From the opening shots of the gruesome fight to the legendary training montage to the final, emotional embrace, it is clear that this film is a story of redemption. John G. Avildsen's sports classic Rocky is a fantastic and crowd-pleasing story of how one man, despite the faults in his life, can overcome them to make who truly matters happy: the people closest to him in his life. Sylvester Stallone's iconic role may not be one of the best performances I've ever seen (it can be quite bad, actually), but the way that his script and his character embodies this story is remarkable. After finally seeing this, I can honestly say that I'm a bit underwhelmed by this overall film but I can still plainly see the powerful impact that this movie has. Paired with Bill Conti's majestic score, this film is truly a triumph in sports filmmaking.
Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is a small-time boxer in a poor part of Philadelphia. When famous fighter Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) decides to pull a publicity stunt by challenging him for the championship title, Rocky decides to train and pull himself out of the rut that he has become known for. Along with his newfound relationship with Adrian (Talia Shire), Rocky tries to prove to the people all around him that he's more than just a low-level athlete. There is so much obvious passion that has gone into this film to make it the memorable and iconic story that it has become. Penned by Stallone himself, the way that this script is written almost seems manufactured to provide for an emotionally satisfying ending. Even though it may seem like lazy writing, it is undeniably effective storytelling. Having an underdog rise through the physical and social ranks past what people thought was possible for him and having him rise up to the challenge of taking on a previously superior enemy is such a classic tale of a hero. And even though this lead protagonist may not have officially won in the end, the audience can see that he has gone through quite the ordeal and has changed himself for the better. The development that Rocky goes through in this film is honestly nothing special at all, but it's simply the pure heart that was seen that makes this movie so special. Perhaps this was one of the first sports-centered films that had a story that was easy enough to follow along with, but the way that it was told is certain to appeal to anyone. This story is also only bolstered by the score from Bill Conti, whose music in this film has become immeasurably legendary; at this point, "Gonna Fly Now" has become nearly synonymous with victory.
Putting aside the fact that this film is crafted to make people feel good, there are a lot of unremarkable pieces of this story that audiences seem to dismiss. Sylvester Stallone's performance and script both have a lot of issues, despite him being the central aspect of this entire production. I have never thought of Stallone as a traditionally good or trained actor and, unfortunately, this film did not change that opinion of mine. His performance in this movie is frankly horrible and even in his younger days, I could never once tell what kind of emotion he was supposed to be displaying. The delivery of his lines was so awkward and the only time he actually seems to shine is when he is in the ring. My main issue with this character is that it seems like Stallone simply wrote himself into the screenplay, along with his constant blabbering about his past and talking up his egotistic self. There was absolutely nothing redeeming about the first half of this film, as it wasted time for an entire hour setting up unimportant subplots that would never get resolved and introducing characters that I had a very hard time caring about. Rocky's relationship with Adrian was one of this film's most critical themes, but I could not see at all why she would even care about him. Despite sounding clichéd, he treated her like an object of affection to win and I could never really see why their relationship made sense. Besides Stallone's often half-assed script, these problems with the storytelling also stem from Avildsen's direction. While the first half was painfully slow and did not do much for the characters, thankfully the second half makes up for it. Once Rocky's true motivations are revealed and his arc has a purpose is when this film becomes the most interesting. I just wish that it would have been the focus for this film's entirety, making the story of Rocky much more refined.
Rocky may be one of the most classic and widely-referenced films ever, but pop culture does not do this story and its message nearly enough justice. Despite an often weak script and performance from Stallone and poor direction from Avildsen, the emotional effect that this movie has is undeniable. And it's practically impossible not to cheer as soon as this film's legendary trumpets chime in.
My Rating: ★★★★
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