Better than 4 & 5 (paint drying is better than 5), not as good as 3. The movie is quite depressing for the first half, and Stallone does do a great acting job in addition to his work behind the camera splicing in flashbacks. His nemesis, Antonio Tarver is a real-life middle-weight fighter, and it shows because to me he looked soft in the middle carrying so much weight.
The storyline with the girl from the old neighborhood is fun to watch (there are some laugh out loud moments), but does nothing for the plot.
Paulie is cool as well as tragic and it was good to see both him and Dutch again.
Yes, the whole idea about Rocky's reasoning for going back speaks to me, about getting older and not having finished "slaying the beast", as it were.
The training montage was fun to watch, especially with the original music and they kept it real regarding his age.
The "commentators" from ESPN made my hair hurt, as it was painfully clear they were "reading" their lines, especially Larry Merchant, and the whole charity angle of the fight was waaaay too contrived.
Stallone is definitely showing his age, and should think twice about taking his shirt off again if he does another Rambo movie.
All in all, a surprisingly good return to a franchise that made up a significant part of my youth and has provided many fond memories. Definitely worth catching in theaters.