★★★ The saga derived from Rocky (even with its ups and downs one of the best film series in history, ad maiorem gloriam Stallone) adds another chapter now directed by its star. A neighborhood story (former friends who meet in the ring, with danger for one of them, with old grudges behind them and diverse social contexts) that ends with a spectacular fight, the formula works. But there are elements that bother a bit. First, that Sylvester has said “no, this time let it, do it yourself”. Second, that naive wisdom from the original series where the line drop was either so simple that it didn’t bother (Rocky IV) or so subtle that it led to the masterpiece (Rocky Balboa) here is an imperative tied to the unbearable woke agenda. And third, we are waiting for the punches and the artificiality of each punch is noticeable. It has moments where cinema, that art of movement, imposes its rules. Although by points, not by knock-out.
