The story is achingly familiar, and though Stallone has a certain power, he is certainly not the subtlest actor to crawl out from under Marlon's overcoat.
This triple-Oscar-winning boxing drama is shot through with genuine impassioned commitment, born of the fact that Sylvester Stallone realised that this was his best hope of stardom.
In addition to a heart-warming script, Stallone has created on the screen a character of enormous appeal and charm - half-articulate but funny, gruff but good-hearted.
[VIDEO ESSAY] "Rocky" struck a nerve with American audiences at the time because it spoke directly to a '70s era lower middle-class dream of success that has since been exploded into a billion pieces.
There are occasional flashes that the film may be patronizing the lower end of the blue-collar mentality, as much if not more than the characters who keep putting Rocky down on the screen. However, Avildsen is noted for creating such ambiguities.
It's Sly's droopy-eyed, hangdog/underdog that carries Rocky's tale of transformation. He's no oil painting, no blue-eyed hero. He's not supposed to make it -- and that makes us instantly connect with him.
Like the movies of Frank Capra, Rocky is a glowing tribute to the human spirit - a chin-up reminder that the decent, little guys of the world often accomplish the impossible if only because they try so hard.
