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Rocky Balboa | 
| Actors: Michael Buffer, Tony Burton, Jim Lampley, Leroy Neiman, Talia Shire
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.94
Buy New: $11.99
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Rating:  304 reviews
Sales Rank: 5320
Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Region: 99
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 102 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 0 x 0 x 0
MPN: TM2631
UPC: 043396161900
EAN: 0043396161900
ASIN: B000N4SHPS
Theatrical Release Date: December 20, 2006
Release Date: March 20, 2007
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
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The sixth installment of the Rocky series picks up the story of the Italian Stallion 16 years after the morose Rocky V. And sure, at his advanced age, Sylvester Stallone now looks like one of those sides of beef his character used to pound on. No matter. Somehow you buy the premise after all these years, even if it takes forever for Rocky Balboa to stop wallowing in self-pity (Adrian is dead, his old haunts are demolished) and get down to the business of drinking raw eggs and running up staircases. The business at hand is an unlikely exhibition fight with champion Mason Dixon (Antonio Tarver), which the near-sexagenarian Mr. Balboa has no business accepting. Of course, just as sure as the horns of Bill Conti's theme music are even now trumpeting through your head, the ol' Rock might have a punch or two left in him. Stallone wrote and directed, and there isn't much to say except that the movie steps in its pre-determined paces with a canny sense of what has come before (it's practically an homage to all the previous Rocky pictures, complete with fleeting flashbacks). Burt Young is around again, and Geraldine Hughes makes an appealing, rather chaste female companion for Rocky. Stallone's Rocky has gotten suspiciously articulate over the years, but he still knows how to slouch. If Stallone never forgets that, he can probably keep the franchise rolling. --Robert Horton Stills from Rocky Balboa (click for larger image) Beyond Rocky Balboa on Amazon.com 
On Blu-ray | 
The Amazon.com Rocky Store | 
The Films of Sylvester Stallone |
Product Description
Rocky Balboa' examines one of America's greatest icons at a vulnerable period in his life--middle age. A former heavyweight boxing champion, known and renown throughout the world for going the distance, Rocky finds a new venture: giving back to his community. This is where he, once more, finds himself at the opposing side of opportunity, not unlike the one he has seen decades ago. Heavyweight champ Mason Dixon and his representation offer Rocky a shot for the title. For Balboa, it'll be one last hurrah he'll never forget.....but with his glory days far behind him can he withstand the inevitabilities of what's to come? A look at going full circle and wanting more, when life turns out how you least expect it and then some.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 299 more reviews...
 Not Rocky Enough For Me November 5, 2008
Van T. Roberts (Columbus, Mississippi)
Everything that made the best "Rocky" movies ("Rocky," "Rocky III," and "Rocky IV") blissfully entertaining appears conspicuously absent in Sylvester Stallone's new movie "Rocky Balboa" (** out of ****), reputedly the last Harri for the "Rocky" character. Chiefly, "Rocky Balboa" lacks spontaneity and surprises. Indeed, actor/athletic Sylvester Stallone looks--for a man in his sixties--like he could go the distance in the ring, but writer/director Sylvester Stallone virtually recycles the original without anything that made it Academy Awarding material. In "Rocky," Stallone created a charming Brando-esquire misfit, surrounded by other larger-than-life misfits, who slugged his way to the top of the American dream. Each sequel eroded the title character's charisma, and you knew that "Rocky" could never go down for the count. Worse, Stallone's trademark aphoristic dialogue yields few quotable lines. Another element woefully amiss is a solid villain. A third of what made "Rocky," "Rocky III," and "Rocky IV" engaging on a visceral level were the opponents. Carl Weathers established the baseline for Rocky's rivals in the first two "Rocky" movies, while a pugnacious Mr. T raised the bar in "Rocky III" and Goliath-like Dolph Lundgren took it one punch further in "Rocky IV." Not surprisingly, "Rocky Balboa" should take the bad taste of "Rocky V" out of the mouth of "Rocky" fans. "Rocky V" featured the least intimidating contender of the series. Unfortunately, as much as "Rocky Balboa" surpasses "Rocky V," Rocky's latest adversary is bland to his boxers. Mason Dixon emerges as more vulnerable than vicious. You won't care if Rocky beats him to a pulp, gets beaten to a pulp himself, or they fight to a draw in "Rocky Balboa." This painfully predictable punching bag of cliches never generates the blood, sweat, and cheers of the original.
