A good Hollywood button pusher

Rating: Null/10 (14 April 2002)

Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa is a small time boxer who has taken to collecting debts for a local mobster. However when he is picked as an easy fight for champ Apollo Creed he sees his chance to make it. With help and hindrance from his fellow blue-collar workers he seeks to climb out of his situation.
The film that launched Stallone as a mainstream star and proves that he has more brains than many of his roles may let you think. Stallone wrote this passable story of working class boy makes good in a few days after watching Ali v's Wepner in a brave fight. He sold the rights to the story on the condition that he would star. He was also brave enough to turn down $150,000 to give up the role. The story is nothing hugely special  a working class boxer makes it big through sweat, grit and pure determination, but it's done with a great amount of emotion and walks the line between plausibility and smaltz well.
The film's buildup just manages to avoid being totally clichéd and some of the dialogue is a little corny  however what lifts the film is the final fight. The fight is one of the most unrealistic in cinema  this is no Raging Bull! However it is a pure exploitative bit of cinema. The effort of Stallone, the sweeping music, the tension etc all hits the right buttons and involves us well. It may not be wonderful but it's certainly a prime example of a Hollywood movie.
Stallone is good and was Oscar nominated, but Burgess Meredith is excellent as an old boxer turned trainer. Talia Shire is pretty good as Adrian but her character comes out of herself a little too easily. Carl Weathers is good as Creed, but doesn't have too much to do.
Overall this isn't a classic but it works well as a sort of `rags to riches' tale and as a good old Hollywood button pusher. The only problem with it is the line of increasingly poor sequels that followed.