Rocky Balboa

"It ain't over 'til it's over."

2006 1h 42m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 3,947

DramaAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When he loses a highly publicized virtual boxing match to ex-champ Rocky Balboa, reigning heavyweight titleholder Mason Dixon retaliates by challenging the Italian Stallion to a 10-round exhibition bout. To the surprise of his son and friends, Rocky agrees to come out of retirement and face an opponent who's faster, stronger and thirty years his junior. Rocky takes on Dixon in what will become the greatest fight in boxing history!

“It ain't over 'til it's over.”

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Cast

Sylvester Stallone
Robert 'Rocky' Balboa
Burt Young
Paulie Pennino
Antonio Tarver
Mason 'The Line' Dixon
Geraldine Hughes
Marie
Milo Ventimiglia
Robert 'Rocky' Balboa Jr.
Tony Burton
Tony 'Duke' Evers
A.J. Benza
L.C.
James Francis Kelly III
Steps

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sylvester Stallone
Writers: Sylvester Stallone, Mark Vena, Luis Russo
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 6.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 20 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Rocky Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

240+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sylvester Stallone, shot by Clark Mathis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Bill Conti. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Sean Albertson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sylvester Stallone and Burt Young and Antonio Tarver carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sylvester Stallone directs. Clark Mathis behind the camera. Bill Conti scores. Sean Albertson cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 6.5× over at the box office.
2Released 20 years ago.
3Part of the "Rocky Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4240+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Sylvester Stallone, shot by Clark Mathis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Bill Conti. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Sean Albertson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Sylvester Stallone and Burt Young and Antonio Tarver carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "It ain't over 'til it's over.".
10IMDB entry: tt0479143 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 22 themes, including "philadelphia, pennsylvania", "transporter", "love of one's life", "fight".
12Released under 18 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Clark Mathis
Original score: Bill Conti
Editing: Sean Albertson
Production design: Franco-Giacomo Carbone
Makeup / hair: Scott H. Eddo
VFX supervisor: Mark Freund
Stunt coordinator: Mark De Alessandro
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $24,000,000
Box office: $155,929,020
Return: 650% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Rocky Balboa (2006)

Part of

Rocky Collection

These sport drama films begin by telling the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but kind-hearted working class Italian-American boxer working as a debt collector for a loan shark in the slums of Philadelphia.

