The Quintessential Underdog Story

Rating: 9/10 (23 November 2017)

He has his childhood picture shoved aside at the corner of his mirror. His pet fish is just so tiny, and yet he named it "Moby Dick". His best friend and his sister struggle not to feel so defeated in life. His coach has been striving to train his own champion for the past 50 years, and this is all happening at the heart of Philadelphia, a city that used to be the shining capital of the nation, now mostly portrayed almost like a slum-like area throughout the film. They are all losers so real to the minute details and yet, are all so likable.
A low budget matching the producers' expectations, and by-then unknown actor and screenwriter Sylvester Stallone, eventually surprised the world with this single film. I doubt there can be a more defining underdog story both in and out of the film. Not to mention the music, montage, and Steadicam scenes that will go down in film history.
Films that are so iconic that they define a particular genre, are often seen riddled with tropes and clichés in a later point of view. In Rocky's case, however, it was pleasant to find that even the ending was truly satisfying.
"'Cause all I wanna do is go the distance. Nobody's ever gone the distance with Creed, and if I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I'm still standin', I'm gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood."
He wasn't even listening to the referee's call.