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Rocky Balboa

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 33 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 234 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Action | Drama
Written by: Sylvester Stallone (also characters)
Directed by: Sylvester Stallone
Release Date:
Theatrical: December 20, 2006
DVD: March 20, 2007
Running Time: 102 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG for boxing violence and some language
Starring Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, Antonio Tarver, Geraldine Hughes, Milo Ventimiglia, Tony Burton, A.J. Benza, James Francis Kelly III, and Talia Shire
The greatest underdog story of our time is back for one final round. In Rocky Balboa, the former heavyweight champion steps out of retirement and back into the ring, pitting himself against a new rival in a dramatically different era. (MGM)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Rambo Staying Alive
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Film Threat Mark Bell
The acting in the film is grade-A, with Stallone bringing the more mumbled Rocky from the first film spliced with some rousing inspirational monologues when the moment is right (not forced, not preachy… just perfect).
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
It's not so much a sequel or even a remake for a new generation of moviegoers as it's a retranslation for the old one: an irresistible statement that "Yo, life ain't over till it's over."
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Scott Foundas
What gives Rocky Balboa its unexpected pathos is the titanic humility of Stallone's performance, the earnestness with which he plays a man knocked down (but not out) by the ravages of time.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Stallone doesn't pander to audiences with unearned sentiment. He believes in his story, in the inspirational element that has sent thousands of folks running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art over 30 years.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
The movie itself, defying all odds, comes close to a knockout.
Read Full Review >Premiere Ethan Alter
After the widely reviled "Rocky V," it was just as unlikely for there to be a satisfying conclusion to the Rocky saga, but Rocky Balboa fits the bill.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
Rocky Balboa is not as good as "Rocky," but it allows us to forget the other four sequels, none of which was memorable.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
There is much to poke at in Rocky Balboa, yet the movie, with its amusingly updated ''Gonna Fly Now'' montage and its very niftily staged climactic bout, summons just enough incredulous wit about just how often Rocky has been around this particular block to let Sylvester Stallone earn his nostalgia.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
A deep and astonishingly authentic streak of melancholy runs through this fifth sequel to the 1976 sleeper that made both struggling actor Sylvester Stallone and hard-luck slugger Rocky Balboa international stars.
Read Full Review >New York Post Kyle Smith
Better than decent. But if Stallone (who wrote and directed the flick) had pulled a few punches to the heart, it could have been truly worthy of that first, glorious movie.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
Surprisingly Rocky Balboa, is no embarrassment. Like its forerunners it goes the distance almost in spite of itself. It's all heart and no credibility except as a raw-boned fable.
Read Full Review >New York Magazine David Edelstein
Does Rocky Balboa deliver? Weirdly enough, it does: I was jumping out of my seat during Rocky's bout. If you close your eyes and try to halve your IQ--aim for something between a baboon and a lemur--you might even think it's a masterpiece.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen
Defies all expectations with a low-key, technically stripped-down production that really does come close to capturing the heart and soul of the original.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
It matters because this boxer taps into something deeper in our collective souls than the desire for entertainment. It's the hope that one day we're going to win big, too, after everyone's given up on us. It's as hokey as it's true.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Like the character of Rocky, it's got heart to spare, and is by turns one of the sweetest of the sweet-science pictures as well as one of the most doleful. Fighters fight, it's what they do. And Balboa, god bless him, fights on.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
As written, directed and, of course, acted by Sylvester Stallone, this film provides more insight into the character and his psyche than previous films, which were much more about the punches thrown.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Think you're too tough for a sentimental comeback story? Well, a few minutes with Rocky Balboa might just knock the cynic out of you.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
Rocky Balboa scores a split decision: A familiar start, some flat-footed middle rounds and a solid, flailing finish. And since Stallone has promised to throw in the towel on the franchise, we'll add an extra half star in honour of his diligence in the gym.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Just when you're ready to puke, the old Bill Conti theme ("Gonna Fly Now") kicks in -- are you feeling it? -- Stallone steps in the ring and every day is Christmas. All together now: Rock-ee! Rock-ee!
