Builds character rather than spectacle, but isn't quite as gripping as you'd expect.

Rating: 5/10 (2 December 2018)

For a low-budget, 'take a chance' type film, 'Rocky (1976)' is pretty accomplished and realistic stuff, with its focus always on building character and setting up an empathetic underdog rather than on overt spectacle (something some of the sequels would go on to struggle with). Some of it has aged quite a bit, though, to the point that the final bout isn't necessarily one of the piece's highlights, with many a miss passing for a hit. This isn't necessarily a big issue considering that the flick isn't really about that anyway, though the fact that some of the preceding film is a bit of a drag and that some of Stallone's dialogue is hard to decipher is more of a problem. It's not bad, by any stretch, but it isn't massively gripping and feels slightly more passive than it perhaps ought to. 5/10