Rating of
4/4
Inspirational and still Champion!
cockney0_1 - wrote on 01/08/09
Let's be honest - how often can you say that a movie has been truly inspirational? That a movie has gotten so into your psyche that it's led you down a certain path and given you something to aspire to, not just in sporting achievement but in every aspect of your life? Not very often? Thought so.
'Rocky' achieves this on so many levels. Let's get this out of the way - 'Rocky' isn't a sports movie. It's a drama where the main character happens to box. It's a love story, where the sporting content is the catalyst for the emotions in the two main leads. Sports or action orientated it is not (until Rocky III anyway!).
The basic plot, for those who haven't seen it, goes like this. Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is a club level boxer who has bypassed the opportunity to better his boxing career in favour of working for a local loan shark as an enforcer. Disowned by his trainer Mickey (Burgess Meredith), the man nearest to a father figure, for fighting no-good bums in dirty clubs and desperately trying to gain the affection of Adrian (Talia Shire), his best friend's sister, Rocky cuts a rather tragic figure as the well-intentioned but luckless local bum.
Until, that is, the current Heavyweight Champion of the World, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) comes calling. His latest opponent has backed out of their fight due to injury, and unable to find a replacement contender in time, Creed hits on the idea of turning the fight into a novelty. The current champ will lay his title on the line against an unknown fighter in a bid to draw in the crowds. And after looking at the books, guess who he chooses?
But for Rocky, this isn't just a chance to win the world title. This is his chance to win the girl of his dreams, to win over the affections of his trainer, and be somebody. More than winning the title, though, Rocky wants to prove that when the final bell goes, he will still be standing. That his character and his heart will overcome any obstacle, and win, lose or draw, he has stood against the best and not fallen.
What really makes 'Rocky' work, and this applies to the sequels as well, is the characters and how they interact with Rocky. There is a bit of Rocky in all of us - we would all like to show what we can do if we were given a chance, would we not? The character of Mickey is the father figure, who, whilst shouting about how Rocky has wasted his life, can see the opportunity that he has been handed and can see the fire in the heart of his protege. Apollo Creed is a fantastic protaganist - not a bad guy like some of the opponents in the later movies - but someone who, like Mickey, can see what this man in front of him is made of (something that comes to fruition in 'Rocky III'), and realises that he may have made a big mistake by underestimating this fighter. Rocky's friend Paulie (Burt Young) is Rocky's kindred spirit. Like him in many ways, but also very different in others. Where Rocky knows what he is, knows his limits and what is expected of him, Paulie doesn't, and although he loves Rocky like a brother, his arrogance and anger at the world make him conflict with his friend. Why does Rocky get the opportunity and he doesn't? Then, of course, there's Adrian, without whom Rocky cannot do any of this.
To be honest, I could rattle on for pages about this movie. I believe that Stallone has created a genuine iconic figure in Rocky Balboa, and that this well written, and superbly acted character based drama will stand the test of time as one of the true greats. As I said before, it isn't just a sports movie - it's a life lesson in how to dig deep and bring out the best in yourself, whatever your challenge may be. Go watch it!