Also by

Sylvester Stallone

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

The Movie Diorama2020-01-16
★ 5/10
Rocky Balboa, much like the titular character, throws tired punches within the constraints of its clichéd boxing ring. Thirty years since Rocky, the underdog from Philadelphia, graciously climbed into the ring and gave Apollo Creed a run for his money. Then a sequel was commissioned. And another one. And another. Until the negligently produced ‘Rocky V’ was released with its disappointing conclusion, leaving fans underwhelmed. Stallone too, discontent with the final product. Thus, the sixth title in the series was conceived, with Stallone starring, writing and directing the feature. Throughout the sequels, many tropes were repeatedly utilised to capitalise on the resounding success of the original instalment, after all it received the Best Picture award of ‘76. The training montage to “Gonna Fly Now”, the awkward conversational exchanges between Rocky and a potential love interest, the old optimistic monologue and Stallone attempting to demonstrate he isn’t just a masterpiece wax work by shedding one tear. All culminating into an emotional boxing match where it doesn’t matter who wins, “it’s about how many hits you can take, and still keep moving forward”. The narrative difference in all these thirty years? Rocky is older now. Fine, that was somewhat harsh. Stallone implements some note-worthy additions to the linear storytelling. The brooding aura of melancholy that envelops Rocky and Philadelphia, struggling to move on from the passing of his wife Adrian. This sorrowful force restraining Balboa to a mere relic within the sport that he fought so viciously in. Guests visiting his restaurant (aptly names “Adrian’s”) to intently listen to his tales, as if a museum piece for all to reminisce. Struggling to retain his symbolic status within boxing. The problem is, Stallone never progresses the plot. In fact, he maintained the narrative to be a simple yet dull nostalgia trip that relied heavily on sentimentality. A wearisome derivative of the original that, unfortunately, felt fatigued in terms of homaging certain plot points. The entire first act was Balboa moping around, despite Adrian passing years ago, embodying remorse. Stallone, as Rocky, nailed the consistency of his character. From the awkward dialogue to his emphatic mannerisms, he constantly reminded us that he is the only actor available to play this legendary cinematic character. Whilst Stallone’s performance was commendable, others not so much. There’s an underlying issue with insufficient chemistry between the actors. Stallone and Hughes, reprising the character of Marie, were decent if undercooked. Stallone and Ventimiglia on the other hand, who portrays his son, had nothing. All dialogue exchanges between them felt forced and lacked emotionality, particularly when Ventimiglia was “supporting” his father outside the ring. Young was passable as Paulie, although acting talent has diminished considerably over the years with his constant shouting. The third act boxing match was filmed concisely, with Stallone taking a distant approach in order to exploit the energy within the room. The corny punching sound effects were removed, with Stallone and Tarver actually throwing real punches. It certainly exhumed realism, if a tad pedestrian. However, Stallone then opted to embed unusual visualised effects within the fight to indicate Rocky’s thought process as he remembers past fights in search for vigour. Far too cheesy and cumbersome, breaking up the flow of the match with unnecessary slow motion. Rocky’s opponent Mason Dixon was severely underdeveloped, lacking strength within his motives as he yearns to be taken seriously as a heavyweight champion. Rocky Balboa will entertain fans of the franchise. It encompasses several vital narrative elements that many have learned to adore. However, for the casual audience who are neither here nor there regarding the series, it’s a drained formulaic story that depends too heavily on paying homage to its predecessors. Ultimately exhausting itself before the penultimate fight commences.
GenerationofSwine2023-01-12
★ 10/10
You know this was the story that SHOULD have been told in Rocky V, or at least this is the kind of story that should have been told. Unfortunately it is a story told sans Talia Shire, who along with Burt Young and Carl Weathers are Rocky staples... of course Creed was dead in the timeline, so his absence is excusable... but we all kind of wanted to see Adrian, and wanted another story that developed her especially since they kind of stopped developing her as of Rocky III and relegated her to the sidelines. But, you got to see a typical Rocky story. You got to see Rocky dig in and be inspiring again... and that is why we all love Rocky stories isn't it? Rovky V lacked the inspiration, Rocky Balboa came back with full force and it has continued though Creed, and, hopefully, when I get around to watching it, it will be there in Creed II as well. The magic is that it comes back to the Rocky I and II dynamic, where it's not just about boxing, it's about Rocky and his story. And that is what we all missed in III and IV, and was attempted but failed miserably in V. It felt like an early Rocky film, it felt like both an end and a rebirth of the franchise, and it was a very satisfying film to watch... especially given didn't really pull the punch we were all dreading and hit us full force.
Wuchak2023-02-20
★ 7/10
Rocky as a has-been and, maybe, still-is It has been over 20 years since Rocky’s been in the ring. He runs his Italian restaurant in Philadelphia named after his wife while trying to get closer to his distant son, a corporate lawyer, and reacquainting with Marie (the troublesome girl he escorted home in the first movie). When the surprising opportunity arises to return to the limelight, the fading boxer must discover if he still has his fighting spirit despite his age. "Rocky Balboa” (2006) was the sixth Rocky film, appearing sixteen years after the previous installment. Also known as “Rocky VI,” this is a fine way to end the proper series, although Sylvester Stallone says a seventh film, an epilogue, is being considered (and I hope materializes). To be expected, this one sticks to the tried-and-true Rocky formula, effectively showing where the key characters are at three decades after the original flick, plus introducing a few new faces, including an old canine named Punchy. Sure, it’s predictable, but it’s entertaining as it continues Rocky’s story in his mid-50s. Of course, the successful spin-off series, Creed, brought Rocky back in 2015 and 2018 with a third installment to be released this year. The film runs 1 hour, 42 minutes, and, was shot in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. GRADE: B