* He’s both patriotic and religious, but not preachy. Realizing how stringently Stallone adheres to those principles makes the series as a whole greater than the sum of its parts and crystallizes Rocky’s appeal. We see him mature and age, rise and fall, but the man himself never really changes.ĭuring a recent binge-watch of the entire series, a number of themes and traits rose to the surface. We forgive even the most saccharine scenes because of how much we believe in Rocky and identify with him. Throughout the series, amid the ups and downs, Rocky himself remains unimpeachable. Tell me you don’t get the urge to put on sweatpants and head to the gym after watching a Rocky flick and I’ll call you a liar.
For the most part they get progressively worse from the best-picture-winning original to the forgettable "Rocky V," a movie that was so depressing Stallone rebooted the series largely so his character wouldn’t end on such a glum note.īut each film has its moments – the boxing scenes, sure, and the familiar characters, the quotable one-liners and, of course, the training montages set to Bill Conti’s famous soundtrack.
Rocky is what we wish to see in ourselves. No character the movies have ever given us has better represented our humanity – our dreams, our struggles, our daily attempt to be better people. That's because Rocky Balboa is the greatest movie character of all time. Rocky is an American icon, and if Stallone is ever going to be honored by the Hollywood elite, we want it to be as Rocky.