Passion and Inspiration

Rating: 10/10 (18 June 2006)

Rocky is the story of a down and out boxer who's actually really good. People don't recognize this, but finally a trainer takes him under his wing. Apollo Creed, the world champion boxer, decides to get an unknown to fight with him in the ring and chooses Rocky. Now Rocky has his chance at the top and he'll work harder than ever to be the champion.
The great thing about this movie is the fact that it works on so many levels. On the outside, it's a sports movie that will inspire even a king to become greater than he his. On the inside, it's a love story. Rocky and Adrian are one of the most memorable couples in film history and their love seems to be real. It's not just your average sports movie or love story though. This is the finest you'll ever see, even if you don't like boxing or romances.
The soundtrack probably has the most uplifting song you'll ever hear. "Gonna Fly Now" was exactly the kind of song that a movie like this needed. Today, everyone knows it and will hum the tune and even run up steps if they can find any. That's when you know you have a classic on your hands. It will stand the test of time perfectly and will live on as one of the greatest movies ever made.
With all of those combinations, audiences were amazed with the tale of Rocky Balboa's dream of becoming a champion and his friends who helped him along the way. There's something else that makes this movie work more than anything else before or after it. It was released around the same time when the United States was celebrating its 200th birthday. This is the kind of movie that helped promote the American Dream and showed that our country was still the best. It was quite a way to show patriotism and unity when we needed it.
Nowadays, it seems like Rocky is branded as another Stallone movie with so many sequels. Those sequels kind of ruined the reputation that Rocky should have, and we all learned how important a good rep is when we listened to Rocky's speech. So the next time you see this and think its just another excuse to make money, just take the film by itself and then you'll see how well made and well acted this film really is.