Despite Flaws, Could Reinvigorate the Franchise

Rating: 7/10 (22 February 2016)

The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan), the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.
This is one of the most divisive films of 2015, it seems. A fair number of people think it is brilliant and was snubbed by the Oscars. Other than Stallone's nomination, it has nothing to speak of. Some say it could have been Best Picture (I don't). And there is an argument to be made for cinematography, because the fight scenes are incredibly well shot, jumping in and out of the action smoothly.
Then there is a group who thinks the film is awful, pointing out the obvious: this is very much a rehash of the original "Rocky" film in many ways. We have the underdog who rises quickly to the top. And in some ways this is not even as spirited, because Adonis is coming out of a home where money is not a problem. He does not need to fight. He could loaf around, and as we see early on, he can quit a good job without a care.
Adonis is also a hard character to be supportive of, because he has everything handed to him and it all comes so easy. He does not lose a fight, he gets Rocky on his side without a struggle, he finds a supportive girlfriend who stands by him even when he is awful. Where is the struggle? Where is his heart? But let us not be too harsh. Instead, we will shift gears to Stallone. How about that supporting actor nomination? Indeed, he does pretty good here, and this may be the most emotion we have ever seen out of Rocky Balboa. Some of it seems out of character. Compared to the early films in the series, Rocky somehow got a little smarter (though he still cannot spell). And some have said he gives up a bit too easily on things, notably his health, for a man who is always about the fight. (I am less convinced of this point. His reasoning seems valid.) I would not expect Stallone to win. He does great, but we have seen Rocky before... six times before. And when up against Mark Ruffalo and Mark Rylance, it seems unlikely. He may edge of Christian Bale and Tom Hardy, but still... the category is not his this year.