"Rocky" (1976) - PREVIOUS VIEWING

Rank on the AFI List: #57

Synopsis (according to AFI):
No one believes a loser like Rocky Balboa can go the distance. When world heavyweight champ Apollo Creed wants to fight an "unknown," Rocky gets his shot in the ring and at love. "Yo, Adrian!"

LET ME EXPLAIN...
I think it's funny that I grew up seeing Rocky II, III, IV, and V, but I never saw the original.  And I have to say that this is a major reason I was apprehensive to see this.  Sure, the other Rocky movies are fun, especially for a guy, but they are no gems of filmmaking.  So when I learned this won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1977, I was shocked.  I also figured that meant this one would be the most boring out of the entire franchise.

While it's certainly the least action-packed of the Rocky movies, it actually turns out to be the best one, too.  The sequels, more or less, are all about Rocky overcoming great odds to beat the "unbeatable" opponent in the ring, but this centers more around Rocky overcoming a life of struggle.  As the tagline says, "His whole life was a million to one shot."

I give major props to Sylvester Stallone, too.  He wrote the screenplay and played the lead role.  The fact that most of his career had him type-casted as an action star with pretty shallow roles makes "Rocky" all the more impressive of a film.  It's got a ton of heart and gentleness, and is acted very well.

What makes this a "Top 100" Movie?
Sports movies often get shunned of critical acclaim because they're formulaic, predictable, and a bit cookie-cutter.  "Rocky" may very well have been the first true underdog sports story that the cookie-cutter is shaped from.  It was also a very well done movie in general.  Sure, it may be a bit predictable, but this underdog story is one of the best I've ever seen,  And along with winning the Academy Award for Best Picture (in which it beat out three other films on the AFI List that year: "Taxi Driver", All the President's Men, and Network), it also won Best Director, Best Film Editing, and was nominated in seven other categories that year.

Complaints?
It sometimes moves a bit slow.  Plus, there's one scene with Rocky and Adrian that seems almost like Rocky is about to take advantage of her, even though it's trying to show how Rocky helps her come out of her shell.  In any case, it's borderline uncomfortable.

LET ME SUM UP...
Hands down the best Rocky movie, and one of the best underdog films I've ever seen.  It moves a little slow sometimes, but the story - not the action - is the focus and takes time to develop.  It leads to a great, climactic ending that takes me from liking this movie to loving it.

MY RATING: 8.5/10