Review of Rocky Balboa (2006) by Daniel C — 24 May 2011

It's over fifteen past the events of the fifth installment and we see Rocky as a man in his fifties. He doesn't fight any more and has closed down Mickey's gym for good. Adrian has passed away from cancer and his son Robert is grown up with a full time job. All Rocky has in life is his restaraunt, which he named after his wife, and his brother in law Paulie.

But after ESPN does a fantasy computer fight with Rocky and current heavyweight champion Mason Dixon, Rocky begins to feel the fire once again. He applies for a license and receives it with his intentions only to fight in smaller shows. Dixon and his managers realize his image has taken multiple hits and fans and critics believe he has never fought anyone who had any real talent or was even in the same league. Dixon's managers feel that beating a legend like Rocky Balboa would enhance Dixon's image to the people and cement his status as the world champion.

Rocky accepts the challenge and we see a lot of what we've been watching for over thirty years. The end fight scene is probably the best in the entire franchise because of its realism and drama. Antonio Tarver (Dixon) isn't even an actor, but a real life former boxing champion and he did a fantastic job. Nobody was gonna win any Oscars but everyone had solid performances. Rocky VI is one of my favorites in the series and many called it the best Rocky since the original, and it's very hard to argue that.

100% From me.