Rocky Balboa, a semi-punch drunk journeyman boxer, working at a meat shippers to pay the bills and hoping to persuade local girl Adrian to marry him, is offered a shot at a world title against Apollo Creed, the reigning world champion. In actuality Creed's manager is looking for a no-hoper to put up against Creed for an easy title defence. Taken on by Mickey, the gym owner who once turned him away for lack of talent, Rocky trains the hardest he has ever trained in his life, while Adrian's brother Paulie tells her not to get her hopes up. Come the night of the fight, Creed suddenly realises he has a real fight on his hands, and not just the expected exhibition match against a loser.
Review:
An extremely old-fashioned boxing pic about the struggle to succeed which much mirrored Stallone's struggle to get the film made when, as an unemployed actor, he wrote the script only for United Artists to want to make the film, but with anyone other than he in the title role. Stallone said no me, no script. UA capitulated and the result is triple Oscar-winning history. The story is predictable but the performances are all serviceable and Avildsen's filming of Rocky's training, backed by Bill Conti's brassy score, is often exhilarating.
