|
Review:
 The
hope and dream of this film is explained during the climactic
fight scene between Rocky Balboa(Sylvester Stallone) and Mason
'The Line' Dixon(Antonio Tarver), when Rocky Jr(Milo Ventimiglia)
tells his dad from the sidelines: “They're not laughing
anymore.”
This is about an old man living in the past and getting away
with it.
Believe it or not, this film is based on a true story. In the
late 1960s, a couple of promoters got former heavyweight champs
Mohammed Ali and Rocky Marciano, to fake a fight based on a
computer simulation. The film actually made money, [a quickie
one day release in January 1970] and it was amazing to see how
good Marciano looked, even though he was old and sick. Rocky
doesn't look nearly as good.
The first half of the film takes place on the anniversary of
Adrian's(Talia Shire in old footage) death. Her brother Paulie
(Burt Young) is forced to tag along on toxic nostalgia tour
[Junior promised to show up but cut out], but Stallone is so
wistful, it's just about watchable. While on his travels, Rocky
meets Marie(Geraldine Hughes) and a kind of platonic romance
starts up. He gets her a job at his restaurant, where he regales
the customers with old stories of old glories. This is an
allegory of Stallone's current existence.
The whole idea of his fight with the current champ, Mason
Dixon [Stallone should have given his straw man a better name],
is stupid as stupid can be, but for some reason, the film is
actually pretty good. Everybody is having a good time, and
Stallone tries to give the script as much heart as he can. The
dialogue, unlike the plot, is intelligent and has real feeling.
We care about what happens to the characters although we know
this is an attempt by a has-been to get one more shot at the
limelight. It's eminently watchable, and is a nice way to waste
some time at a bargain matinee.
I'm still dreading the next “Rambo.”
Eric Lurio
|
