Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), a small-time boxer from working-class Philadelphia, is arbitrarily chosen to take on the reigning world heavyweight champion, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), when the undefeated fighter's scheduled opponent is injured. While training with feisty former bantamweight contender Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith), Rocky tentatively begins a relationship with Adrian (Talia Shire), the wallflower sister of his meat-packer pal Paulie (Burt Young).
Creed selects Rocky Balboa, an Italian journeyman southpaw boxer who fights primarily in small gyms and works as a collector for a loan shark. Rocky meets with promoter George Jergens under the presumption that Creed is seeking local sparring partners. Reluctant at first, Rocky eventually agrees to the fight which will pay him $150,000. Rocky undergoes several weeks of unorthodox training, such as using sides of beef as punching bags.
Rocky is later approached by Mickey Goldmill, a former bantamweight fighter who turned trainer and whose gym Rocky frequents, about training him further. Rocky is not willing initially, as Mickey has not shown much interest in helping him before and sees him as a wasted talent, but eventually accepts the offer.
Meanwhile, Rocky begins to build a romantic relationship with Adrian Pennino, who is working part-time at the J&M Tropical Fish pet shop, culminating in a kiss. Adrian's brother, Paulie, helps Rocky get a date with his sister and even offers to work as a corner man with him. Paulie becomes jealous of Rocky's success, but Rocky placates him by agreeing to advertise the meat packing business for which Paulie works, as part of the upcoming fight. The night before the fight, a sleepless Rocky visits the Philadelphia Spectrum and begins to lose confidence. He confesses to Adrian that he does not believe he can win, but strives to go the distance against Creed, which no other fighter has done, to prove himself to everyone; if he can go the distance, he won't be just "another bum from the neighbourhood."
On New Year's Day, the fight is held with Creed making a dramatic entrance dressed as George Washington and then Uncle Sam. Taking advantage of his overconfidence, Rocky knocks him down in the first round — the first time that Creed has ever been knocked down. Humbled and worried, Creed takes Rocky more seriously for the rest of the fight, though his ego never fully fades. The fight goes on for the full fifteen rounds, with both combatants sustaining various injuries. Rocky, with hits to the head and swollen eyes, requires his right eyelid to be cut in order to restore his vision. Apollo, with internal bleeding and a broken rib, struggles to breathe. As the fight concludes, Creed's superior skill is countered by Rocky's apparently unlimited ability to absorb punches, and his dogged refusal to go down. As the final round bell sounds, with both fighters locked in each other's arms, they promise to each other that there will be no rematch.
After the fight, the sportscasters and the audience go wild. Jergens announces over the loudspeaker that the fight was "the greatest exhibition of guts and stamina in the history of the ring", and Rocky calls out repeatedly for Adrian, who runs down and comes into the ring as Paulie distracts arena security. As Jergens declares Creed the winner by virtue of a split decision (8:7, 7:8, 9:6), Adrian and Rocky embrace and profess their love to each other, not caring about the outcome of the fight.
Cast
Talia Shire as Adrianna "Adrian" Pennino
Burt Young as Paulie Pennino
Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed
Burgess Meredith as Mickey Goldmill
Thayer David as George "Miles" Jergens
Joe Spinell as Tony Gazzo
Tony Burton as Tony "Duke" Evers
Pedro Lovell as Spider Rico
Joe Frazier as himself
Snakes Review
Character: Any guy that can take a beating from the
heavyweight champion of the world and still be standing is one hell of a tough
guy. Snake could use some muscle like the Italian Stallion.
Movie: The movie fans at IMDB have given a score of 8.1, but Snake feels that’s a little generous. An underdog story, a little romance and the boxing event of the century.
Snakes Score: 8.0
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