It is the best of the Rocky sequels by a country mile.

| Original Score: 9/10 | Mar 5, 2024

When the creaky old Rocky ran up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art with his newly adopted dog Punchy, reached the top, and punched the air in triumph, I wiped away a tear or two. Because those are not just steps.

| Original Score: B+ | Sep 20, 2022

Stallone manages to reproduce the lovable character with a recognizable charm and personality.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Nov 21, 2020

Stallone and his character are well past their primes, but instead of making the film totally preposterous, the film embraces that fact and uses it to create a movie that really captures the spirit of the first two films.

| Original Score: B | Nov 21, 2019

You will laugh. You will cry. Your heart will soar. You wanna ring the bell? Go ahead ... It ain't over till it's over. Go for it!

| Nov 9, 2019

The movie spends too much time in idle and not enough in overdrive.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 14, 2019

The premise of Rocky Balboa is pretty preposterous, yet somehow it manages to work because Stallone imbues the proceedings with such heart and pathos.

| Feb 4, 2019

The thing about Rocky Balboa is that it had no business being as good as it was.

| Dec 6, 2018

The problems facing Rocky are the same as those that Sylvestor Stallone must deal with: a once great career, a slide into obscurity and a return to the scene of your greatest achievement to relight a flame. That Stallone succeeds is down to a script.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 3, 2018

...a strong capper to an admittedly uneven series...

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 22, 2013

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Apr 4, 2011

You either buy into this premise or you don't and I'm sorry to say I found Rocky utterly preposterous.

| Original Score: 4/10 | Jul 6, 2010

Stallone still has what it takes to make Rocky the peoples champ, and while the film is by no means a knockout, it will certainly be right there 'til the final round.

| Original Score: A- | Jul 6, 2010

Note to any other would-be franchise revivalists -- consult Stallone.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jan 25, 2010

Stallone wrote and directed this cinematic ride down memory lane that puts a final grace note on his indelible creation.

| Original Score: B- | Apr 25, 2009

It's no knockout, but it does go a solid, nostalgic 15 rounds.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Apr 23, 2009

In the obligatory boxing terms, Balboa will K.O. your expectations, but that may only be because they're rightfully below the belt to begin with--and because this sixth installment is coming after the bell has already rung.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 20, 2008

I know, I know, you're thinking, oh please, not Rocky again. I was thinking that too.

| Oct 18, 2008

With "Rocky Balboa", Stallone's created the first real "sequel" to his original, a deserving bookend that recaptures that film's sense of character and realistic detail.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | May 5, 2008

Stallone, now 60, has something in common with Rocky - he's an awkwardly bulked-up dinosaur, fighting to prove that the game hasn't passed him by. On that level, he succeeds.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 10, 2008