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Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Oh, Rocky Balboa. What Rocky movie are we up to now? I think it’s number eight or nine. Rocky has been a mainstay in the boxing world for decades, and he isn’t even a real person. Let’s give it up to Sylvester Stallone. Dude pushed all his chips on the table, and it paid off greatly for him. Stallone wrote the screenplay in three days and even had to sell his dog, even though he was able to purchase his dog back. It has been years since I have seen the original Rocky. I thought I remembered some scenes but was way off. It was from a different Rocky film. This is where it all started, and it’s still a great film about a heavy underdog who gets his chance to fight against the world’s heavyweight champion. How about we run up them Philly steps and show the world that we can compete, no matter where you come from.
Rocky is a sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. Rocky is the first installment of the legendary Rocky franchise. Rocky Balboa (Stallone) is a struggling boxer who hasn’t gotten his shot at the big time. Rocky is also an uneducated person who works as a debt collector. Even though Rocky has some talent and heart, his friends and his coach, Mickey, give up hope on him and decide that he is a bum. Rocky’s fortunes change suddenly when Apollo Creed (Weathers), the Heavyweight Champion of the World, visits Rocky’s hometown of Philly, looking for an opponent on very short notice. Creed picks Rocky because of his nickname, “The Italian Stallion.” With his shot at a big-time fight upon him, Rocky trains his ass off with the opportunity to prove he is a nobody. Along the way, he falls in love with the shy Adrian Pennino (Shire). Can Rocky survive in the ring with the heavyweight champion?
We should first start off with how excellent the story is. What would you do if you had an opportunity of a lifetime? Would you take it or blow it off because you think it is too good to be true? The story starts with Rocky in a boxing match where people are booing. Rocky manages to win by knocking the dude out. After winning, Rocky only makes like $42. What I like about this film is that the movie first portrays Rocky as a nobody, which he is. Rocky comes to the gym and sees that his locker has been cleaned out, and Mickey puts his stuff on skid row. Mickey tells Rocky that he is not a contender, and he only wants people to train people who are climbing up. It’s fucked up, and for a dude like Rocky, he is just trying. When it seems all is lost, a chance of a lifetime comes around. The heavyweight champion, Apollo Creed, decides to give some underdog a chance because no one wants to fight in five weeks. Apollo picks Rocky as his next opponent. The Italian Stallion vs. Creed.
Let me tell you, when Creed announces that he is fighting Rocky, first, Rocky can’t believe it, but then he is like, sure. One of the truly strong things is when people come out of the woodwork and want to be on your side. Like winning the freakin lottery. A perfect scene that shows this is when Mickey comes crawling to Rocky’s place and asks him if he could be his trainer and manager. You can tell Rocky is PISSED because he isn’t listening to anything Mickey says. Mickey is telling stories about his past. Mickey sounds like a snake. Rocky asks one question, “Where was he when he really needed help.” Rocky lets out years of rage upon Mickey. Homeboy chewed him out like no other. After it was done and Mickey walked away with his tail between his legs, Rocky’s heart forgave him and let him be his trainer.
Now for the actual training and fight, I thought it was terrific and a true contrast of styles. Rocky trained by hitting the rack of frozen ribs and chasing after a chicken. Also, the scene where he runs up them Philly steps completely confused me. I thought people ran behind him, but that was Rocky 2, my bad. The famous montage is excellent as the trumpet and music play. Creed is flashier as he thinks this is an easy win.
Now for the actual boxing match, you thought for sure this was going to be a destruction and wouldn’t last more than three rounds. Rocky comes out to nothing. Creed comes out dressed as George Washington and much craziness. It is a complete show with Creed. When the match starts, Creed does his thing when Rocky uppercuts that fool out of his shoes. That is when Creed turns serious and says to himself that he needs to stop fucking around. The match is entertaining as Rocky and Creed go blow for blow. The match goes the complete 15 rounds, with Creed stating that there will be no rematch and Rocky stating he doesn’t want one.
The other plot of this film is the love story between Rocky and Adrian. Adrian works in a pet store and is extremely shy. Also, really quick, Rocky has two turtles in the film, and I found out that they are still alive and well. Turtle Power!! Okay, back to the love story plot. Adrian lives at home with her alcoholic brother, who sets them two up but is also highly jealous. Rocky goes on a date with Adrian. They go ice skating, and Rocky just talks a ton, but the scene where Rocky takes Adrian back to his place is BLAH!! He completely comes on to her and takes off his shirt. You can tell she is extremely uncomfortable and doesn’t want to be kissed until she gives in. It was an unnatural scene, and after it, they fall in love. In the end, Rocky and Adrian profess their love for each other.
The cast was excellent in this film and really made it what it was. Sylvester Stallone as Robert “Rocky” Balboa gave it his all because homeboy was on his last dollar. He made Rocky believable and someone you wanted to root for. Talia Shire as Adriana “Adrian” Pennino was the cute and highly innocent love interest. Talia played Adrian well as she showed how shy she was. Burt Young as Paulie Pennino was the rage of the film. You could see the anger and depression built up in him. Young did an excellent job portraying him. Let’s give it up for Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed. Weathers was a showstopper and flashy as Creed. Had that Muhammad Ali vibe about him. Finally, Burgess Meredith as Michael “Mickey” Goldmill was fantastic. You really have to watch him with that gruff voice who looked like he was about to burst a vein in his neck.
Lastly, what about that music. When the theme song blared and those trumpets started blasting, you wanted to get up and move around. When they played during the running montage, and the words getting stronger sounded, you knew big things were about to happen.
Rocky is one of those sports films that will live on for a while. Most of the scenes haven’t aged too well, but the overall boxing and story are superb. Hell, when you get up to eight or nine films, many people still love this character. Stallone is excellent as the main character and should be praised for taking the chance to make this film. Glad he got his dog back and kept the turtles.
