But, wasn't Rocky considered too brain-damaged to fight in Rocky V? So, why is a sixty-year old man even considering risking his life for one more grasp at glory. (IIRC, Stallone wanted Rocky to die in V, but was overruled by UA brass.)
And, BTW, Stallone is not on the latest version of The Contender; Sugar Ray Leonard is going solo.
It speaks volumes that Talia Shire isn't listed in the credits as Adrian. This thing is going to go THUD in a major way.
Supposedly, Adrian died, and Talia Shire will appear by the way of flashbacks.
Columbia must not think it will "thud," as they're releasing it right around Christmastime. They only gave it a $24 million budget, pretty low IMHO. (Maybe Stallone and co. had to take cuts all around, to get the film made at all.)
So instead of saying, "Yo, Adrian!"
He'll say, "OY, Adrian!"
The film must be finished, or close to being done. It's received a "PG" rating from the MPAA. Try this.
I thought the whole thing was "finished" with the last movie.
I thought the whole thing was "finished" with the last movie.
It was supposed to have been. Stallone has been absent from movie screens for a while now; since Spy Kids 3-D. Plus, he'll be doing Rambo IV, for 2007 release. Guess he needs a hit, or at least industry visibility, real bad, which is why he's treading old ground twice.
It's been 30 years since Rocky. Most of the people who go to movies (the 18-34 crowd the studios crave, and depend on to go to their films) weren't even gleams in their parents' eyes when it opened. Will they care?
They'll go, at least for a little bit, to see what the craze is about that their parents talked about. More for satisfying curiosity than outright entertainment..
Well Rockey is a classic that most of the 18-34 crowed did see on video and TV growing up. That may actually help, like when "Freddy vs Jason" was released in 2003, it had been 10 years since the last Jason film and 12 since the last Freddy film. Most of the people who went to see the "vs" movie had never even seen either film on the big screen and that alone could have pushed them to check out that one.
I saw "Rocky Balboa" recently and thought it was very good. Most critics seem to be giving the movie high marks, and the movie is doing well at the box office, though not great. That is to be expected, given the age of the primary "Rocky" fan base, and given Stallone's recent (mid-1990s-present) film quality track record. I have been a fan of the "Rocky" series since I first saw a "Rocky" movie in a theater in 1982 at age 8, that movie being "Rocky III". I next saw "Rocky" and "Rocky II" on VHS before seeing "Rocky IV" in a theater. Much later, I saw "Rocky V" in a theater. "Rocky V" was the only one of the five earlier movies which I thought at the time was not at least "good". I was never really a Stallone movie fan, but I probably saw most of the movies he starred in from 1976 ("Rocky") to 1997 ("Copland"), either in the theater or on VHS.
It speaks volumes that Talia Shire isn't listed in the credits as Adrian.
Yes, she is. I'm assuming that Rocky would be a widower regardless, whether or not Talia Shire would be asked back, to give Rocky something to brood about. Her death was such a major plot point in the film.
I finally caught up with this pic. It premiered on Showtime last week, and is playing throughout the month. It will be available "On Demand" until July 8. All in all, a decent sign-off for Rocky. Much better than Rocky V.
A touch of irony - The exhibition match was broadcast by HBO, with their announcers (Jim Lampley et al) using microphones with the HBO logo prominently featured. Yet this film is playing on Showtime, HBO's chief rival.
All in all, a decent sign-off for Rocky....
Not quite. Stallone played the character for the seventh time in 2015's Creed. In that one, he trains Apollo Creed's son Adonis (Michael B. Jordan).