A mirror image of life in general.

Rating: 10/10 (13 December 2018)

A lot of us movie-goers are either working class heroes or middle-class warriors. Barely any of us will truly understand what it is like to be a superhero or a millionaire. Most of us just live in a rat race full of others just like us; Blue collared laborers trying to make it to tommorow.
Rocky is just like a lot of us - he's a 30 year old high school dropout who lives on simple things, but his perk is that he likes fighting as a hobby. However, despite the fact he is good at it, He never pursues it into a profession, much to the disdain of his trainer, Mickey. However, one day, the World Heavyweight champion, Apollo Creed realizes all the contenders for his title are either injured, out of shape, or scared of him. However, he has put so much energy into promoting a fight for the american bicentennial birthday, he becomes desperate for a challenger, and hoping for a safe bet, reads Rocky's moniker, the Italian Stallion and wants him to fight, insuring himself an easy victory. However, Rocky sees this as his chance to prove that he's "Not just another bum from the neighborhood."
Rocky has actually held up very well in the 40+ years since it's release. It's tough for a movie to age well but Rocky does just fine. The gritty, mean, dirty feel of downtown philadelphia still holds up today, as many of us have seen those types of gritty, broken down neighborhoods in our time.
As for the acting, Sylvester Stallone knew exactly what he wanted in the Rocky character and he was right to argue for the right to play the role. His co-stars Burt Young, who plays Paulie, Rocky's drunk, lazy, lethargic but loyal friend, is also very spot on in attitude and in looks. Talia Shire, who stars as Rocky's love interest Adrian, plays the fragile, shy virgin girl who over the next few movies, grows stronger, almost as if Rocky's positive attitude rubs off on her over time. Burgess Meredith plays Mickey, a bitter old trainer who feels that Rocky is a waste of time, but thinks he might change his attitude after being given a world title shot. And the World Champion Apollo Creed, played by Carl Weathers, is an almost exact duplicate of the legendary fighter, Muhammad Ali. To put it bluntly, EVERYONE in this film knows exactly who they're trying to be, and they do it flawlessly.
Bill Conti's score will forever be timeless in this film. Everyone at some point has to have heard the Rocky theme song, which will forever stand out as a masterpiece. Every song and musical piece conveys emotions extremely well, from the somber & unsure "Philadelphia morning" to the powerful, emotional, and motivational "Going the Distance."
If you haven't seen this film before, you are truly missing out. There's a reason this movie is in the top 250 on the IMDb and odds are it's going to stay there for a very, very long time.