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
Rocky Balboa is far from essential, and there are moments in it bad enough to make you wince. But I dare you not to feel at least a tiny little rush when that opening bell rings, and Rocky starts swinging one final time.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
What's touching about Rocky Balboa, the sixth chapter in the saga of Philadelphia's lord of the ring, is the small-scale stuff. Not the spectacle of the has-been, now 60, connecting with a punch. But the sight of an actor connecting with a character.
Read Full Review >Variety Robert Koehler
The time away from the ring has done Rocky and the franchise some good, although it takes pic a good long while to gather momentum and clout before a surprisingly satisfying third-act heavyweight bout.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Rob Nelson
Rocky Balboa, effortlessly reflexive and patently, even proudly, absurd, is a tough movie to dislike -- and believe me, I've tried.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
Even as Sylvester Stallone's long goodbye to the heroic underdog who made him famous descends from pathos into silliness, and from fairy tale into hallucination, you can't help liking the big galoot.
Read Full Review >Empire Ian Freer
If you hear the Rocky theme and think '118 118', you might wonder what all the fuss is about. For the rest of us, this is a reminder of why we fell in love with the character in the first place.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Against all odds this panoply of punishment is almost thrilling, even though it's raging bull of a different kind.
Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
As usual with Stallone's Rocky sequels, the schmaltz is unbearable, but the fight is plausibly handled, and Stallone's sincere sadness at growing older makes this an unexpectedly satisfying conclusion to the series.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
While Stallone likely hopes to go out with a bang, this small, manipulative movie doesn't have any real punch to it.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
The original Rocky would have found a way to ground that encounter in reality, to engender honest emotion and give audiences an Everyman hero both noble and believable. This film is too busy worshiping its hero to bother.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
This is no corporate project made to squeeze a few more dollars from a fading cash cow. No one else has been asking for another "Rocky," other than maybe Burt Young . No, this is a rarer beast -- an auteur sequel -- and it's so wrapped up in its maker's personal mythology and psychic needs that it becomes a hall of mirrors to which we're given a slack-jawed ringside seat.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Watching Rocky Balboa go through the usual paces does trigger a few helpless waves of nostalgia, especially once Bill Conti's famed score kicks in and Stallone sticks it to a few sides of beef. But audiences needn't be responsible for helping an over-the-hill actor through his midlife crisis.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
Anyone who appreciates Sylvester Stallone or enjoys the "Rocky" movies will find moments to enjoy in Rocky Balboa and will leave the theater reasonably satisfied. It's just good to see the guy, and it's good to revisit the character. And that's everything good to be said for the experience.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Above all this is a film for gluttons for punishment, for those who never ever can get enough of Sylvester Stallone. Everyone else, please leave the building.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 234 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
AJ S gave it a1:
This movie was a huge disaapointment! Why bother fighting at 60 yrs old? Why? The trainer remarks he has no speed, no agility and all we can rely on is massive trauma. Even the fight is pointless unless you could match Rocky in his prime against the champ who by the way has absolutley no personality. Rocky has heart but there is a time to let things go and move on without having to prove something you have already proven. Rocky deserved better, sorry SLY.
akeem g gave it a10:
This movie was touching. I really love and enjoyed hearing those great little speeches that rocky made through out the movie,those are my favorite parts to watch.This is the best rocky movie in the entire series
lola n gave it a10:
Joe is an amazing fighter, has a bright future ahead of him hope to see him in many more pictures.
scott b gave it a10:
This movie was way better then i hoped it to be. This movie had the same feel as the first rocky movie. just the drama which stalone pulls of perfectly. if he made another movie like this i would see it in a heartbeat.
nomad gave it a10:
The very first scene of Rocky visiting Adrians grave got me 100 percent and i never took my attention off the screen down the line.. Not just a bogus sequel of Indi Jones ilk that came across as a money grab and nothing more but actually a great capper to a great series.. My hat goes of to Sly! YOu are the MAN Sly!!!
Don P. gave it a10:
Great Movie, I enjoyed how they focused on the man!
Anonymous Joe gave it a10:
Four words: A damn good movie.
