"Rocky Balboa" - Stallone Needs a Winner but Will it Get Knocked Out?

On December 22nd, the sixth installment of the "Rocky" series, "Rocky Balboa," will be hitting theaters some thirty years, almost to the day, after the premiere of the Academy Award winning original. Fans of the series will likely be keeping their fingers crossed that creator/star Sylvester Stallone can inject life into the series which started losing some of its magic in the third film.

The new film finds Rocky as a 60-year-old widower who now owns a successful diner where patrons come in just to meet the ex-champ, who hasn't been in the ring in years. Rocky happily obliges his fans with tales of his boxing career. At home Rocky is miserable having lost his beloved Adrian to cancer while growing apart from his son, Rocky Jr.

Meanwhile, ESPN has been holding virtual reality fights between fighters from different eras and one that catches everyone's attention is a match between our hero and the current champion, Mason Dixon. The virtual fight ends in a victory for Rocky that causes some long ago buried feelings to stir up in Rocky. He decides to get his boxing license renewed so he can get close to the sport again and soon enough Dixon gets word through the media that Rocky may be back in the game. Dixon's career is lagging as he can't get a first rate fighter to oppose him so he throws out the idea of having a match with Rocky. Reluctant at first, Rocky decides to give it one last shot and with the help of brother-in-law Paulie (Burt Young), Rocky Jr. and Apollo Creed's original trainer (Tony Burton), Rocky prepares for the final showdown.

Rocky Balboa has the earmarks of returning the series to its original status of greatness. The main character is beloved due to his genial disposition and general innocence toward life. Having Adrian pass away already makes one want to endear him/herself further to him. The thought of Rocky rising to the top again, accompanied by the now familiar rousing main theme is enough to make one cheer.