Movie Review - Rocky Balboa

Southern Man is no stranger to going to movies on Christmas Day, and this year it was Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa, the latest installment in the legendary Rocky series. Attendees were Southern Man's gf and another couple. Two of us were totally pumped about a new Rocky flic; the other two were so-so. Southern Man's gf was in the former camp and he was in the latter; the other couple were also split (he was pumped, she was not). But we all ended up enjoying the movie a lot.
The easiest (and cheapest) review would be - if you liked the other Rocky movies, you'll like this one. But Rocky Balboa deserves more than that. The absurb-sounding premise - a sixty-year-old has-been prizefighter ends up in an exhibition match with the reigning champion - actually works pretty well on screen. The drama is a bit heavy-handed at times but is occasionally touching and even endearing. You really feel for the characters in this film, and that's a rarity in movies today. There's only one fight, at the end, but it's a convincing one. It's probably going to end up as one of the best in the series, perhaps second only to Rocky itself, and is a satisfying close to the saga.

So if you're a Rocky fan, you won't be disapointed by this one. And if you get dragged to this one, don't fret too much about it; you'll have a fine time.