Rocky 6 ...

Rocky 6 ...

Some movies are simply SUPPOSED to suck ... this premise holds true for other aspects of the arts, but just for the sake of argument let's focus on movies, especially sequels, and especially Stallone sequels ...

Rocky ... a truly great movie ...

First Blood ... a very good action film ...

The movies that followed? Dear Lord ...

I must admit to having never watched a Rambo sequel simply on general principle, but I have seen a few of the Rocky sequels and wondered how I would get those hours of my life back ...

Rocky 2 ... okay and a logical progression ...

Rocky 3 ... made some sense the first part of the film to see how the guy would handle fame ... but the character stopped being Rocky of Rocky 1 to me ...

Rocky 4 ... Rocky wins the Cold War was simply unacceptable and Stallone clearly knew nothing of Soviet culture while making this film ...

I stopped ...

Rocky Balboa (aka Rocky 6) simply HAD to be awful ...

Then the reviews were decent ...

Then The Razzies expressed disappointment in the film being entertaining ...

And so ... I got it from the library recently after watching Rocky 1 ...

Rocky Balboa is the real sequel ... if someone only watched 1 and 6 and skipped the rest it gave you enough flashback to make it work ... and it really felt like Rocky was being Rocky ...

Rocky Balboa in Rocky 6 is a very lonely man in a sea of many, many friends ... the first hour clearly shows a man putting on a brave face to the world that he does not feel a real part of ... There's a Cats in the Cradle feeling with his son and a genuine sense of grief throughout ...

Even the boxing and training elements work ...

Stallone deserves a lot of credit for sitting back and stripping Rock down and showing us where this important character might really end up ... I joked to some friends that I almost don't know what to do about liking this ...