rocky” and it was a colossal disappointment. |
Positives and Negatives
+ Dialogue
+ Soundtrack
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- Characters
- Fight Scene
- Predictable Ending
+ Soundtrack
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- Characters
- Fight Scene
- Predictable Ending
Criteria /10
Plot: 6/10
Originality: 2/10
Pacing: 6/10
Soundtrack: 7/10
Dialogue: 8/10
Special Effect: 1/10
Theme: 6/10
Ending: 3/10
Originality: 2/10
Pacing: 6/10
Soundtrack: 7/10
Dialogue: 8/10
Special Effect: 1/10
Theme: 6/10
Ending: 3/10