A good surprise

Rating: 8/10 (11 December 2015)

I only saw Rocky for the first time recently, after getting access to Netflix. I know it's been on TV recently and that's partly why I wanted to watch the full movie when I saw it on Netflix. I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was.
I know since watching this movie that I had been missing at least one important 'cultural reference' that you wouldn't get until you've seen Rocky - that is, him yelling out "AAaadriaaan!" which is also a quote in the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie (which I also love ;) ).
Stallone's character was surprisingly interesting to me and I thought he was a real sweetie. I found the story compelling too. As other reviewers have mentioned, it's much more than just a boxing movie. I really enjoyed the fact that he went after a girl who was, let's face it, quite dowdy and not your typical love interest in any Hollywood movie. I thought their love story was really sweet, though I could relate to Adrian not wanting to watch him get beaten up in the fight!
One other thing to love about this movie is the classic theme song, too. And I finally got to see what that guy was talking about when I visited Philadelphia as a teenager - the steps Rocky ran up. That was back in 1997 that I saw those steps - I'm glad I finally know what that reference was about!
I haven't seen any of the others as yet, but I know they're available on Netflix. I have a feeling they won't be quite as good as the first, just like I prefer the first Lethal Weapon movie to all the others I've seen.