Sylvester Stallone has named making Rocky Balboa one of the most memorable moments of his career, and he’s right: the film was something of a miracle. Rocky Balboa first appeared in the 1976 sports drama Rocky, which was itself the start of Stallone’s Hollywood success. Rocky’s popularity spawned a sequel, Rocky II, which saw Balboa win the heavyweight championship. Subsequent sequels Rocky III and Rocky IV built on the boxer’s story, although the disappointment of Rocky V seemingly brought the franchise to an end.

However, 2006 saw Stallone return as Rocky for Rocky Balboa, reviving the franchise after the disappointing Rocky V. Rocky Balboa saw the aging fighter trying to turn back the years by coming out of retirement to fight Mason Dixon, a young undefeated champion, in an exhibition bout. Sylvester Stallone has since named making the film as one of his personal favorite career moments, and his comments about the difficulty he had making it highlight just what a miracle the film’s existence, and its success, really are.

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As the Rocky franchise appeared to be dead in the water after Rocky V, Stallone had a hard time getting Rocky Balboa made. Not only did the film recapture the magic of Rocky’s original success, but it also reignited interest in the character and his films, and proved that there were more stories to be told in the franchise. Rocky Balboa’s success then led to the popular Creed spin-off movies, backing up Stallone’s sentiment about the film’s importance.

Rocky Balboa Is Sylvester Stallone’s Favorite Career Moment

As well as marking a return to form for the franchise, Rocky Balboa was also a moment of triumph for Sylvester Stallone. Stallone wrote, produced, starred in, and directed the film, and the franchise’s creator recently described Rocky Balboa as his most memorable career moment. Stallone shared his reasoning behind what made Rocky Balboa such a triumphant moment for him, and why it’s one of his proudest accomplishments.

According to Stallone, Rocky Balboa was almost impossible to make, as “no one wanted to make it”. He explained that managing to make the film”against all odds” is what makes it his most memorable career moment, describing it as “the ultimate challenge”. Stallone’s allusions to the difficulties he faced draw parallels between the movie itself and Balboa’s motto from Rocky Balboa, and they also highlight how passionate the actor is about the franchise he created.

Why Was Rocky Balboa Happening So Unlikely?

Though the Rocky franchise is now stronger than ever thanks to the success of the Creed movies, at one time it appeared to be thoroughly finished. Before Rocky Balboa’s release, the Rocky franchise was seemingly over, thanks almost entirely to the failure of Rocky V. Widely considered the franchise’s low point, Rocky V saw Balboa retire from boxing after his fight with Ivan Drago, with a conveniently written plot involving the boxer’s financial situation forcing him into the role of boxing trainer to young fighter Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison).

Related: Who Was Stallone’s Rocky Balboa Based On?

Rocky V’s story remains unappreciated by viewers due to its departure from the established format of the franchise’s previous installments. Though its story was necessary from a narrative point of view in order to re-establish a grounded tone after Rocky IV broke the franchise’s realism, Rocky V failed to capture the essence of its titular character. This resulted in the studio (and many others) losing faith in the franchise, which turned making Rocky Balboa into an uphill battle for Stallone. This was compounded by 12 years having passed since Rocky V and Sylvester Stallone’s own career taking a few hits of its own in that time, but ultimately, he managed to make the film.

Rocky Balboa Is A Good Movie (& Reminds Why Rocky Always Worked)

Though Rocky V had broken the faith that many once placed in the franchise, Rocky Balboa was able to win it back. The sixth installment into the franchise was not only able to work on multiple levels, but it recaptured the underdog elements that made the Rocky franchise famous. With Rocky grieving the death of his wife, Adrian, the film also carries the emotional weight necessary to make it an excellent drama, something which hadn’t been fully achieved since the franchise’s very first entry in 1976.

By taking the franchise back to its dramatic roots with an underdog story, the Rocky Balboa film was able to achieve substantial success. It gently leaned into all the things that made the character of Rocky so iconic, while also offering a story that draws parallels with his beginning. This made Rocky Balboa feel at once like a continuation and an ending to the franchise, which was enough to secure the interest of those who disliked Rocky V.

Rocky Balboa Replaces Rocky V’s Bad Ending With A Great One

Rocky V saw Balboa become a boxing trainer in a clear attempt to move the franchise’s story forward and establish some physical consequences for the physical punishment Rocky endured in the ring. However, not only was Rocky V generally disliked, but its ending effectively did away with the film’s own premise, undermining itself in what is by far the worst ending in the entire franchise. Rocky V’s ending was bad, but the film also seemingly ended the franchise, meaning that the iconic character almost faded into history on a particularly sour note.

Related: Rocky Balboa Isn’t A Good Boxer (And That’s Secretly Perfect)

Rocky Balboa may have been difficult for Stallone to make, but it was vital in the way it gave Rocky one final outing as a sort of do-over for Rocky V. In that sense, the film works as an allegory for Stallone’s own difficulty in recreating the success of the original Rocky. By having Rocky lose his fight against world champion Mason “The Line” Dixon, Rocky Balboa’s ending drew parallels with Rocky’s: the Italian Stallion may have lost, but he won the respect that he was fighting for, and the result wasn’t what mattered. This made Rocky Balboa’s ending the satisfying conclusion to Rocky’s career that Rocky V robbed the character of, giving the franchise an opportunity to finish in the right way.

Rocky Balboa Is The Reason The Creed Franchise Could Happen

Rocky Balboa wasn’t the end, though. The success of the film reignited interest in the franchise, as well as made it feel relevant to a younger audience. These factors combined led to the franchise being rebooted, shifting to follow the boxing career of Apollo Creed’s son, Adonis, with Rocky acting as his trainer. Though the Rocky movies are often considered better than Creed’s, the spin-off marked a change in the franchise, allowing for future movies to go ahead without Stallone’s involvement.

It was Rocky Balboa’s success that allowed Creed to continue the franchise. Without Rocky Balboa to fix the franchise’s reputation, Creed likely never would have come to pass, and Rocky’s final film also led the way for him to become Adonis Creed’s trainer by working through his own unresolved feelings about boxing. Rocky Balboa introduced the idea of Rocky as a retired fighter, and Stallone’s ability to make it work was ultimately what allowed Creed to change the franchise’s focus to the younger fighter. This means that not only did Rocky Balboa save the franchise’s reputation, but it allowed for its continuation even after Rocky can no longer return – proving that Stallone is right about the film being miraculous.

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