Anybody who remembers the forgettable "Rocky V" knows that the doctors warned Rocky that if he ever climbed back into the ring that he could possibly die from one blow to the brain. In "Rocky Balboa," Rocky's physical ailments never impair his potential. Aside from a brief bout with the Pennsylvania boxing commission, Rocky obtains a license to box again. During the first hour of the action, our world-weary hero revisits his past on a sight-seeing trip to his old stomping grounds where he grew up and met his wife Adrian. Adrian has followed in the footsteps of more memorable "Rocky" characters, such as Apollo Creed and actor Burgess Meredith's Mickey Goldmill. We learn in "Rocky Balboa" that Adrian died from cancer back in the 1990s, and Rocky supports himself with a Philadelphia restaurant named after her. He recounts his pugilistic exploits for the entertainment of his customers. Meanwhile, in the ring, the latest heavyweight boxing champ Mason "the Line" Dixon (ex-light heavyweight champ Antonio Tarver) finds himself tangled up in the ropes of his own troubles. After 30 knock-out fights, the undefeated Dixon cannot find anybody to go toe-to-toe with who can match his merciless barrage of blows. Worse, just about everybody in the fight game hates him. Sure, Dixon sounds like a terrific adversary, but Stallone gives Tarver nothing to do or say that makes his character remotely dangerous. He never attains the flamboyance of the egotistical Apollo Creed in the first three "Rocky" epics. He doesn't present a challenge like the sadistic Clubber Lang in "Rocky III." Physically, he is no match for towering Ivan Drago in "Rocky IV." Instead, Mason Dixie emerges more as misunderstood than merciless.
During his tour of his old neighborhood, Rocky runs into a local girl from his past. Marie (as played by the original "Marie" Geraldine Hughes) told him to bug off in the original when he offered her advice about her friends. Marie and Rocky get friendly this time around and the ex-champ shows an interest in her fatherless son. Unfortunately, the romance between Marie and Rocky ignites no sparks because the chemistry between them is wrong. At the same time, Rocky's own son Rocky, Jr. (Milo Ventimiglia who plays Peter Petrelli on the NBC/SCI-FI Channel TV show "Heroes") has his own selfish issues. Rocky overshadows him. At one point, Rocky confides in his boorish brother-in-law Paulie (Burt Young of "The Killer Elite") that he still has his own unresolved issues. Paulie thinks Rocky has lost his mind when he proposes to put the gloves back on for one more bout. The inevitable fight between Rocky and Mason Dixon occurs as a result of an ESPN computer generated boxing match that prompts Mason's managers to approach Rocky about a match. Mason Dixie derides it as a publicity stunt, but Rocky sees it as a place in the sun. "Rocky Balboa" boasts too much soul and not enough heart. Cue "Rocky" composer Bill Conti to bring on the music from the original as Rocky jogs around Philadelphia in his sweats training.
Sylvester Stallone looks more muscle-bound than ever, but he does not have the underdog charisma of the best "Rocky" movies. Clearly, Stallone has gone into the ring one time too often. The Rocky character has never looked so out of place and his actions do little to endear him. Stallone's worst mistake in "Rocky Balboa" was sacrificing Adrian from his screenplay than his obnoxious, cigar-chomping brother-in-law Paulie. The first hour of the new "Rocky" drags and the last forty minutes doesn't make up for it. Stallone stages the boxing match without flair. Amazingly, the hand-held photography doesn't add energy to the fight. Despite some moments that remain too far and few between, "Rocky Balboa" has no clout to flout.
 A Good Movie September 27, 2008
Presto
This movie wasn't bad. Sly is getting old; he had some fat on him in this film. It was said in the commentary that Sly wanted the boxing match to be realistic and not cinematic. That's why Mike Tyson was in the film. A couple of famous HBO Boxing Ring Announcers, such as Jim Lampley and Max Kellerman, hosted the fight.
It's too bad that Adrian was dead. Rocky and Paulie got in an arguement over Rocky's memories of love with Adrian. Rocky manages a restaurant call Adrian's. There's a sports cast comparing Rocky to the current champ Mason "The Line" Dixon. The movie basically gives a reason why the two should fight and the movie ends with a happy ending. Rocky tells the champ " It's not over until it's over." It's fun watching Rocky train and this time he lifts weights heavier than I've ever seen him lift before. At the end of the fight, Rocky was bloody and beat up and everyone was yelling "Rocky! Rocky! Rocky!" Fortunately Rocky didn't become champ again because he's too old but Rocky went the distance.
A positively uplifting and heartfelt winner! September 23, 2008
Brian (Chicago, Illinois)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
What exactly is age, aside from a number?
For far too long, I have read so many endless attacks against Harrison Ford and Sylvester Stallone simply because they both dared to revisit characters they immortalized in the 1980s. I will never again lend a second's credence to such shameless nitpicking. Sylvester Stallone may very well be a sixty year old man, but he pulled off "Rocky Balboa" in a profoundly moving and realistic manner and subsequently transformed this prior skeptic into a BIG-TIME believer. This, far and beyond any reasonable contention, is the true and respectful swan song the "Rocky" saga has long deserved.
