Rocky (1976)

Rocky Balboa is a boxer who has not developed all of his techniques. Apollo Creed, the current boxing champion, is trying to make himself look good by giving an unknown boxer a once in a lifetime opportunity to fame and wealth by challenging him in the ring. Many doubt that he'll defeat the champ but he goes for it anyway. During the fight, Rocky would have won if there was just a few more seconds but Apollo still won. At the conclusion of the movie, Rocky didn't care if he lost because he decided boxing is not for him and he just wanted to be with his girlfriend, Adrian.

One of my most favorite part of this movie besides the final fight, is when Adrian comes into his place, asking if she could use the phone to call her brother just in case he might be worried. Since Rocky didn't have a phone, he just opened the window and yelled out across the neighborhood instead.

I enjoyed all of the Rocky movies and I love the inspirational theme song. Rocky was an instant success when it first came out in theaters despite its low budget. It had a brilliant script, excellent acting, and the fights were directed well and made you feel like you were in the ring with the two actors. Sylvester Stallone did a fantastic job portraying Rocky's character and is the talented screenplay writer who started the Rocky franchise. Not only did he write the script, but he began directing the Rocky movies after he starred in the first movie.

The second movie is as good as the first. Apollo may have won the fight in the first movie but a few seconds more and it would have been over for him. He intends to ask for a rematch but Rocky decided to retire and spend time with his his wife, Adrian. However, he can't find a decent job because of poor education and a past criminal record, and ends up working in a meat packing company. It wasn't long until he was fired and decides to return to boxing, accepting the rematch with Apollo. Apollo thought that Rocky was just lucky that he survived the 15 rounds the last time. Apollo was also surprised by how tough and enduring Rocky is and now he knows to train harder the next time. However, so does Rocky. Apollo fails miserably and looses his championship just before he retires. Now, Rocky is the champion!

Rocky 3 is also very entertaining but probably just can't beat the first or second. Now Rocky appears undefeated after many victories and is enjoying his fame and glory with Adrian and his son. Rocky decides to announce that he is retiring when Mr. T. as Clubber Lang challenges him. Adrian is against it and Mickey informs Rocky that Clubber Lang is a killer compared to his recent fights but he disregards the warning. Before the match, Mickey suffers from a severe heart attack and Rocky couldn't get his mind off of Mickey and is defeated by Clubber. After the funeral, Rocky is back in the old gym when Apollo approaches him, offering him help in training for the rematch with Clubber. According to Apollo, Rocky has lost the "Eye of the Tiger" and he must work hard to regain it. After training and Rocky is about to fight at the rematch, Apollo lets Rocky borrow the shorts he wore on their first fight together.

I love the song "Eye of the Tiger." Sylvester asked the rock band, Survivor, to write this song just for this movie. It also became very popular and was also known as one of the best movie soundtracks. I also love how Apollo comes back into the story after his embarrassing defeat in the second movie and helps Rocky defeats Clubber. As always, Sly did great as Rocky and Mr. T. did an excellent job at portraying the ferocious Clubber and had that intense expression on his face throughout the whole movie.