Rocky Balboa is a movie that needed to be made. Contrary to early naysayers, this franchise needed more closure than it got back in 1990 when audiences last visited with a cinematic icon. Sylvester Stallone directs, acts, and writes this final sequel and the result is a moving, nostalgic, and engrossing effort worthy of the Rocky name.
Balboa is a flashback to the first installment of the franchise. Instead of following closely with the eventual opponent and building him up to create tension in the closing moments, it takes the opposite approach. This is squarely focused on Stallone, which takes nothing away from Antonio Tarver's believable performance in his first film role after reigning as real life light heavyweight champion.
Characters are re-introduced and follow Rocky's surprisingly long turn back into a pro boxer. Lesser characters make a re-appearance for nostalgia's sake, such as Spider Rico, again played by Pedro Lovell. The movie builds its story around the death of Rocky's wife, and nearly everything focuses on that point. Fans looking for a rousing ego clash along the lines of those featured in Rocky III or IV are in for a wait. The emotional impact of the first 30 minutes is a complete departure from what the series had become.
This leads to a nearly flawless conclusion aside from a few blatant and distracting product placements. A trick ending sends the film in a direction that leans towards being predictable, then twists again to end the franchise on a somber note. The final words of the film could not have been chosen better.
With only brief flashbacks and a somewhat darker tone, Balboa avoids extensive use of nostalgia to carry itself. Led by multiple re-workings of the classic theme "Gonna Fly Now" at all times, it's the right way to mix old with new. Even though the film contains less than 15 minutes of total boxing, these scenes are believable and at times mirror any real life, pay-per-view boxing event.
As expected, the script contains countless inspirational lines designed to bring the audience out of their seats to cheer. While at times forced, careful direction and believable performances splice these moments in where they should be. The inevitable training vignette is a long time in coming and the payoff is stronger because of it.
The range of emotions created in Rocky Balboa is unmatched by any of the preceding movies in this series. Every open plot hole or question is clarified or answered, and it's done so with a sharp eye for details. This is an acceptable and yes, needed finish for a Hollywood legend. 
Video is grainy is spots, and this intentional. Colors are bright and contrast is high which, again, is intentional. Detail is spectacular, and this sharp transfer is stunning for DVD.
Audio kicks in, and the classic theme has never sounded better in 5.1. The fight sequence is incredibly immersive, with the crowd seemingly in the room with the viewer. Punches land with brutal bass. The rest of the film is fairly muted given the dialogue driven nature, though there are some nice random ambience if you listen for it.
Seven deleted scenes begin the extras, including an alternate ending that runs a little over three minutes. It’s in the spirit of the series, yet simply doesn’t feel like the right way to go out. A minute and a half of bloopers are unexpected for a drama, though well worth watching. Skill vs. Will is a 17-minute 'making of' that provides a decent look at how the film came to be, and why it needed to be made.
Reality in the Ring is a 15 minute look at how the final Balboa fight was filmed. Virtual Champion takes a short behind the scenes look at the computer simulation was crafted. A commentary by Stallone adds another great bookend to this series. 
Rocky Balboa includes flashbacks to each film in the series, with the exception of Rocky V. Stallone himself admitted in interviews the 1990 effort was a “weak link.” While not quite as bad as some would make it out to be, it was hardly the way to leave this otherwise superb franchise out to dry.
Matt Paprocki is the reviews editor for Digital Press, a classic video game website which he called home after his fanzine (Gaming Source) published its final issue. The deep game collection which spans nearly 30 systems and 2,000 games line his walls for reasearch purposes. Really. He has also begun writing freelance for the Toledo Free Press.
