Unlike the other four sequels, the true underdog scenario has been fully restored; you can t help but root for this guy. And when that famed theme music kicks in you cant help but smile. Stallone is once again handling writing and directing duties as well as starring.
And you can see and feel his love for this character shine through. Sly made a masterstroke by killing off Adrian it gives the film an extra emotional arc and once again makes a completely lovable and believable underdog. There is a new female character introduced, played by Geraldine Hughes.
She is not a love interest but gives someone to connect with. I enjoyed her performance a lot and felt she had good chemistry with Stallone. Burt Young of course returns as Paulie and as always gives a solid and funny performance.
It s no secret of course that Stallone is pushing 60, but he has kept himself in shape so the boxing scenes look good. In fact the whole sequence is very well directed by Sly and the match itself pulls no punches. The script on a whole is solid but I did find some of the dialogue to be a bit iffy.
Also I felt Milo s portrayal of Rocky s son Robert was slightly forced and I would have liked to see a stronger and more emotional performance come through; these are minor quibbles, mind. Sylvester Stallone has pulled off the biggest surprise of the year. It s not just the character that is the underdog here; Stallone himself is an underdog after a string of disappointing films.
Unlike the other four sequels, the true underdog scenario has been fully restored; you can t help but root for this guy.
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