What's Not to Like

Rating: 10/10 (20 December 2016)

Rocky is the consummate boxing movie. But it's also the story of a man who had pretty much wasted his life. Sylvester Stallone's boxer has thick head and a good heart. He depends on other to kind of look out for him. Unfortunately, he has worked with crooks because it's the only living he knows. He does hard manual labor. He likes to box and because he is intense, he catches the eye of the world champion. He gets a gig as a sparring partner and eventually a fight with the champ, Apollo Creed. Of course, it's a circus. Because Rocky is not bright, Creed is able to abuse him emotionally. Rocky is a bruiser, taking as many hits as he gives. Not a good way to have a future. There are subplots, involving MIck (Burgess Meredith) and Pauley (who is disrespectful of his sister Adrian) and then there is the romance developing between Rocky and Adrian. What happens is that Creed thinks Rocky is a joke while Rocky begins to train seriously for the first time in his life. What eventually happens is one of the best choreographed fights in all of cinematic history. A masterful movie.