Stallone accepts 'Rocky' dilemma

DENVER — Facing the barbs of the insatiable media, Sylvester Stallone is as gracious and imperturbable in answering all questions as Rocky was deflecting the insults of classless opponents.

With the sixth "Rocky" in theaters, Stallone at 60 knows full well many critics label him a one-note writer and actor.

No one will cry for Stallone, with his millions in crafty percentage deals, but he can be called a victim of his own success: Thirty years ago, he wrote and starred in one of the iconic American movies, and as Stallone put it in a Denver interview, "therein lies a dilemma."

One career direction means "you fall back on something you know the audience wants to see, but it's not going to break any new ground or gain any new respect from your peers. Next thing you know, it will be 'Cobra 3.' That is a real problem," Stallone said, in Denver to publicize "Rocky Balboa."

"Or is it that you're so locked into the 'Rocky' persona, that anything other than that is going to be a disappointment, a letdown. That happened in a real good film like 'F.I.S.T.' There's an expectation. That's human nature," he said.

In other interviews, Stallone has spoken nostalgically of the 1976 "Rocky" as "setting the bar too high." His first major role, his first finished script, and the film was the year's top box office draw, won the best-picture Oscar, and garnered acting and writing nominations for Stallone.

With "Rocky Balboa" putting the aging Philly fighter seemingly irretrievably into retirement (yes, again), Stallone said he's ready to put the Italian Stallion's saga behind him.

"If this film reaches the audience the way I hope it does, and I had a chance to never act again and just direct, I'd take that in a second," said Stallone, looking appropriately middle-aged yet fairly buff in blue jeans and an open-necked shirt.

"Rocky Balboa" finds Adrian dead and Rocky wandering his old haunts in Philly, running a restaurant and reminiscing to excess. Then ESPN pits champion-era Rocky against current champ Maxon "The Line" Dixon (Antonio Tarver) in a simulation. Rocky wins, and the miffed Dixon challenges long-retired Rocky to an exhibition.

While the movie is no revelation, it revives a beloved character that Stallone plays well. Rocky is part of the collective American consciousness of perseverance and decency, whether real or imagined. There is something sweet and appropriate in watching both Stallone and Rocky contemplate aging and making their later years useful.