The Italian Stallion
Rocky (1976) Directed by John G. Avildsen


Rocky was the classic underdog story. An unknown fighter named Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone) was given a shot at Apollo Creed’s championship belt. The movie started out by showing Rocky having barely any hope in his fight. Then he comes back and wins. I thought that this was foreshadowing for the end. Later on he goes out on his first date with the girl of his dreams. He would do anything for her even work for a small time mobster. Just to make enough money Rocky worked for the mobster Gozo and in his free time at Mickey’s gym. Mickey from Mickey’s gym became Rocky’s manager when he got the shot at Apollo Creed’s belt. Mickey trained him and was in Rocky’s corner when the fight happened. The fight was beautifully choreographed by Stallone himself. Punches looked real and kept you watching till the end.

Rocky was an all around masterpiece. From the camera work to the storyline it was marvelous. I was expecting it to be the normal underdog story. The storyline threw in twists along the way. Whenever I thought I knew what was about to happen something else did. I was expecting Rocky to win since the very beginning. Then when I thought it was about to happen, BAM! He lost. I was expecting for this to just be about Rocky’s climb to the top of the Boxing world. Instead there was a love interest for Rocky that drove him to do his best. His love of animals and Adrian was very apparent. This movie also showed Rocky’s dedication to the sport. Even when he was ready to give up on the sport he hung in there and pushed on. The movie was masterfully filmed. The camera was always at the best angle and made the movie more and more enjoyable. All in all Rocky was an amazing film in all aspects of it. I would recommend everyone to watch this movie at least once in their life.