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Rocky Reaction! (Patreon)

Published:
2025-04-01 17:00:12
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Files

Rocky (1976)

Full Reaction You can either stream the Full reaction below using the embedded video player, otherwise you can click the 'Download' button which will take you directly to Google Drive, enabling you to save the video to your computer instead. You must provide your own footage to watch alongside the full reactions.

Comments

Thomas Corp

And the Sesskasays moral of the reaction is: Everybody drink plenty of water! Trying to remember, I think I was around twelve or thirteen when my parents and my brother first really introduced me to the Rocky series. This is the first film of this batch of reactions that is not in my top ten of the year, but it is an honorable mention. Reason being 1976 was SO absurdly stacked. Evidence of this is that it was one of the most competitive Oscars with all five nominees for best picture being very well deserving, and no matter what won, the other four films would have been robbed. This along with Network, which is my pick for favorite and best of that year, were the two big ones at the Oscars that year, and they ended up being the big winners of the night with Rocky taking home picture and director, (much though Sidney Lumet REALLY should have won for directing Network,) and Network winning all but one of the acting awards, and Chayefsky winning for the screenplay for Network. (Thank Christ.) Siskel and Ebert had the differing views with Roger Ebert giving this a glowing review, likening Stallone to a young Marlon Brando, and indeed this film owes a lot to On the Waterfront. Gene Siskel, by contrast was more critical, though he conceded it may be a “nice little fantasy picture” as he called it. Decent enough, just not the best film of the year. Good to see you loved it as I suspected you would, Jess. Sylvester Stallone brings a lot of heart to this realistic underdog story, as you described it. He endears you quickly to Rocky. He demonstrates that he is a softie with his scenes with the dog, and that scene walking little Marie home. Your reaction to the latter scene being a delight, especially how you said you appreciated the general sentiment, iffy though you found some of the presentation. Likewise, good way to describe it, what you said of what have people labeled you as, and how do you alter that. The fashion commentary was great to see as always. Apollo does have some sharp suits. Lovely to see you lived for the pink cardigans. The romance of it all is arguably the film’s biggest legacy. Talia Shire is a big reason why as she is wonderful as Adrian, who yes, she did have some nice glasses. Great chemistry that she and Rocky have. Shared thing of it having the shaky start. Watching it now in my mid-thirties, you do have some responses similar to what you had. You spoke of the fine line of she is interested in being with Rocky, she just needs the extra push. Similar to the Marie scene, you appreciate the general sentiment, slightly iffy though you find some of the presentation to be. You get the feeling that if this was made today, you’d be clearer on that, as there are a few iffy spots by today’s standards. On the other hand, at least Rocky’s not like Tom Cruise following Kelly McGillis into the women’s restroom. (No, I’m not letting that one go.) And once you get past the slight hiccups, it is subsequently rather beautiful seeing the beginning of Rocky and Adrian’s romance and love story. Coincidentally, the year this came out is the year that my parents met and started dating, though they were significantly younger than Rocky and Adrian as they turned eighteen that year. To no surprise, Jess, you lived for Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed, which remains his most iconic role. Although now there is something of an age test following his role in Star Wars. You said, “This man is an entertainer!”. Why do you think he got the role of Greef Karga expanded with the beyond lovely arc that he had, which you so adored. Seriously, God bless Carl. Speaking of age tests, we also have Burgess Meredith being a legend as Mick. Figured that you would kind of live for Mick. Paulie surely is a testing man. Knew you’d have a time with him, especially the way he puts down Adrian for pushing thirty and single, even though Rocky’s in the same boat. Watching it this time, I yelled, “Hey, Ernest Borgnine in Marty was meant to be thirty-four, I’ll be that age by the weekend! And the odds are, I’m dying alone too! No big deal!” Testing though Paulie is, Burt Young is great in the part. Talia sold well the scene where Adrian finally unloads on him. Do like the small moment at the end when Paulie surreptitiously helps Adrian at the end. A nice reaction you had to the famous montage. Love how you didn’t know how the fight would play out. Hell of a fight that it is. Great response to Tony Burton perfectly selling Duke’s line, “He doesn’t know it’s a damn show! He thinks it’s a DAMN FIGHT!” Don’t blame you in the slightest for your response to the “Cut me, Mick.” scene as that one is very tough to watch. Culminating in that final round and the final scene, complete with that great victory motif, which takes you back even more than the main theme, and just hits you with the nostalgia. I so adored your reaction to the end where the outcome of the fight doesn’t matter. Rocky went all the way, and he and Adrian have each other. Yeah, that last scene gets you right in the feels, and just makes a grown man cry. Seriously, Jess, I loved your reaction to that last scene, and the film overall. I’d be in favor of reactions to the subsequent films, particularly my favorite entry of the series. Oh, and the update about the upcoming film reaction schedule, fine by me, especially as you say it’ll help you out a lot with the tsunami of the busy season ahead of you. And in any event, we have some damn fine movie reactions to look forward to, one in particular. And it means that I amend my one statement of we tackled my favorite film of the seventies batch as we will now close out the series with my favorite of the batch. Meaning the nineties, eighties, and now seventies, we’re saving the best, or at least my favorite for last. Hell of a thing. What is also a hell of a thing was this reaction, as it was very delightful. Much appreciated, Jess.

