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Trailer for "Rocky Balboa"

Bob Hope once did a television sketch in which Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed entered the ring for their umpteenth rematch with the aid of walkers. Although Apollo was killed by the Frankenstein-like Soviet super boxer Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, Hope still got it half right. Rocky Balboa finds the legendary Italian Stallion proving to himself and the world that he’s still got some fight left in him despite belonging to AARP.

It may be hard to remember, but Stallone was once an unknown actor with a few thug roles under his belt, and the original Rocky was a breath of fresh air, an unabashedly sentimental melodrama about a has-been fighter finding love and respect. “Ain’t gonna be no rematch,” Apollo said after retaining his championship belt. “Don’t want one,” Rocky answered.

But then Stallone’s next two pictures, Paradise Alley and F.I.S.T., flopped, and he started a pattern that dogged the rest of his career: Every time he attempted something different—or different in his mind—audiences stayed away in droves, and he returned to his signature roles, Rocky and Rambo.

Rocky Balboa is a film about second chances (or sixth chances, as this film is technically Part VI). Stallone is looking for “one more shot” as much as his alter ego is: He has publicly acknowledged that he squandered his talent as a writer, director and actor on such misfires as Cobra, Judge Dredd and the pinnacle of bad career choices, Stop or My Mom Will Shoot. But he wants to please his old fans again, and damn if he doesn’t succeed.

Although Stallone is now 60, Rocky Balboa suggests that “Rocko” is in his 50s—the same age George Forman was when he re-entered the ring. Rocky runs a restaurant named after his late wife Adrian, in his old Philadelphia neighborhood, and spends much of his time reliving old fights for his patrons. Through a series of events that somewhat mirror those of the original film, he lands a shot at fighting heavyweight champion Mason “the Line” Dixon (played by real-life champ Antonio Tarver).

Exhibiting a battered hulk of a body, Stallone delivers his best performance since becoming a superstar 30 years ago. He plays Rocky as less of a caricature than in the other sequels, and two of his speeches are heartbreaking. Burt Young provides his usual bitter comic relief as Rocky’s brother-in-law Paulie, and as Rocky’s resentful yuppie son, Milo Ventimiglia fills the emotional void created by Talia Shire’s absence.

With its deliberate pace and quiet moments, Rocky Balboa feels old-fashioned, and that’s a good thing. Stallone saves his stylistic tricks for the climactic fight, in which he successfully mixes digital video, black-and-white cinematography and HBO Boxing verisimilitude.

Where he falters is with Tarver’s Dixon character, who gets too little screen time, robbing the climax of drama; we’re more invested in whether Rocky can survive the fight than if he can win it. Stallone also wastes too much time trying to make his unlikely scenario credible; as nice as it is to see actual character development, some of it feels repetitious and the film would pack a greater punch had 10 minutes been shorn from its first half.

Rocky has always been an underdog, and now Stallone is too. Rocky Balboa is pleasant, if unspectacular, family entertainment, and it’s nice to see our old friend back in the ring. It’s unlikely similar sentiments will be expressed when Rambo IV is released next year.