Few films have left a cultural impact as large and as long-lasting as the “Rocky” franchise.

With “Creed III” out in theaters and available on streaming, the “Rocky” series is still going strong. Though there has been some controversy in the newest chapter in the spin-off films, that being that the previously mentioned character of Rocky Balboa is “Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Film.” 

Why this is such a big deal is made more apparent if one watches any of the original “Rocky” films. 

So let’s rewind time back to 1976, a time of disco, afros, and really unfortunate fashion, and take a look at what started it all, with a little movie, simply titled “Rocky” (directed by John G. Avildsen).

The film is about Robert “Rocky” Balboa, AKA “The Italian Stallion” (famously played by the then unknown Sylvester Stallone, who also wrote the film), a down-on-his-luck boxer who spends his time doing underground fighting, visiting a pet shop in order to try to crack jokes with shy Adrian (Talia Shire), and collect debts for a lone shark in order to barely scrape by. 

Life throws Rocky a curveball when the heavyweight champion, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), challenges him to a shot at the belt in order to drum up some free publicity due to his original opponent bailing out because of an injury. With this one-in-a-million chance to make it big, Rocky takes the fight and now has to prove to everyone that he can go the distance and that he isn’t just some bum. 

Despite being a film primarily about boxing there’s not a lot of the sport itself in the film, it’s instead a drama focusing on Rocky’s relationship with his close friends and loved ones and the trials he has to face in order to have a chance at surviving in the ring with Apollo.

This movie is iconic for very good reasons, including that it’s very well written and acted. 

Every character in the movie is expertly acted and memorable, whether it’s well-meaning-but-not-very-smart Rocky; the showboating and charismatic Apollo Creed; the shy Adrian; or Rocky’s old crotchety manager, Mickey (Burgess Meredith). 

The drama is also expertly done, with it feeling down to earth and not overly melodramatic or corny. 

The love story between Rocky and Adrian is also well done, it feels like a real romance between real people, that being messy and awkward but ultimately sincere.

The film also does such a great job of selling Rocky as an underdog, whether it’s Apollo Creed just picking him because he liked his show name and thought it would look good on a poster, the boxing shorts on Rocky’s poster being wrong, or even his robe for his entrance being baggy, all these add up to make the audience really root for Rocky and want to see him go the distance.

Despite the film being a drama first, boxing movie second, when the film does get to the fight at the end it doesn’t disappoint. It feels real, like the two actors are really going at it and are beating the snot out of each other.

Behind the scenes, the movie was just the perfect storm of happy accidents and seizing golden opportunities. Like when during the ice skate scene between Rocky and Adrian there were supposed to be a bunch of extras for the scene but none of them showed up, so Stalone wrote a short scene explaining why no one was there, leading to a more memorable and powerful scene of just Adrian and Rocky on ice.

The film popularized, even if it didn’t invent, the training montage. It shows the struggles Rocky goes through in order to get into shape and have a chance against Creed and makes “guy training for six weeks” seem epic.

Speaking of the montage, this review would be a complete failure if it didn’t mention the iconic soundtrack by Bill Conti. The soundtrack includes the famous “Gonna Fly Now” during the workout montage, which is able to make a person feel like they can take on anything, and “Going the Distance” at the end, that can still make an emotionless and jaded person tear up.

Any flaws the film might have are very much technical ones and are just products of what the filmmakers had at the time. With some scenes that have been upscaled to modern sensibilities, while others, more specifically stock footage of the crowds during the fight at the end looking very rough by comparison.

Also if someone goes in expecting a film about boxing (and not a drama about the struggles of going the distance) they’ll probably get bored. 

But in the end, it turns out a movie that started a multifilm franchise, a spin-off film series, and left several marks on pop culture is still really, good even close to five decades later.