Ryan

"Do other fighters pound raw meat?" ...There HAS to be a better way to put that. This is the movie of this whole bunch I was most looking forward to, and you didn't disappoint. And Stallone went through quite an underdog story of his own making it, having his script rejected more than 20 times but refusing to give up on it (which included resorting to making porn to pay the bills for a while, one of which was actually rereleased after this movie's success, now titled The Italian Stallion). A big obstacle was that despite being a very smart guy, he was saddled with facial nerve damage that led just about everyone to assume he was just a slab of beef, plus he would only accept playing Rocky himself. It ended up being pretty cosmic that it was finally being picked up by United Artists at the exact time it was, since it meant they could incorporate the Bicentennial into the story and give it a more unique thematic flavor. And in the end it became a massive hit, heralded as one of the greatest crowd-pleasers ever and ultimately winning Best Picture in one of the most competitive years in Oscar history. I came at this series in a pretty odd way, as there was a time when I was a kid in the '90s that TBS would occasionally run marathons of what was then all five films, and I managed to never catch the original until I finally just rented it from my local video store (ask your parents). So a few years ago I sat down to try to watch it in the mindset of coming into it totally fresh...and my main added takeaway was that there are a few things here that summon up that dreaded phrase, "This didn't age well." Rocky acting entitled to go out with Adrian just for giving her the time of day, showing no concern for Paulie's abuse of her until he's literally coming at them both with a baseball bat, and most of all absolutely refusing to take no for an answer while inviting her to his apartment all come off as massive red flags these days, but luckily it's pretty much confined to the film's first half, and once they become an official item they're genuinely great together, perfectly described by Rocky as filling each other's gaps. Stallone is of course perfect for this part he wrote for himself, and it's a lovely touch that he brought in his actual pets at the time (you might notice the dog is listed as Buttkus Stallone in the closing credits). He occasionally still updates us on how those turtles are still alive and thriving. Talia Shire was coming off appearing in two of the most acclaimed films in history thanks to her brother, Mr. Megalopolis himself Francis Ford Coppola, and this was her big chance of showing she had what it takes without his help, which she pulled off perfectly, especially being willing to appear so dowdy at a time when something like Charlize Theron in Monster was basically unheard of. And of course this was the big acting breakout of Carl Weathers after his football career ended, introducing everyone to the magnificent charisma that would carry him through so many years. The Disney Star Wars shows have certainly had some big ups and downs, but something I'm profoundly grateful for is that after a few low points in his career, they let him spend his final few years with everyone talking about him again and sharing how much they'd always loved him. And I have to share my personal gratitude for Burt Young, who shortly before his death donated a bunch of his memorabilia from the series to the charity I work for so we could auction it off. One part of the movie I've always appreciated is that Apollo isn't any kind of bad guy, and is very likable in his own right. At his worst he just lives up to Muhammad Ali's famous quote, "It's hard to be humble when you're as great as I am." I loved you noting that you had no idea how the fight would go, and that's of course entirely deliberate. Both Stallone and Weathers are fantastic in telling a story through their physical acting, all the more impressive since the whole fight was actually filmed in reverse order since it was easier to start with the full makeup and then take pieces off. Rocky knocking Apollo down with his very first hit is enough of a big moment on its own, and then it just builds from there. And I have to give special kudos to Carl for such a clear "What the actual fuck?" reaction through all that makeup to Rocky getting back up. And then the final outcome is rendered as perfectly as it could be, letting us know Apollo is declared the winner while also making clear Rocky doesn't care at all because he achieved his true goal of going the distance (and as a little bonus for people who know the sport, the typical rule is that a champion can only lose by knockout, so even getting that one judge to vote that Rocky won is an incredible achievement). Now just let them get a bit of the magic hand thing; they clearly need it.

Dave Hampton

I have had a lot of workout music playlists in my life. "Gonna Fly Now" has been on all of them and will be on all the future ones I make. I am glad you enjoyed the film. I do hope you put this series on the poll, and I hope it wins at some point. As much as you enjoyed this, I think it would be worth you reacting to more. Thank you for a lovely reaction.

The Bill Podcast

Thank you SO much for reacting to Rocky. My favourite film (along with the original Terminator). Would love to see you react to the Rocky sequels, which I think you would enjoy. Thanks for everything you do Jess.

Dave Hampton

Regarding next months Close Encounters of the Third Kind reaction, for those interested at the moment Apple has all three versions of the film for the same price as one (whereas Amazon it appears you have to buy each version individually for the about the same price as all three from Apple). Not sure about other places but know the option to get a "deal" does exist if you do not own it yet. I own it on disc but have been looking for a streaming version as it makes it easier to watch next to reactions for me. Jess, I edited my original comment below to remove a possible expectation spoiler (though I am pretty sure you already know what I mentioned). I thought of something else I wanted to mention though. For next month's reaction to Close Encounters of the Third Kind you have three different versions to pick from and the run times are all similar (only 5 min difference between the shortest and the longest). Those few minutes change the tone of each version quite a bit IMHO. My first request is that you tell us which version you watch before the video starts so we can know what version to synch or buy. Also, IMHO I think the best version is the director's cut, followed by the theatrical version, and then the special edition. I love them all though so if you have watched it already or many others have a different opinion I am fine with that, I just wanted to give you my opinion.