Rocky Balboais the most underrated movie of theRockyfranchise, and it perfectly encapsulates why I am okay with Sylvester Stallone being missing fromCreed 4. The story ofCreed 4was confirmedto be in development shortly after the release ofCreed III, though Michael B. Jordan did insist a break would be taken from the franchise. Interestingly,Creed IIIwas the first film in the expandedRockyuniverse not to feature the Italian Stallion himself, leading to the question ofwhether Rocky Balboa will be inCreed 4.
Admittedly, it is unlikely for Stallone to change his mind and come back for the nextCreedfilm. Despite theCreedseries doing some things better than theRockymovies, Stallone felt thatCreed III’s story was too dark and that he prefers his characters to have lighter arcs. Although this likely means Stallone will never reprise his role as Rocky again, I am surprisingly okay with this. The reason for this stems from what I think is one of the most underrated movies in thehighly-rankedRockyseries:Rocky Balboa.
Rocky Balboa Deserves More Love For Bringing Rocky Back After Multiple Disappointments
Rocky Balboa Is Seemingly Forgotten About
Rocky Balboais the sixth entry in theRockyseries and was released in 2006, 16 years after the failure ofRocky V.Rocky Balboawas responsible for putting Rocky back on the cinematic map after decades of failure, with evenRocky IV- despite the nostalgic love it possesses today - being poorly reviewed in 1985. For over 20 years, Rocky declined from the heights of the first two movies, andI thinkRocky Balboadeserves more love than it getsfor bringing him back into the public discourse of iconic cinema heroes.
Rocky Balboa, despite doing this for both the character and the franchise as a whole, often feels to me like a forgotten entry in the series. When talking about theRockyfranchise, everyone seems to talk about theCreedtrilogy, as it is more recent,Rocky V, for how bad it is,Rocky IIIandIV, for their silliness and nostalgia, and the original movie, for its sheer quality. This omitsRocky IIandRocky Balboa. Of those two, the latter was responsible for single-handedly revitalizing the franchise, and I feel it deserves more praise for that feat.
Without Rocky Balboa, The Creed Franchise Would Have Never Worked
Rocky Balboa Was A Good Middle Ground Between Rocky V & Creed
To further support howRocky Balboadeserves more credit, it was also important to theCreedfranchise becoming what it is today.Creedundoubtedly still would have worked ifRocky Balboadid not exist, given the sheer talent of writer-director Ryan Coogler. That said, there is no denying thatRocky Balboaprovided the foundations for a lot of Rocky’s character moments in the 2015 film. For instance, Rocky’s cancer storyline is more impactful inCreeddue to the knowledge that Adrian died of cancer, something that is shown to impact Rocky greatly inRocky Balboa.
Creedmay not have been accepted as broadly, as it would have been the sequel to the worstRockymovie of all time withoutRocky Balboa…
Also, from a broader perspective, the desire forCreedmay not have been as strong withoutRocky Balboa.Rocky Vleft a bad taste in the mouths of many, especially those who were fans of the Italian Stallion and his franchise. IfRocky Balboahad not achieved what it did in revitalizing the franchise, the character, and, to an extent, Sylvester Stallone himself, who was undergoing a rough period in the 2000s/late 1990s,Creedmay not have been accepted as broadly, as it would have been the sequel to the worstRockymovie of all time withoutRocky Balboa.
Rocky Balboa Was A Great Final Adventure For Stallone’s Character
Even After Creed & Creed II
Aside from the implicationsRocky Balboahas had on the overall franchise, it remains the case that it is simply a great movie. As a final standalone adventure for the titular character, the film works on almost every level. The writing was bold by Sylvester Stallone in separating Rocky fromAdrian by revealing the latter had diedoff-screen while giving her a lovely legacy in the form of Rocky’s restaurant. This, combined with the shaky relationship between Rocky and his son, Robert, allowedRocky Balboato have the foundations of a great final character arc for the beloved boxer.
What makesRocky Balboaeven more impressive is how it takes those foundations and crafts a solid comeback story that fixes several problems withRocky III, IV,andV. Those three films were known for being over-the-top, exaggerated, and filled with silly elements that do not work as well today as they did in the 80s and 90.Rocky Balboafixes that by making the story much more grounded, and, while not without its dramatized elements, feels much more akin to the original two movies. Combining this with some all-time Rocky quotes,Rocky Balboaworks as a redemptive final standalone adventure for the character.
Creed Has Also Given Rocky A Perfect Sendoff Already
Meaning His Role In Creed 4 Is Not Needed
The obvious love I have forRocky Balboais proof of why I do not believe Stallone is needed inCreed 4. Even withoutCreedandCreed II,Rocky Balboawould work as the last time we saw the lovable hero in a way thatRocky Vdefinitely would not have. Beyond the sixth movie, however, I do not think Stallone is needed inCreed 4because of how well his last two appearances in the spin-off series treated him. InCreed IIespecially, Rocky Balboa received another near-perfect send-off that aligned with the story ofRocky Balboa.
A big subplot ofCreed IIwhere Rocky was concerned related to his relationship with Adonis, but also his relationship with his son, Robert. As I have already alluded to,Rocky Balboaexplored how estranged Robert and Rocky were, whichCreed IIleaned much heavier into. It was clear throughout the film that Rocky wanted to reconnect with his son, with the final scene in the movie showing exactly this happening.
The scene is heartwarmingly beautiful as a final send-off for the character, providing yet another one afterRocky Balboa. More importantly, this scene fromCreed IIlinks directly to a character arc that was teased a decade earlier in the 2006 film. For this reason, Stallone is not a necessity forCreed 4. Not only has the sorely underratedRocky Balboagiven the titular boxer a perfect standalone send-off, butCreed IIallowed the final unresolved subplots of the film to have a conclusion, proving that, even if there is no future for the Italian Stallion, this would not be an unwelcome reality.
