#52: ROCKY (1976)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

6

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, but it's been a long time, probably 20 years ago or so

BEST SEQUENCE

It's tempting to pick the climactic bout between Rocky and Apollo Creed, but I'm going to go with the training montages. The final fight is well done, and it is exciting, but those training montages actually stirred the soul and gave me chills

BEST LINE

"I was nobody. But that don't matter either, you know? 'Cause I was thinkin', it really don't matter if I lose this fight. It really don't matter if this guy opens my head, either. 'Cause all I wanna do is go the distance. Nobody's ever gone the distance with Creed, and if I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I'm still standin', I'm gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren't just another bum from the neighbourhood."

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

92%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"This story of a down-on-his-luck boxer is thoroughly predictable, but Sylvester Stallone's script and stunning performance in the title role brush aside complaints."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"A small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect."

DIRECTOR

John G. Avildsen

MAIN CAST

Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith

THOUGHTS

• Rocky is an enjoyable movie, and as a film it's better than the 6/10 that I gave it, but I wouldn't call it thrilling. It's actually very patient, I'd even call it quiet for the majority of its runtime. It stands to reason that what thrills we would find in a boxing movie would come from the boxing content, and by my count we see less than 15 minutes of Rocky actually boxing in this 2-hour movie. Do I wish there was more boxing? Honestly, no, not really. What we get is effective, but this is really more of a character study of a guy who gets his lucky shot at the big time. Still, while that final boxing match is certainly meaningful for the characters involved, it's hard to give this a higher thrill score based on that alone
• And so, I'm giving the edge to the spirit-lifting as opposed to the heart-pounding. Watching Rocky train for the big fight in classic montage fashion really did give me some chills. Kicking off with Rocky drinking five raw eggs (which Stallone clearly actually did, no movie magic there), running in his iconic grey tracksuit and Converse high tops (which I couldn't even imagine running in), and the wonderful shots of Philadelphia, including the famous run up the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps (which is especially meaningful because earlier in the movie we see Rocky panting and limping his way up the same steps before walking away, defeated)
• And the music! If you don't have a visceral reaction to "Gonna Fly Now," well, I don't know what to say. This may also be more common knowledge than I realize, but worth mentioning, there's no "Eye of the Tiger" to be found here - that wasn't released until 1982 and Rocky III
• As alluded to in my last review, Rocky did very well at the Oscars that year - nine nominations and three wins, taking home the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing. It was also a pretty competitive year, and Rocky won Best Picture over the previously discussed All the President's Men and the eventually to be discussed Taxi Driver, among others
• Rocky was Stallone's breakthrough role, and not only was he nominated for Best Actor, he also received a nomination for the screenplay he wrote. Looking through his filmography I was surprised by how few of his movies I've seen - I haven't seen any Rambos, and this is the only Rocky movie I've seen, and those two franchises make up a large percentage of his starring roles. He's very good in this, and Rocky is a much sweeter character than people may realize, shy and unassuming. While I haven't seen any more movies in the Rocky franchise, I do have a good idea of what follows, including the eventual fate of Apollo Creed. And so, before moving on from the tale of Rocky Balboa, I'd like to check in on him again, a little later in his life. Therefore...

Up next: We're supplementing the list again with Creed from 2015