An old classic that still packs a heck of a punch thirty-four year later.

Rating: 9/10 (6 September 2010)

I must confess I have never ever watched the Rocky films before, none of them, though I knew that Slyvester Stallone played a boxer called Rocky. My brother is a big fan of the Rocky movies and has one to six as part of his DVD collection and I decided I would like to try watching them.
Rocky for me is an excellent movie as most people looking at the reviews on this website would agree. It is much more than just about boxing as we follow Stallone's character of Rocky Balboa who does small time boxing and has a second job of collecting money for a loan shark from his clients. He lives in a rundown area in Philidelphia where he regularly goes into his local pet store where he has a thing for shop assistant Adrian Pennino (Talia Shire) who is very shy and withdrawn and is treated badly by her brother Paulie Pennino (Burt Young). Meanwhile heavy title weight champion of the world Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) wants to give a low time boxer at chance at the title and he chooses Rocky who accepts.
What is most interesting is watching Rocky at how he lives his life and interacts with certain characters. Stallone gives a superb performance and though he may sound gruff when he speaks his lines, he does with a certain charm. Talia Shire as his love interest gives a great performance capturing the essence of her character Adrian trapped by her brother (A good supporting role by Burt Young) and very shy with little social interaction with others, but develops confidence by being around Rocky. Also Burgess Meredith as Mickey who offers to be Rocky's coach with his fight against Apollo is terrific in his supporting role as a man who is at the end of his days of boxing but still knows how the world works. Rocky and Adrian's romance, which is a substantial part of this film is beautifully depicted from two people one who is shy and awkward to one Rocky who tries to help her that evolves into two people comfortable with each other. The scene in Rocky's apartment where he and Adrian first kiss even though it's only for under a minute was electric. They make a nice couple with some good romantic chemistry there. Also there is depth to this movie with Rocky's character as we find out a bit about his life, his boxing past and even what he was like as a child.
One other surprising aspect is the script. It seems very basic with just "street-talk", but it is suited to the area he lives in (not that I'm saying all people in a less affluent area all speak street-talk). It was just suited to the film and as a result it works and makes it clever. The fighting itself with the showdown between Rocky and Creed is monumental with a excellently choreographed and tense fight as you root for Rocky. In that way it was inspiring. Rocky is not just about a boxer but how he lives his life with the area and who he interacts with. This gives more depth to his character and makes you care about him more. I never got bored with the length of two hours and now look forward to watching Rocky II and hope it will be great as well. An old classic this is but I loved it!