![]() matriculated and went into the business world apparently with little to mixed success, and most sadly to the audience, at the beginning of the film we learn that Adrian, the heart and soul of Rocky's conscience, died on January 11, 2002.Almost five years later, Rocky seems to be going through the motions of his life - he runs the restaurant, he tells stories to the patrons about the good old days - the kind of thing you'd expect from any sports celebrity that takes a crack at being a restaurateur. ![]() Saw Rocky knocking Tommy Gunn into a Philadelphia city bus in 1990: he and Adrian started a restaurant in 1995, son Robert Jr. But its the insight that Stallone brings to this script, his heartfelt "speeches" to the Licensing board, his son and of course, Paulie, that are the real knockouts in the film.I am so glad this turned out to be the fitting farewell that an icon like Rocky and Sylvester both deserve. His revelation that he wants to "like fight" doesn't seem weird or unnatural.Some of the film's conventions to get him back in the ring, with the current undefeated champ no less, are achieved quickly and stretch our believability, but once that "Rocky Theme" and as I sit here, I'm getting a goose bump or two blares out of the sound system, you are getting "READY TO RUMBLE!!!!" The fight sequences, which have always been cartoonishly brutal, mock the limits of human endurance and insanely exciting, deliver once again. He exudes the melancholy of a life that has lost meaning, while not unpleasant, just not connected. All the performances are fine, but this is about Stallone in full on Rocky mode. ![]() If you like this episode, check out others at for more.Familiar, the characters have been thinned down to only the dependably irritating Paulie, the haunting memory of his beloved Adrian, his withdrawn and overshadowed son and a struggling acquaintance from his past. Eye Open Podcast reviews Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky Balboa" (2006) starring Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, Antonio Tarver, Milo Ventimiglia, Geraldine Hughes, Tony Burton, James Francis Kelly III, and Lou DiBella. ![]()
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