Surprisingly great

Rating: 9/10 (20 February 2012)

In light of the massive media/cultural presence Rocky became, it's remarkable to go back and watch the original movie, and see how little of it actually got captured in the media zeitgeist and the sports genre formula it inspired. Yeah, there are all the scenes you've seen parodied before -- the training montage with raw eggs and the Philadelphia steps, the big fight at the end, etc. -- but nobody remembers that the bulk of this film is a fairly low-key, working class drama. I mean, most of the first hour is just Rocky hanging around the slums and harassing some pet shop girl. It's a lot more subtle and -- dare I say it? -- intellectual than it gets credit for, and it's also the kind of slow build that you could never get away with in a Hollywood movie today.
Of course the more cinematic and bombastic scenes are great as well, and the film earns what could be cheesy moments through the earlier character work. The final fight is sort of ridiculous, but the final minute is cinematic perfection, one of those slightly off-kilter endings that you see so often in this era. We have the big celebration, the Hollywood kiss in the ring, as in the background -- quiet enough that you might not notice it the first time around -- Rocky is announced as the loser by decision. It's a moment that not only has a shocking amount of faith in the audience, but also makes them question their priorities. It's a bombastic Hollywood ending, but not the one we expected.
And that's really what's lead to the success of Rocky. It manages to be a crowd pleaser without losing its integrity as a story, and in doing so forms the perfect bridge between Hollywood blockbuster and New Hollywood art film. If you've never seen this film and don't think you'd like it... you're probably wrong. I was.