Plot
Rocky Balboa is a thirty something wannabe boxer, who is a solid opponent in the ring. Having never really taken things seriously, he is a debt collector for a local goon.
When world heavyweight champion boxer Apollo Creed, is having a title bout in Rocky’s home city of Philadelphia – his opponent drops out with a broken hand – and Apollo searches for a local contender – and choses Rocky.
Rocky now must train for the fight with the help of a local trainer, Mickey – at the same time he finally confesses his feelings to local pet shop worker Adrian; sister of his best friend Paulie.
Cast/Characters
Sylvester Stallone plays the title character of Rocky in a role literally written for himself (more in a moment).
Talia Shire plays his love interest Adrian, Burgess Meredith plays his couch Mickey, and Carl Weathers plays Apollo Creed
Screenplay/Setting/Themes
Written by leading man Stallone, the underdog portion of the film is handled well. The breakdown of his story from a narrative standpoint I really enjoyed – from his almost apathy to his talent, to his discovery and finally believing in himself again to get to compete in the Title Bout in against Creed.
Seemingly written as a ‘love story’ first, I found the evolution of the relationship between Rocky and Adrian a little oddly written. She is so shy to begin with she is barely able to say one word to him, to being a loving and supportive partner all within a few weeks of timeline. She almost comes out of her shell too quickly, and I wish more attention was given to her growth.
The character of Paulie is a bit oddly written too. I’m not sure if this was a product of its time, but he goes from being supportive of Rocky asking out sister Adrian, to being aggressive towards the union later in the film.
I found portions of it incredibly progressive, especially that the world heavy-weight champion is a black man. Given the history of the United States just a decade or so earlier.
Score/Soundtrack
During Rocky’s training montage (which all movies since have tried to emulate) the song ‘Gonna Fly Now’ by Bill Conti is prominent.
Overall
I’m going to be in the very select few that didn’t LOVE this film. It is still very good, with some great direction – especially in the last 15 minutes of the film with the fight. The boxing action is top class, and quite graphic at times too (‘cut me Mickey’).
The ‘non conventional’ ending is something that was not usually found in Hollywood films in this era either, and Rocky’s Pyrrhic victory was written well.
The pros definitely outweigh the cons – and I’m embarrassed to admit that this was my first time watching this. I’m looking forward to seeing how the characters progress over the sequels and spinoffs.
4/5
If you’re able to, please “buy me a coffee”
Ryan's Movie Reviews 