Rocky (1976)

GenerationofSwine January 12, 2023

★ 10/10

This was the ultimate Rocky story wasn't it? It was inspiring with the training, it was inspiring with the fight, and it was about the characters and the characters are what makes a great story. The down side was Creed, he was a little under-developed in this wasn't he? They make up for it in Rocky II, III, and IV, but in Rocky he felt like a faceless nemesis didn't he? He was Mohamed Ali without real depth in this and the story could have used to develop him a little more in the first one. But... we got it in the sequels. The biggest selling point was the love story... I know mushy, right? ... but they did a great job of making it awkward and at times intimidating as well as absolutely sweet and charming and it was completely realistic and believable. You could sit down and watch it and understand how they fell for one another. You got a sense of who they were and that ca…

Nathan March 3, 2023

★ 10/10

Rocky is an inspiring story about an ordinary man who takes advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I do have to say, the movie has a rocky beginning, as the dialogue is pretty clunky and awkward at times. But after about twenty minutes, the movie really gets into its groove and had me locked in till the end. My favorite aspect of this film is the humanity it has; it takes a look at a big and intimidating fighter in Rocky and explores his emotions and insecurities. My favorite scene is when he lays in bed next to Adrian with the sudden realization that he cannot win this fight. It was an incredibly vulnerable moment for him and worked really well. As I said before, the dialogue is very inconsistent, especially in the scene at Rocky's house with Adrian. It was very unsettling to watch because she is written as if she does not want to be there, but then the next second she is …

CinemaSerf June 3, 2023

★ 7/10

Sylvester Stallone is "Rocky", an enforcer for a small-time Philadelphia mobster who works out in Burgess Meredith's gym ("Mickey's") and is keen on the sister of his friend "Paulie" (Burt Young), the shy and retiring "Adrian" (Talia Shire). Meantime, World Heavyweight Champion "Apollo Creed" (Carl Weathers) finds his impeding tilte defence kybsoshed by an injured challenger. At this point serendipity takes a hand and "Creed" decides to pluck a challenger from obscurity - and he chooses the "Italian Stallion". What follows is a solid, engaging tale of grit and determination as the champion assumes it's all in the bag and together with his tight-knit team, the challenger is focussed and determined to, at least, go the distance. Sure, Stallone isn't an actor in any traditional sense - he is more of a character, he oozes the part rather then portrays it - and that is what makes this work. Y…