Rocky is a true Hollywood classic and one of the best inspirational sports movies ever made. However, it has achieved a masterpiece status that it may not deserve, and may actually harm the movie’s reputation. Rocky is the story of a small-time boxer who finally gets the chance to achieve his dreams.

A big thing about Rocky is that it was a pᴀssion project for Sylvester Stallone. He had a chance to let someone else star in it, but held on and wouldn’t accept an offer until he played the role of Rocky. It was his best decision because without Sly, Rocky might not have been such a big hit.

Another big thing that helps elevate Rocky above other inspirational sports movies is that Rocky Balboa loses the big fight. This makes it seem more realistic, as he won the respect of the fans and Apollo Creed, even without needing to win the тιтle. However, these standout moments do not make Rocky a masterpiece.

Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Is Good, But I’ve Never Seen It As A Masterpiece

Rocky is a really good movie. It deserves all the accolades and praise it receives since it helped show the world what a feel-good, inspirational sports movie should look like. This is the story of a regular guy with big dreams, and when he gets the chance, he doesn’t let anything stand in his way of trying to achieve them.

This is what makes the first Rocky movie resonate so well with the audience. This is a story that lets anyone who watches it believe they can fight for their dreams, and even if they fall in the end, they still emerge victorious in life. That is an important message for any movie, and Rocky does it spectacularly.

However, as a movie, several problematic moments in Rocky prevent it from achieving masterpiece status. Rocky’s relationship with Adrian is never as good or pure as the script might have hoped. He is also a terrible boxer and should have lost more than once, thanks to the punishment he allowed his body to take.

One thing that really hurts Rocky’s status as a masterpiece is that a boxing masterpiece came out a few years later in Raging Bull. Instead of the inspirational underdog sports story of trying to win a тιтle and his girl, this is about a boxer who destroys everything he touches, and it displays the horrors of a boxer’s life.

Rocky is a great movie and one of the best feel-good stories in sports film history. However, when compared to a true masterpiece like Raging Bull, Rocky looks just that much smaller, which keeps it from reaching the level of Martin Scorsese’s boxing movie.

Rocky’s Cultural Legacy Has Exaggerated How Good The Original Movie Is

The one thing that makes people call Rocky a masterpiece is its legacy. Martin Scorsese allowed Raging Bull to stand on its own, and it did that masterfully. Sylvester Stallone turned Rocky into a franchise, which helped it rise higher in the public consciousness. This includes sequels and later spinoff movies.

A movie with numerous sequels might be more popular, but that does not make the original a masterpiece in its own right. What also hurts Rocky’s status as a masterpiece is that the sequels damaged part of what made the original special. Rocky didn’t need to win in the first movie, but the second forced him to take the тιтle.

The fifth movie was critically destroyed as the worst in the franchise, almost killing it and ruining the entire series’ reputation. It took Stallone years to help the franchise recover from that movie, but by then, people had elevated the first movie to great heights, although possibly higher than it truly deserved based on its merits.

Rocky Isn’t The Best Movie In Its Own Franchise

Rocky is a great movie about an underdog reaching for the top. As such, it works perfectly as an inspirational sports movie. However, even with the legacy of the original Rocky, it isn’t even the best movie in the franchise. While the Rocky sequels are hit-and-miss, the franchise reached an all-time high when it moved away from Rocky Balboa.

Creed is easily the best movie in the Rocky franchise for many reasons. Creed follows Adonis Johnson, the son of Apollo Creed, and someone who never knew his dad since he died in the ring with Ivan Drago. With Rocky’s help, Adonis finds his place in the boxing world and helps continue his father’s legacy.

What is special is that the movie even did the same ending as Rocky, with Adonis losing by split decision, but proving himself. When stacked side-by-side, Creed is a better movie than Rocky, although it will never match the reputation of the original Sylvester Stallone film.