Rocky I: a review
By Casper Thoma
Several iconic franchises have been in cinema history. One has always stuck out to me: Rocky. Recently, I have wanted to explore this popular piece of pop culture, so I watched all of the Rocky movies (Rocky I-V) and analyzed them for their deeper meaning. Of course, I will review each film separately, so if you are looking for a specific sequel, check out Bonfire’s page for the other movies.
The Rocky franchise starts with the movie Rocky about an amateur boxer getting the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance at the heavyweight championship against current heavyweight champion Apollo Creed. That's the start of it, Rocky has the hots for a clerk in a pet store named Adrian, who happens to be the sister of his best friend. Rocky, who was on the fence about fighting Apollo, decides to train hard in one of film's most iconic montages and is ready for the big fight. When he shows up to the fight he meets Apollo in the ring, who is decked out in the finest Uncle Sam cosplay you can find. the match starts and both fighters can hold their ground with each other, unfortunately for the viewers, Apollo takes the victory. The movie ends with Rocky crying out to his girlfriend Adrian.
Sylvester Stallone in Rocky (1976) (MGM)
This movie is a classic in history, but I have one major gripe with it, Rocky I is a love story, throughout the movie it feels almost like a romance hidden under the guise of a boxing film, half the movie is Rocky trying to make Adrian fall in love with him, at first unsuccessfully then eventually he gets her. In my opinion, the Rocky movie would have played out much differently if the crew elevated the boxing aspect, for instance in the ending scene we see Rocky yelling to Adrian, showing that though he was fighting, he was still thinking about her, I believe if Adrian weren't involved rocky wouldn't have participated in the fight in the first place, one of Rocky's reasons for fighting was the money, I think this specific money was important to him because he wanted to 1. Prove to Adrian that he was a good fighter, and 2 to prove he could provide for her, chances are Without Adrian he wouldn't have taken the fight at all, and probably would have found another job,
rocky and Adrian on a date to the ice rink in Rocky (1976) (MGM)
Other than the love story aspect Rocky is a great movie, which gives you the highs and lows of boxing, while being centered in reality, showing that the hero doesn't always win the battle, while also giving us an adventure showing how a beginner can become a professional in the blink of an eye… of the tiger. And so using the CHS bonfire’s ten-point rating system and too much disappointment of Mr. Giacolleto, who thinks it should be higher. I give Rocky I an 8.5/10 while being a good movie it does not quite hold up to its much better sequels, however, no doubt Rocky I deserves its spot in cinema history.