A great film sullied by its sequels

Rating: 10/10 (23 April 2004)

I really think this is a great movie, and belongs in the IMDB top 250. But I believe its lustre has been badly stained by a number of formulaic, mediocre sequels. Sylvester Stallone seems like an intelligent guy, but if he had any sense, he would have let this film stand on its own.
Regardless, Rocky is an amazing movie because it's only a sports movie superficially. It's actually a character study--really, it's about two characters, Rocky and Adrian, and how this extraordinary event will change the lives of these two extremely ordinary people. Compare who they are at the beginning of the movie--a "bum" and a "retard"--versus who they are at the end.
I still think the ending of the movie is extremely bold. A typical sports movie has the underdog win the big game. Not here--but Rocky does win. He recognizes his own limitations--something that we almost NEVER see characters doing in Hollywood movies. He knows he can't win, but sets a goal he CAN achieve that will prove--to everyone, especially himself--that he's more than they thought.
Looking back, I find the timing of the movie to be interesting: 1976. America had just come out of some of the worst experiences in its history: Vietnam, Watergate, inflation, the oil crisis. And in its bicentennial year, America makes a hit out of this film about a rough-around-the-edges guy making good, even though he gets battered and bruised and doesn't really win in the end. Rocky as a metaphor for America? Why not?
Too bad about those crummy sequels. There could be a metaphor about American in there, too, somewhere...