With ROCKY V in 1990 not doing as well critically or commercially as the three previous sequels, many assumed that this would be Rocky Balboa’s last round in the ring, given that Stallone was clearly past his best in a film that effectively was a street brawl rather than a ring as Balboa battled Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison) to prove his worth.
Still, like things with this legendary characters, things are never as sure as they seem and a decade and a half later, Stallone came back with the character for what would turn out to be his final stint as the main character (he reprised it as a support character in the two recent CREED films)
Rocky is effectively retired from the ring and spends his days telling old boxing tales to customers at his restaurant, Adrian’s (named after his late-wife of many years, played by Talia Shire in the previous quintet)
Life is pretty nostalgic on birthdays and his relationship with his son Robert (Milo Ventimiglia) who works in Philadelphia City Centre in a top company, is not exactly sparring out right. Paulie (Burt Young) , Rocky’s brother-in-law, is disillusioned with the tour Rocky takes each year on the anniversary of his wife’s birthday, so splits.
Rocky stops off at one of his old haunts, where he meets Marie (Geraldine Hughes), a girl who told him to get lost after walking her home and is now a single mother of a mixed-race boy.
Meanwhile, in the world of boxing, current heavyweight champion Mason Dixon (Antonio Tarver) is getting stick from fans and the press for another seemingly easy knockdown and is seeking a new challenge. When a computer-generated fight between him and Rocky leads to him being knocked down in the simulation, the prospect of a match in real-life becomes a distinct possibility when Rocky takes an interest….
For a film that was the sixth in a series, it is all the more impressive that Stallone would write and direct a movie that is as good as, if not better than, the 1976 Oscar-winner that catapulted him into the limelight.
It’s a very reflective film, focusing on age and what possibilities still exist for people who are of advancing years – and contains one of the most motivating speeches ever by Stallone to his screen son. Oh….and it has the traditional boxing fight climax that is as good as some of the others in the other films.