Lord of the Ring

Well folks, it's time to dust off your skipping ropes, crack open some raw eggs (don't forget the shells too) and bring out the old grey sweats, because the Italian Stallion is back. After a sixteen year absence, Sly Stallone revives one of the most popular characters in cinematic history with Rocky Balboa, and brings everybody's favourite boxer back to the ring one last time. Yes, another "one last time."

After the death of his beloved Adrian, our lonely hero now hosts a restaurant named after her where he regales customers with tales of previous fights and struggles to come to terms with the emptiness of his life. Searching for meaning and desperately trying to form a bond with his "too busy for Dad" son, the former king of the ring is handed an olive branch in the form of an exhibition match with the reigning champ, Mason "The Line" Dixon. You can almost hear the familiar Rocky theme tune about to kick in.

So, with this eyebrow-raising plot and a look at the ever declining Rocky series itself, even the biggest fan of the southpaw boxer would have to admit that the task Stallone faces is as difficult as anything he has penned for his flagship character. Regardless, there is still a genuine excitement surrounding the movie as many fans fervently await the release with the hope that it will ring a decent final bell to a franchise which, if nothing else, has been stirring and entertaining.

Starting out in fine form, the Oscar winning 1976 original is arguably the finest sporting movie ever made. With a pitch-perfect performance from Sly (who also scribed the film) the "underdog" movie was simultaneously re-defined and re-inspired as audiences everywhere cheered on the Philadelphia backstreet boxer and celebrated when, although he lost the match, he won the heart of the girl.

Three years later the second chapter followed on nicely and, despite an unlikely ending, the movie continued to focus on human drama and characterisation above all, with a tender love story as much a part of the screen action as the boxing. Unfortunately, the following three movies could not live up to their forerunners. With increasingly incredulous plots, progressively invincible opponents and Carl Weathers dressing like an extra from a Wham! video, it seemed like the series was knocked out for good.

Thankfully however, Rocky Balboa aligns itself more with the character driven first two than the camp, cliché-ridden last three by once again using boxing as a metaphor for life and self-worth, with any fight scenes being secondary to the human core. This being true, there are still many questions raised by Balboa's comeback to the big screen that remain to be answered.

Can a 60 year-old Stallone cut it? Will he survive his latest foray into the ring? And will we see the return of his favourite turtles Cuff and Link? In all likelihood, when the training scenes begin and Rocky climbs up those famous Philly steps to the inspirational gold-dust that is 'Gonna Fly Now', everything else will matter little. One thing's for sure: it ain't over... 'til it's over.