I would first like to note that I am reviewing the entire Rocky series together. This is because it would be a waste of my time to read, and a waste of your time to read five plot descriptions that are highly similar. There naturally are differences which will be noted as we go, but any comment that is not specified to be about a single movie we can assume is about the whole series.

To start things off, we have the character Rocky. Well played by Silvester Stilone, Rocky gets amazing well across the stupid but good guy feeling that makes everyone fall in love with the character. Almost Forest Gump like in nature, Rocky never had much of a chance academically, but gets through his problems in life based on values. This endearing attribute grows as the series progresses, and for this reviewer, it is vindicated with the line in Rocky V "I find I love just about everybody." The Rocky character truly holds the series together, and the same events, with a more intellectual main character could never have done as well.

On to one of the main points of the film, the fights. The fights in the Rocky series tend to follow a distinct pattern. Rocky is beaten on savagely throughout, Then in the last round he comes back, and returns the pain to his opponent with the theme song blareing to accompany some vicious rib shots. The exception naturally is Rocky V, in which there is no official fight. The fights tend to drag on a bit long, for the first part, but we always get a satisfying finish as Rocky comes back into the action.

Then of course, my faveourite part of the films, the training scenes. Rocky always has to train coming up to the big fight. And be it switching to right hand, becoming a speed fighter, or going back to the basics, Rocky's training always has a deliberate purpose. The training scene in the fourth movie, is probably the best scene in the series. As Rocky and Draco train in utterly different senarios, distinct similarities are shown. The scene reaches it's climax as they both attempt a steep up hill run, Rocky on rough mountainous terrain, and Draco on a fast pumping treadmill. The only problem with the fourth movie's training sequence is the lack of the well known theme music that goes hand in hand with those scenes. The scene in the second in the series is also particularly good, as it turns the film into a real 'feel good' frame of mind, as Rocky gets his life back on track, and gets going.

With simple enough plots, the movies manage to comvey exactly what they want to, without any extra junk that we don't need, except for the previously noted stretching of the fights. The love interest between Rocky and Adrian manages to become clearly not a sub-plot, and directly links itself to the events of the film. The plot gives a deep insight into the story of a man trying to get his life back on the right track for the first and second movies, while the third and fourth tend to concentrate more on prepareing for the fight of his life. (which one that is we have yet to work out.)

The Rocky series leave you with a good feeling, and is always welcome for watching multiple times. Recommended to people of most ages, though several of the more brutal parts of the fights are unsuitible for children of too young an age.


-Trekie