Rocky Lite

Rating: 6/10 (12 April 2014)

In the Mid 1970s Stallone struck oil with Rocky and a few years later De Niro won an Oscar for playing legendary boxer Jake La Motta in Raging Bull. A part where he reached physical fitness and trained as a boxer and then later piled on the pounds to play La Motta in later life.
This teaming up of two icons comes across as Rocky lite with only Bill Conti's iconic Rocky Theme missing.
Things do not start off too well as we see these guys in their younger years as boxers in their prime but CGI is provided by a Playstation 2!
However things step up when this two rivals agree to a boxing rematch. Stallone is the one who left his ring career behind, lost his fortune and works hard for a living and feels the financial incentive is the only reason for this sideshow.
De Niro who has a bar and is financially comfortable is motivated by revenge and still bitter. His character even hit it with Stallone's girlfriend years earlier (Kim Basinger) and made her pregnant and is all for the rematch to prove a point.
We are then left with these old has been getting ready for the fight. Stallone ropes in his old trainer (Alan Arkin) whereas De Niro needs to convince LL Cool J to give him some training and finally ends up with his new found son he had with Basinger training him.
As they near the fight De Niro gets too spend time with his son and grandson and bonds with them both whilst Basinger and Stallone also rekindle their relationship. At the same time their promoter Kevin Hart does a good job in reviving media interest in this grudge match as the fight moves to a bigger arena.
The film is actually more likable that I thought it would be as both actors take to the script in the right spirit. Not too seriously and not too lightly. Its still a rehash with Stallone dealing with similar themes of an old boxer stepping into the limelight a few years ago in Rocky Balboa, so it just looks too familiar. Even Arkin's curmudgeon is not that far removed from his Oscar winning role in Little Miss Sunshine.