Rocky Balboa is on the face of it one of life’s losers. He earns a living, collecting debts for Gazzo the local loan shark but once he had a dream of making a name for himself as a boxer. Living in a small run down apartment in Philadelphia’s industrial district it seems his dreams are destined to remain just that. Although now only training part time his former trainer Mickey still believes he could have made it if he’d just had the motivation. However Rocky’s life is about to change in ways he never could have imagined. He meets Adrian a very shy girl and a tentative relationship begins prompted by Adrian brother Paulie who feels that Adrian should be looking to marry. At the same time the world Heavyweight champion Apollo Creed as a publicity stunt is looking to give a complete unknown a shot at the title, after scouting around the Philadelphia boxing gyms they find Rocky and feel that he would be the right man. Although no one believes Rocky has a chance he realises that this is his only golden opportunity to prove himself to Adrian and make something out of his life.

Sylvester Stallone .... Rocky Balboa
Talia Shire .... Adrian
Burt Young .... Paulie
Carl Weathers .... Apollo Creed
Burgess Meredith .... Mickey Goldmill
Thayer David .... Jergens
Joe Spinell .... Tony Gazzo
Jimmy Gambina .... Mike

Rocky was always Sylvester Stallone’s movie. The idea was his, he wrote the script and plays the lead. His rather emotionally charged but bumbling acting style seems ideal for the role and it is easily his best acting performance with the possible exception of the much later ‘Copland’.

Less convincing are the boxing scenes. There has always been a problem portraying sport in Cinema, football has had a notoriously bad time of it (escape to Victory, which also starred Stallone, is a prime example) and boxing is no exception. The best boxing films in the past have always concentrated on the intense emotions surrounding the sport rather than the actual fight sequences. Rocky doesn’t do this and the boxing matches take centre screen. There is a lot of blood and sweat but the fight are ludicrously unrealistic and for me unnecessarily so. The matches resemble more WWF wrestling contest rather than professional boxing. Punches that would ordinarily knock out or even kill are taken with cartoon like ease. The tension in the fights is also choreographed and obviously so, one minute Rocky is down and out hardly able to stand up then as if by magic drawing on hidden reserves he’s top again. In the end I suppose it doesn’t really matter since the film, as a whole is a fable, a fantasy and thus the fight reflect this.

What the film does well is paint a picture of Rocky as a real person; we do get an insight into the different sides of his character. He does doubt himself and his abilities, he feels the weight of expectations and above his love for Adrian. She at first is opposed to his returning to boxing but realises that although he would be prepared to sacrifice all for her that this would leave him broken in spirit and he would always have a element of regret and doubt asking himself the question ‘What if?’, thus in the end she supports him and urges him to do his best.

Despite the story being fairly formulaic and to an extent predictable it unfolds so well that you are carried along by it. Much praise must go to director John G. Aviston and indeed he picked up an Oscar for his contribution.

Rocky is available as a DVD from DVD.co.uk for £6.66 (incl. p & p) or on VHS from Amazon.co.uk for £8.99 (+ p & p)