You Take My Heart Away

Rating: 9/10 (12 December 2004)

"Rocky" both starts and ends in the boxing ring. We first see Rocky, Sylvester Stallone,in the ring fighting journeyman boxer Spider Rico, Pedro Lovell. After getting illegally butted by the Spider a mad and outraged Rocky pounds him into the ring and into defeat.
Pushing 30 and with his best fighting days behind him Rocky works on the Phillie docks as a collector for local mob boss Gazzo, Joe Spinelli, to make ends meet. Even as that, collecting mob debts, Rocky is too kind and good natured, a real softy, to break peoples arms legs and thumbs who are late in paying up. With his life set as a low level hood, thats just what Rocky is a mob enforcer, and washed up as a professional boxer he had nothing to look forward to in the future. Meanwhile the World Heavyweight Champ Appolo Creed, Carl Weathers, is out of opponents to defend his title against and needs a new act to attract a big crowd for his next payday in the ring. Appolo and the top promoter in the world of boxing Jergens, Thayer David, come up with this great idea that to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the United States, in 1976. Why not defend his championship against one of the descendent's of the man who discovered America Italian navigator Christopher Columbus.
All at once the bleak future that was staring wash-up broken down club fighter Rocco Balboa became the once in a lifetime chance for proud Italian-America Rocky Balboa to show the world that he's not the bum or has been. Which everybody in the local boxing circles in Philidelpia thinks of him With the exception of his trainer Micky, Burgess Meredith. Rocky goes on the prove in the movie that he's a champ today as the champ that he always was of days past but never knew it.
Stirring boxing film about the rags to riches story of a nobody, Rocky, who became a somebody in the ring against the heavyweight champ with nothing more then the guts and determination and those who stood behind him throughout the entire ordeal. Rocky trains and works himself into a championship caliber boxer to fight the fight of his life. Even in the end when he lost a close fifteen round decision to Appolo Creed he won not only the hearts but the respect of the whole boxing world as well as the world itself.
Sylvester Stallone has never been able to top himself since he stared in "Rocky" and I doubt that he ever will. "Rocky" is a truly once in a lifetime movie and Stallone had just one once in a lifetime movie and he already used up his "Rocky". As good as the fight scenes are the movie is even more heart lifting and touching with Rocky's actions out of the ring. Micky who at first humiliated Rocky in public when he threw him out of the locker room and later wanted to train and manage Rocky for the big fight with Appolo and get the chance, like Rocky, to be a champ. Rocky after telling the old sick man off and practically throwing him out of his apartment runs out to apologizes for what he did and then accepts his offer and lets bygones be bygones between him and Micky. This was so effectively done with no duologue at all but you'd have to be dead or blind not to see and understand it.
Rocky's feelings for Adrian, Talia Shire, was even more effective then any of Rocky's fight sequence in the movie. The shy Adrian who was considered by everyone including her drunk and bitter brother Paulie, Burt Young, a loser like Rocky. With Rocky's kind and sweet attention towards Adrian showed that she was as beautiful when she got over her insecurities as he was, when he got his confidence back, brave and courageous in the ring against the worlds undefeated Heavyweight Champ Appolo Creed.
Working himself into shape with a tremendous uplifting sequence, to the movies theme song "Gonna Fly Now", of Rocky hitting the speed and heavy bag doing one-handed push-ups and running his heart out along the docks crowded streets and railway yards of Phillie. Rocky finally at the end of his long run makes it to and climbed up the steps, two at a time, of the massive Philidelphia Museum of Art. Which earlier in the movie he after doing his morning roadwork almost collapsed on. Rocky was now ready for his place in movie history in his battle with World Heavyweight Champ Creed in the city of Philadelphia.
Everyone involved in the film "Rocky", Stallone Weathers Shire Young Meridith Spinlli etc. etc., their lives and their worlds would never ever be the same again.