Rating of
4/4
Rocky: The Original Underdog
Mike - wrote on 02/23/09
Rocky is the movie that made Sylvester Stallone the man. It was also the cause of many, many people running up the steps like maniacs to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Rocky is without a doubt the best Drama/sports/inspirational film of all time.
The film is about a down on his luck club fighter living in the slums of Philadelphia. He is a collector by day, and if he doesn't get the money, "I break ya thumb." When he isn't collecting, he is usually at Mickey's Gym. He has been at Mickey's Gym for 10 years but never got anywhere because he doesn't take care of himself (smokes, drinks). He also has a crush on a girl that works at a pet shop named Adrian. Rocky goes there every day and tells Adrian a joke, but she never shows him any interest. It seems like Rocky is just drifting through life, with no signs of getting a brighter future.
Then, just like that, his luck changes. Rocky is offered a chance to fight the heavyweight champion of the world, Apollo Creed. Rocky is stunned by this offer, and rejects it at first, but is eventually persuaded into it. Once he accepts it he starts training for the fight, and finally gets a manager to get him in the shape he needs to be in. From the weeks of training to the final fight, Rocky's life gradually gets better and better. He finally has a chance to prove to himself and the whole world that "I aint just another bum from the neighborhood."
The plot, as you can probably grasp from the above paragraphs, is very gripping and tells a truly great story. You get to witness a man go from a bum to a champ, and who doesn't want to see that? Sylvester Stallone wrote the story himself, which makes the character of Rocky feel even more genuine.
The director of Rocky is John Avildsen, who is known for movies such as "Joe" and "The Karate Kid". He does an excellent job of making the audience feel what Rocky is feeling, and understand how hard the struggles are that he goes through in the movie. It seems like I always knew exactly what Rocky was thinking and feeling. The pacing of the movie was also done very well, as I never got the feeling of wanting to zone out, which is fairly common in this type of movie.
The acting in Rocky is also very good. It doesn't contain any huge stars, (at the time anyway), but they all deliver solid performances, and impact Rocky's life greatly. Besides Sylvester Stallone, there is Talia Shire (Adrian), Burt Young (Paulie), Carl Weathers (Apollo), and Burgess Meredith (Mickey). All of these characters are deep and very meaningful to the plot and Rocky's life.
When it comes down to it, it just doesn't get any better than Rocky. Its plot, characters, and overall message is so strong and meaningful, that it would make a person with absolutely no self-esteem think better of themselves, and work harder in every aspect of life. From the opening credits to the final bell ring, Rocky is a movie you will remember forever, and will more than likely make you want to run up those steps too.
