Monday, March 1, 2010

211. Rocky

Rocky (1976)

Director: John G. Avildsen

Starring: Sylvester Stallone
Talia Shire
Carl Weathers

IMDb Rating: 8
My Rating: 8.5

"Nobody's ever gone the distance with Creed, and if I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I'm standin', I'm gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood."


Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is a local boxer fighting out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who makes ends meet by collecting debts for a middle of the line loan shark. Rocky is well liked and respected through out his community. Every morning Rocky stops by his local pet store to visit the very shy Adrian Pennino (Talia Shire). He has had his eye on her for quite sometime, though she is quite oblivious to this. Through the help of her brother Paulie (Burt Young), Rocky finally secures a date with her. The two go ice skating, and as the evening progresses, Adrian finally starts to come out of her shell. It isn't long after this night, that her and Rocky become a couple.

While Rocky is courting Adrian, he gets an offer to fight the heavyweight boxing champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). Rocky begins his training without any management or professional help. He feels like if he reached this fight alone, he should fight the fight alone. Although, following a late night visit from local boxing trainer Mickey Goodmill (Burgess Meredith), Rocky finally agrees to let someone help train him. With Mickey's help, Rocky gets in top physical condition to face Apollo. The night before the fight, Rocky tells Adrian that he has never felt like he was anything. He knows that if he can last a full fifteen rounds with Apollo, he will finally get the recognition he has been searching for. With the love of Adrian and his never-say-die attitude, Rocky faces Apollo in what turns out to be the fight of both their lives.

Rocky is often viewed as the quintessential underdog sports film, but it's not only about sports. It's also stands up as a timeless love story. Rocky pursues Adrian just as much, if not more, as his dream of being an established fighter. His final fight with Apollo is very reminiscent of his entire relationship with Adrian. In the build up, he couldn't get so much as a word in with either. Apollo talked too much, and Adrian gave absolutely no feedback. Both leaving Rocky short of what he wanted to say. Although once a chance is given, he comes out swinging. With Apollo, Rocky sends him to the falling to the canvas in the first round. Adrian instantly starts falling for Rocky as soon as she sees how caring and attentive he can be. In the end, all that mattered to Rocky was the journey. Whether it was win, lose, or draw he just wanted to prove that he could do it.

Rocky will forever be one of the most inspirational films of all time. It is one of those movies where you cannot help, but root for the guy. In all fairness, Apollo isn't that terrible of a guy. He is generous enough to give Rocky the opportunity many would kill for, yet you still want to see him get clobbered. Also, Adrian and Rocky come together in one of the cinema's most unlikely and classic romances. I found that to be the strongest and most appealing part of the film. Although, someone else could just as easily find the boxing angle to be the best part. That is what has made Rocky so universally appealing over the last thirty years. Each person that sees the film really can take something different from it. It is far from one dimensional. If you have not seen this film, you definitely owe it to yourself to see one of cinema's iconic treats.

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