Oscar bait, clichéd, simple, BUT IT WORKS!!!!

Rating: 10/10 (3 January 2012)

Rocky is without a doubt one of the best American films of all time. The success of this film is not based on the fact it triumphantly won the Best Picture Oscar against great films such as "Network" and "Taxi Driver", nor how it revived the whole "underdog" genre of sports films-- it's the lovable characters. The premise is simple: a local fighter gets a shot at the World Heavyweight title. Rocky is living a near desolate life working as a loan shark for a local mafioso during the day and fighting underground bouts at night. Despite his dodgy appearance, Rocky is a man who has a good moral personality. The subplot in this film is the romance between Rocky and a shy pet store clerk Adrian (Talia Shire). Adrian is an isolated woman treated rather poorly by her brother Paulie (Burt Young)who is Rocky's close friend. One of the best scenes in the film is the dating scene between Rocky and Adrian at an isolated skating rink. It shows how these two characters are complete polar opposites (Rocky is dim-witted but out-going, and Adrian is clever but detached): it's a stereotypical love moment, but it works because we see how much these two characters have developed beyond their assumed social appearances. Another great character in this film is Mickey (Burgess Meredith) who is Rocky's grouchy manager. Mickey is a father figure and mentor who sees Rocky's talent as a boxer, but disapproves of his lifestyle as a loan shark. Another great scene in the film is when Mickey humbly approaches Rocky to be his manager. He talks about how his own boxing career and how it was wasted because he never had a manager. Rocky is reluctant because he was never approached this way for his first few years of his boxing career. He lashes out his ambivalent feelings towards Mickey and eventually accepts his offer. The rest of the film is predictable, Rocky trains hard, he fights, he loses, but eventually triumphs because he was able to go the distance with the Champion toe to toe, and he embraces Adrian at the end. Oscar bait, clichéd, simple, but it works. Not to mention, Bill Conti's amazing score and one of the first uses of the steadicam were also a contributing factor to how great this film is. Sylvester Stallone is constantly labeled by critics and audiences as the macho action star with limited acting skills, but after watching this film, you would believe he is the reminiscent of a young Marlon Brando. His down-to-earth performance and his great screenplay truly earned him the acclaim he got for this film.