Rocky

One of the most influential movies out there!!!

That's an amazing movie... Excellent

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ - I can watch Rocky 100s times without getting bored

10❤- Masterpiece 💯
9❤- Excellent
8❤ - Amazing 👌
7❤- Great 🌞
6❤ - Good 👍
5❤ - Average 🤕
4❤ - Bad but watchable :octagonal_sign:
3❤ - Bad 😭
2😡- Awful :face_vomiting:
1:face_with_symbols_over_mouth: - Bull Shit

An extremely impressive screenwriting debut for Sylvester Stallone, not to mention a breakthrough acting performance, in this transcendent boxing saga that's more about the path to the ring and the tumultuous effects of both participants' personal lives than the outcome of the fight itself.

Stallone is raw and nuanced as Rocky Balboa, the punchy palooka who wears his heart on the sleeve of his leather jacket and tumbles through life in a barely-contained tailspin. He's awkward but approachable, blunt but genuine. When flanked by an equally flawed supporting cast, we catch Rocky's personality from a number of different angles. Finally granted the long-sought opportunity to date a friend's sister, he's clumsy and oafish. They both are. The climactic moment of their embrace isn't a Hollywood crescendo, met with a romantic orchestral swell, it's a quiet fumble on the cold floor of his ratty, single-bedroom apartment. That's real; that's personal. As a trusted corner man's alcoholism spirals into an incoherent fury, we don't find any easy resolutions. Just added color to an already-bright fabric, portraying life in an American downtown during the mid-'70s.

The film's simple, seat-of-pants production further reinforces that theme. There's no gloss here, no smoothed edges. It's heartfelt and meaningful, bare and earnest, from the quiet moments of self-doubt to the irrelevance of the judges' scorecards at the end of the big match. Great stuff.

Success is not about winning, it is about standing up after every time you fail and to never quit!!

This film has to have been watched by almost everyone in the world at this point...

Reviewing it as part of the (so far and presumably closed) 8 installations of the Rocky/Creed saga.


What stands out?
- It is a real drama and love story. The boxing is merely a vehicle to show the tough, luckless lives that these very nuanced individuals live.
- Stallone plays Rocky not as a moron and a slow thinker but as an uneducated guy who has street smarts, is a tough guy but not a thug.
- The screenplay. Some beautiful scenes and monologues... The post-Mickey visit rant and the quiet speech to Adrian the night before the fight.

In relation to the other films:
- this Rocky is the same Rocky as 3, 4, Balboa and the two Creeds. He's not a moron. He is capable of some quite astute thinking. The anomaly to this version of Rocky is really the punch-drunk Rocky of V and II. PTSD Rocky...
- The boxing fight at the end is poorly shot compared to the later films but it barely matters. This isn't a sports film, it's a love story and a real 70s drama about a real character.


There's every reason to say this is the favourite Rocky as the whole film oozes heart and really takes its time setting up characters, giving them story, nuance, and warmth. The dividends that pays last 7 other films after this!

It's not my favourite of the saga these days but an occasional rewatch reminds me how brilliant this film was and still is.


9/10

This is The Godfather of sports movies. I loved it as a kid and it still holds up. Just a great story.

"Rocky" is one of the greatest sports movies of all time. Above all, it popularized pretty much all the tropes of the subgenre. It really has everything that is still the norm these days, such as the underdog protagonist, the seemingly undefeatable antagonist, the epic training montage, and the final event in which the underdog surpasses expectations. "Rocky" may have had a small budget, but it was used to perfection, with the film also benefiting from great performances, most notably by Sylvester Stallone and Burgess Meredith. Ten Oscar nominations and three Oscars, as well as an insanely strong box office result, speak volumes.

Up until this week there was a Sylvester Stallone sized gap in my viewing history, as I somehow had never seen the triple Oscar winning (with 7 more nominations) film that rocketed him to stardom. I finally sought this out because I saw an interview Stallone did on BBC back in 1977. In the interview, he described his background and motivations. He was well spoken and as an aspiring screenwriter, I found it incredibly relatable and inspiring. So, with that as the backdrop, does the almost 50 year-old classic hold up? Absolutely*!

The story is tight as can be, with interesting characters, strong dialogue, and, of course, an iconic theme song. Stallone absolutely sells the role. One of my favorites scenes was probably when Mickey comes to Rocky's apartment to offer his services. Just an excellent set-up and Stallone delivers a raw/powerful emotional performance. I was also surprised at how funny the movie was at times, albeit always with a dry, almost Coen brothers humor. I'm not even sure how intentional it was, but something like Rocky asking Paulie half a dozen times if Adrian knew he was coming on Thanksgiving was hilarious. Then there's the ending, which even though I knew the result was coming (hard to avoid spoilers this old), the movie still surprised me with the execution in the final moments. The way the announcer and fight result is so out of focus to almost be lost is such an effective punchline. Just quality stuff.

*There is one exception. A component of the film that absolutely will not hold up for modern audiences is Rocky and Adrian's first date (specifically once they get back to his place), which watches like an uncomfortable compilation of problematic male behaviors of yesteryear. It's crazy to think there was a time when the line, "I'm going to kiss you, but you don't have to kiss me back", delivered while Rocky has Adrian literally cornered between his arms, was considered to be any kind of romantic/acceptable.