for anyone who ever needed to just hang in there and still be standing at the end.

Rating: 10/10 (19 January 2016)

I've probably seen this movie a hundred times. It almost defies review at this point. But I'll do it anyway.
Rocky is a small time fighter who gets a one in a million shot at the heavyweight title. On the way, he falls in love with the girl from the pet shop, and wins the heart of the city of Philadelphia as he seizes his one shot at proving that he is not just another bum from the neighborhood.
Rocky is a product of its time. Its series of events literally occur about 6 days after I was born. In many ways, one can point to the courtship of Rocky and Adrian as a quasi-creepy encounter, one that would not fly in 2016. One could look at Paulie and Mickey and wonder what the hell is wrong with them. And one could wonder why Rocky beat out Taxi Driver for Best Picture. But every time I watch this, I just love it. So many iconic scenes, so many moments that just make your heart race and make you love it so much more. It is inspiring, it is timeless, it is a film for anyone who ever needed to just hang in there and still be standing at the end. Rocky fights for anyone who has ever been down but not out, Rocky is anyone who ever made the most of a one in a million chance. And anyone who can say the last scene did not put a tear in his eye is either flat out lying, or not even human.
Rocky is so much a part of my childhood that I probably can never be completely objective about this movie, and maybe my 10 star review will not persuade anyone to watch this. But it is what it is. If it affects you the way it affects me, then maybe you have the power to hang in no matter what life throws at you.