Alpha to Omega
The film franchise is an inescapable part of the modern movie landscape. In this series I will address a series of films from the first to the last, looking at each film as a standalone and how it fits into the series.
Rocky Balboa
Have you ever screwed up with your girlfriend/boyfriend?
I mean really screwed up?
I mean really screwed up in a “this thing is over unless I do something substantial” kind of way?
If you answered no that means either...
a. You have never had a girlfriend/boyfriend.
b. You have, but are some kind of extra strength stupid that kept you from seeing it.
or
c. You are willfully lying to yourself.
I have. Boy, have I ever.
On one of my X’s birthday was the day before Valentine’s day, it was also the day after the birthday of someone in a very tight group of friends I had. I decided, in the infinite wisdom I had acquired in my then 26 years on the planet, to just let the celebration we had for that birthday count as hers. In my mind she was working on both her birthday and Valentine’s day (she was a restaurant manager, so that meant that she worked late and came home and went to bed), so it wouldn’t really make that much of a difference.
I was asleep when she got home on her birthday (in my defense, she didn’t get home until well after midnight), and the next night... well, I intended to just watch TV until she got home. What I did was watch TV and drink a whole lot of beer and eat nothing. So when she got home at 8:30, I was immobile drunk.
The honest, non delusional ones among us with any sort of romantic history know that such an error requires something major, a grand gesture if you will, to put things right.
To put this in a clearer perspective, in less than 48 hours I had dropped the ball in a major way and knew that I had some major work to do to repair that bridge.
Still, my transgression paled in comparison to the film that was “Rocky V.”
There are few film series as beloved as the Rocky movies. I almost wrote “as beloved to men,” but realized that was a stupid thing to say, as all that you need to love Rocky is a soul.
How significant are these movies?
There is a book about people running the “Rocky steps” in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Their reasons vary from “I lost 50 pounds,” to “I asked her to marry me and she said yes.” But for some reason, they find inspiration in running up these stairs and recreating this scene. As one of them said, “Doing this makes you feel like anything is possible.”
Somehow, this no budget little movie, written by and starring an unknown was able reach with Malcolm Gladwell calls “the tipping point.” It didn’t just connect, it worked its way into the public consciousness and became a part of, at the very least, the American identity. But it goes so much further than just America.
There was such a genuine earnestness to 1-4. They were all basically extensions of what Rocky said to Adrian in his dirty little apartment.
Rocky: I can't do it.
Adrian: What?
Rocky: I can't beat him.
Adrian: Apollo?
Rocky: Yeah. I been out there walkin' around, thinkin'. I mean, who am I kiddin'? I ain't even in the guy's league.
Adrian: What are we gonna do?
Rocky: I don't know.
Adrian: You worked so hard.
Rocky: Yeah, that don't matter. 'Cause I was nobody before.
Adrian: Don't say that.
Rocky: Ah come on, Adrian, it's true. I was nobody. But that don't matter either, you know? 'Cause I was thinkin', it really don't matter if I lose this fight. It really don't matter if this guy opens my head, either. 'Cause all I wanna do is go the distance. Nobody's ever gone the distance with Creed, and if I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I'm still standin', I'm gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood.
Five felt like fan fiction written by someone who hadn’t seen the first 4, but had talked to someone who had... a long time ago.
This was a “Batman and Robin,” “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace,” level franchise murdering misstep.
In the eyes of fans, Rocky may as well have died at the end, as originally planned, because nobody wanted any more from it.
But the years passed. Lots of years. 16 to be exact.
Think about that. Rocky to Rocky V took 14 years. V to Balboa... 16.
Somehow, during that near two decade break, Stallone figured out how to fix things.
This wasn’t some, “I’ll make you your favorite meal,” level amends. This was more like, “I’ll fly you to Paris for the weekend, and we’ll have your favorite meal there.” Stallone went to the mountain top and found the source of all Rocky.
Rocky is about the guy whose “whole life was a million to one shot.” A man who everyone counted out and who just wanted to be on his feet when the bell rang.
“Balboa” continues the “V” timeline. Rocky has rebuilt a solid, working class life after losing everything.
16 years after the Tommy Gun debauch, Rocky has a nice little neighborhood restaurant called “Adrian’s” after his late wife.
Ok, first off... OUCH!
If you are a fan of these movies, you know that losing Adrian is the absolute worst thing that could happen to Rocky. She was his heart, and in this series... that means everything.
Without Adrian his life has become routine. He gets up early to hit the market for the restaurant, he visits Adrian’s grave, and spends the rest of the day being the consummate restaurant owner. He was always a friendly guy who loves to talk and tell stories and be around people, and now he gets to do that professionally. He even makes sure that guys from the old days, like Spider Rico (the first person we see him fight) has a place at his place. He’s turned into the kind of older guy you wanted him to. He may or may not be happy, but he is content even if he’s a little lonely.
When Adrian died he didn’t become single, he became a married man whose wife passed away. There is a difference. He is as loyal and dedicated to her as he was when she was alive. “The Tour” section of the film is one of the most beautifully heartbreaking sequences I’ve ever seen. It sets up what the film is really about. He lost his ehart when she died, and now he needs to get it back.
Adrian isn’t the only person he lost. His son, Robert, though still alive has grown estranged. Spending his life standing in the impossible shadow of his father, in a city where his father is revered with almost religious wonder ended up being too much for him, so he completely pulls back from him.
It’s unfortunate, but understandable. Could you imagine how difficult it must be to live in a city where you cannot be your own person? I don’t think I could handle living a life knowing that everything that came my way was because of who my father was.
He has become, essentially, the opposite of his father. his heart and will have been stripped away, leaving a timid shell who is unwilling to risk anything because he has never been able to believe in himself.
So, you have two men. One is all heart and leads a contented life that has lost his compass. The other is lost, has never had a compass or a map of his own, who feels like the tide is pulling against him.
Then you have Marie, who we met in the first film.
Best Picture Nominees
Dune 2
Oppenheimer
Creed 3
Beyond The Mat
Wrestling With Shadows
The Iron Claw
Fast X
Journey Into Hell
The Reconciler
Soul Man
My Demon Lover
Trick or Treat
Jason Takes Manhattan
Confess, Fletch
Franchises That Didn’t Franch
Supermang
Indiana Jones
Non Actors Turned Actor
The History of Batman
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