When making a biographical film about the making of an American classic, how do you approach it? Do you make a hard hitting drama highlighting the team involved and how it was accomplished or do you make a fast and loose adaptation about the person behind the story and tell the tale of how they were inspired to write it? Most would and have taken the former approach while others sometimes take the latter. In a risky move, this film takes both approaches and weaves them into a charming and inspiring tale that works on many levels, but doesn't quite balance itself perfectly. It was sometimes unclear if it wanted to be a biopic of Sylvester Stallone or a “making of” film for Rocky. The charm is there but I think the tension between him and the studio wasn't lived in enough for me.
Anthony Ippolito was absolutely brilliant as a young and ambitious Sylvester Stallone. My main concern was how his voice was gonna sound. It was that delicate balance between impression and embodiment that Anthony had to walk and he nailed it. He captured his iconic gravel tone and higher pitch when he gets emotional perfectly. Anthony truly takes us back in time as he not only looks and sounds identical to Stallone, but he moves exactly like him. He nails the down to earth and humble guy that Sly was coming up from nothing. Matt Dillon was fantastic as his father, Frank Stallone Sr. He was a tough loving man that wasn't always right, but when he was, he was inspiring and funny in the best way. I felt the history between him and Sylvester as you can see the stress and trauma start to bubble up in a particular scene in such a subtle way. AnnaSophia Robb was wonderful as Sylvester's wife, Sasha Czack. Their romance was a bit rushed, but their chemistry as the film goes along makes up for it. I loved that she became apart of his dream and wasn't a foot note in the story. She was his true partner in the writing process and I loved her insights. P. J. Byrne and Toby Kebbell were fantastic as the producing team Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff. They showed that movie a making is every part of the business aspect of "show business" and they never let Sylvester forget that. I loved that they both saw the potential in Sly and never betrayed him. It was a business relationship that you see start to become a true friendship. Tracy Letts was hilarious and full of wrath as the studio executive, Sandy Maddox. He was abrasive, stern and the perfect composition of many typical types of the studio executive. Jay Duplass was great as the artistic and full of himself director, John G. Avildsen. I liked his combative nature and inventive mind when it came to getting the work done. Stephan James took me by surprise with his portrayal of Carl Weathers. He captured his speed of speech and boisterous attitude and more importantly, he captured his willingness to adapt. He was hilarious and I loved the time we got to spend with him as he chewed up all of his scenery .
The score by Dave Palmer was good and smooth as he highlighted the struggle Sylvester went through to make it on his own. The more sweeter moments between him and his wife were warmed by his score. Bill Conti's iconic theme was used perfectly during the making of Rocky and I loved seeing all the iconic scenes being remade before our eyes. Like I said before, the film was both a biography on Stallone and his iconic character, but I just felt that it was without tension for me. This film may tell a version of what really happened in the “making of” process, but I think I wanted it to be more of a drama than a comedy at times. Overall, this was still a really good film about chasing your dreams, standing on your principles and believing in yourself that any artist must watch and will be inspired by. Do stick around for the end credits for some great archival footage. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
