Real Rocky, The (2011)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Extremely good documentary about Chuck Wepner, a man whose name most people probably won't know but he was the main inspiration for Sylvester Stallone and ROCKY. For years Stallone kept using Wepner's life in a number of his movies but when Wepner tried to get paid for what he had done, Stallone then claimed that the boxer had not been an inspiration. The thing would eventually be settled out of court but this documentary really gives the viewer no doubt that the ROCKY series owed a lot to Wepner. The amazing thing is that it wasn't just the ROCKY movies that Stallone borrowed from. This documentary is a very entertaining piece and especially for those who don't know the full story of Wepner. I had only vaguely heard of him but after viewing this there's no doubt in my mind that Stallone really owed this guy a lot and it's a shame that it took so long for Wepner to get some credit. The most obvious example is when Ali offered a "nobody" a chance at the title. This led to a Heaveyweight bout where Wepner was able to go fifteen-rounds with the champ, which is something no one expect. All the stock footage leading up to the fight was incredibly entertaining and somewhat shocking when Ali wanted to turn this into a race fight to try and gather more attention. The film does a pretty good job at showing the comparisons of Wepner's life and not only the Rocky character but a few others from Stallone's movies.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Extremely good documentary about Chuck Wepner, a man whose name most people probably won't know but he was the main inspiration for Sylvester Stallone and ROCKY. For years Stallone kept using Wepner's life in a number of his movies but when Wepner tried to get paid for what he had done, Stallone then claimed that the boxer had not been an inspiration. The thing would eventually be settled out of court but this documentary really gives the viewer no doubt that the ROCKY series owed a lot to Wepner. The amazing thing is that it wasn't just the ROCKY movies that Stallone borrowed from. This documentary is a very entertaining piece and especially for those who don't know the full story of Wepner. I had only vaguely heard of him but after viewing this there's no doubt in my mind that Stallone really owed this guy a lot and it's a shame that it took so long for Wepner to get some credit. The most obvious example is when Ali offered a "nobody" a chance at the title. This led to a Heaveyweight bout where Wepner was able to go fifteen-rounds with the champ, which is something no one expect. All the stock footage leading up to the fight was incredibly entertaining and somewhat shocking when Ali wanted to turn this into a race fight to try and gather more attention. The film does a pretty good job at showing the comparisons of Wepner's life and not only the Rocky character but a few others from Stallone's movies.