Rocky Balboa

Rocky Balboa

-Made in 2006
-6th addition to the Rocky series
-This movie shows Rocky in retirement, a now widow, living in Philadelphia, running a local Italian restaurant named Adrian's, after his late wife

Did You Know?
-Sylvester Stallone trained for 6 months to get in shape for this movie
-Stallone chose Milo Ventimiglia because they both have a mouth that goes down on the right side, so they looked like real father and son, even though they weren't in real life
-During the filming of the final scene, Stallone was actually knocked unconscious

Plot
-Rocky Balboa(Sylvester Stallone) is in his late 50s and retired from boxing for 16 years. He lives his life as a widower, with his wife Adrian Pennino Balboa(Talia Shire) dead. She died of cancer in 2002. He runs a local Italian restaurant named Adrian's, and he tells his patrons stories from his past. He also has demons he fights, such as grief over Adrian's death, the changing times and the relationship between him and his now adult son Robert(Milo Vetimiglia). Meanwhile, Paulie(Burt Young), Rocky's brother in law, continues to help whenever needed

-Late one night, Rocky is reunited with a much older neighborhood girl named "Little" Marie(Geraldine Hughes), who is now working as a bartender at a local bar called the Lucky 7. She is the mother of a teen son born out of wedlock named Stephenson aka "Steps"(James Francis Kelly III). His friendship with the two of them grow quickly over the next few weeks, and "Steps" grows to look at him as a father figure. Elsewhere, in the professional boxing world, heavyweight champ Mason "The Line" Dixon(Anthony Tarver) is being insulted for never going up against a real contender. He returns to the gym where he trained and his old trainer tells him that he will earn back his respect if he fights a true opponent

-ESPN air a computer simulation between Rocky in his younger days and the new champ, with a KO victory for Rocky. This further riles up the eager young boxer. This inspires Rocky to take up boxing once more. Dixon's promoters air the idea of holding a charity match at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas to boost Dixon's failing popularity. Both guys agree to the fight, with the media having a frenzy of jokes at Rocky's previous status as a boxer and Dixon's winning chances.  Robert later makes an attempt to talk Rocky out of it, blaming his failure on Rocky's shadow. Rocky gives him advice though: "It ain't about how hard you hit;  it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward." The next day, father and son meet over Adrian's grave and come together. Robert has quit his job to be at his father's side. Rocky then starts training with Apollo Creed's old trainer Duke(Tony Burton) who quickly says that the old, arthritic Rocky can only fight by building his strength and power as much as can be.

-The fight starts in Vegas with each boxer landing hits; Dixon is  winning the first round only to have his left hand injured in the 2nd round on Rocky's hip, giving Rocky the chance to dominate. Rocky continues to impress the audience with his fighting against the younger, faster boxer. Dixon sends Rocky to one of his knees in the final round, but Rocky, being older and more experienced, gets to his feet for the final round. They continue to beat each other savagely until the ring of the final round, after which they are still standing. Rocky thanks Dixon for the fight, with it being said Rocky is losing by a split decision.

-In the final few scenes, Rocky returns home and visits Adrian's grave to thank her for helping him.

Cast

Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa, retired boxer and former two-time heavyweight champion.
Burt Young as Paulie Pennino, Rocky's moody brother-in-law and best friend and Adrian's brother
Milo Ventimiglia as Robert Balboa, Rocky's only son.
Geraldine Hughes as Marie, a woman whom Rocky originally met over thirty years ago (as seen in the first installment of the movie series).
James Francis Kelly III as Stephenson ("Steps"), Marie's son, whom Rocky befriends.
Tony Burton as Tony "Duke" Evers, Rocky's trainer who has been his head cornerman since Balboa's second fight with James "Clubber" Lang in Rocky III. Duke previously trained Apollo Creed, who was Rocky's nemesis in the first two films and later became his friend and head trainer in the third and fourth films.
Antonio Tarver as Mason "The Line" Dixon, Rocky's opponent. Dixon is shown as the current undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, but a fighter who is not shown the same respect as Rocky was when he was the world champion