Adrian!

Rating: 8/10 (12 January 2019)

"Rocky" (1976) is a professionally produced drama about a struggling boxer, Rocky played by Sylvester Stallone, who gets a "once in a lifetime" shot to fight Heavyweight Champion of the World, Apollo Creed played by Carl Weathers. This film, even with the occasional technical issues and bad punches, is a wonderous underdog story that brings me joy every time I watch it. I wish this original story would have been made in this era with more attention on the little details as to keep those little pesky nuances from detracting from the story itself. This film is still very much a classic, especially with the need of an uplifting story during that time.
I believe the writer, Stallone, and director, John G. Avildsen, did an immaculate job intertwining both the sport story and the love story between Rocky and Adrian, played by Talia Shire. The editing had moments where it felt a little like it was dragging on, even though it was purposeful, but the ability to effectively display the slow love in contrast to the fast-paced boxing was spot on. This film has a decent number of things that can be criticized which I believe has a lot to do with when it was produced, but overall this film, particularly the story, is a stand alone classic to my whole family.