Wisely ignoring the unsightly plot points that were introduced in "Rocky V," this more recent story unfolds with a highly publicized "virtual boxing" match that pits the long-retired Rocky against current heavyweight titleholder Mason Dixon. When Rocky scores the duke in this particular fantasy bout, Dixon retaliates by challenging Balboa to a one-on-one publicly televised 10-round exhibition. Everybody, including Rocky's own son, steadfastly dismisses the idea. But Rocky, who has always ever worked best when the odds were stacked against him, agrees to face Dixon. What ensues, amidst the rudimentary training regimen we've all seen Rocky endure throughout the five previous films, is a staggeringly heartfelt and engaging character study that very nearly rivals that which was introduced in John Avildsen's groundbreaking 1976 original.
Among the most notable are some admittedly touching moments with Rocky and Paulie as they revisit the Italian Stallion's love for Adrian who, as many prior reviewers here have already noted, is no longer part of the narrative fold. These scenes, along with a certain pep-talk Rocky gives his defiantly selfish son at the film's halfway mark, really helped sell the story's realism. Stallone made me genuinely feel for these people, a feat that I and many others had previously doubted he was capable of achieving. His screenplay very literally came out of left field and opened my eyes to the plain and simple fact that he still has what it takes. There was not a single point throughout the entire film where I was deliberately thinking about his age. A person's age, as I've already alluded to, should never be a consideration. You're as young as you feel and, if you happen to be in the phenomenal shape Stallone is in for a man of his years, I say more power to ya'!
There really isn't anything more to be said. "Rocky Balboa" is a more than worthy addition to this extraordinary series of motion pictures. You would be hard pressed to find another film more deserving of a purchase. Make no mistake when I say, it delivers a definitive knockout!
a truly great movie September 14, 2008
B. E Jackson (Pennsylvania)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I wasn't sure what to expect with the news that a new Rocky movie was in the works. I thought to myself "Well, maybe this is just TOO much and the series should have stayed in the past where it belongs". BUT, I was wrong.
This movie really surprised me with the amount of emotional scenes. More emotion than the older Rocky films, which is amazing. This is what REALLY made the movie shine in a light that made the entire thing worth watching over and over.
The emotions obviously lead up to one heck of a fantastic boxing match at the end. Who wins the fight? Doesn't matter, and you'll see why at the end. What a great way to end an interesting series, that's all I'll say about the ending.
Another thing that surprised me was the way the entire movie had a creepy, quiet tone that pretty much stayed like that until the training for the main boxing match at the end. That tone really helped keep my interest in the storyline, so a job WELL done.
Another cool thing is how the storyline leads you believe Rocky is too old to ever fight again, and then you see a completely different person when the time comes for Rocky to fight. Awesome.
You must see Rocky Balboa to watch how to properly tell an interesting and emotional story.
 No Adrian September 6, 2008
Pharoah S. Wail (Inner Space)
Maybe it's because I was a little kid when the first Rocky came out but they do it for me for some reason. Most of them. Rocky 5 was awful. As I sit here I can't remember if I ever saw the entire movie. I think I always bailed out of it before it was over. I never thought that one was worthy of being the last Rocky movie so it was nice that this one came out. Whether it's because I feel like I know the core characters from all those times seeing the movies as a kid or not, they still have a way of getting to me.
I didn't read about the movie, didn't talk with anyone about it, didn't look into it at all until I first saw it on HBO or Showtime or whoever aired it a couple months ago. Since #5 was so bad I didn't rush into this one. I have been happily surprised. The first (and one of the hardest) punch of the movie is seeing the name on the headstone. I had no idea Adrian was dead in this one before that moment, and no
intention of mentioning her death in my review but after 20 seconds on this page I saw it has been mentioned tons of times already so I don't think I'm letting a secret out.
Adrian was always such a cutie pie sweety, and she was also sort of the Edith Bunker of the Rocky films. In many ways she was the strength and conscience. All the things that some reviewers have considered to be the slow, depressing stuff before the movie (aka the boxing) begins is the stuff I love. There's genuine feeling there. It's a drag that Talia Shire didn't get to be in this one but much of the movie is a fitting tribute to the strength of the character she brought to life. I like that.
Also, this Rocky most imitates real life. There's no villain to conquer and there's no ascension to, nor fall from greatness. It's a story about the people, places and memories that make a life.
My gripe about the movie is the training montage. Donning the same grey sweatshirt/sweatpants from the first movie, punching the meat, etc... was too obvious for me. I don't like things to be so blatant. Also, my favorite passage of the famous Rocky musics is only touched on for one small part as the credits are rolling. That was a bummer.
Still, what really matters in this one is that Rocky has always been a good guy and he even delivers a street-corner speech that the USA could and should really take to heart. "It's not how hard you hit." We'd be a better nation because of it. Rocky Balboa is a really touching way to wrap up the mythology of this pop-culture icon.
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