The upcoming Rocky origin film, which follows then-unknown writer and actor Sylvester Stallone’s struggle to make the classic movie, has been met with some dazzling praise.
I Play Rocky, which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) over the weekend, was dubbed ‘magnificent’, ‘a winner’ and ‘one of the best movies of the year’ by giddy critics and influencers lucky enough to catch its first screenings.
Rocky, the 1976 movie which told the story of a small-time Philadelphia boxer who gets the rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion, is famous for having a fascinating underdog behind-the-scenes story too, as Stallone fought to get the movie made as a struggling actor who had never penned a script before.
Ultimately, after rejecting a six-figure pay day to let someone else star in it, the actor recruited director John G. Avildsen and was given a small $1million budget. It then became the highest-grossing film of the year, earned 10 Oscar nominations and won three – including best picture.
This Hollywood fairytale is the basis of I Play Rocky, directed by Green Book and There’s Something About Mary filmmaker Peter Farrelly and starring Anthony Ippolito as the young Stallone.
‘I Play Rocky is a really beautiful reminder of the magic and inspiration in filmmaking, swinging a great emotional punch,’ posted film journalist and podcast host Brandon Davis. ‘Anthony Ippolito is a knockout with an exceptional supporting cast around him, many of whom are sneaky funny. They did a great job here. Tremendous movie.’
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Meanwhile @adamreviewsfilms dubbed the film ‘a masterpiece’ and described Ippolito as ‘a real contender for the best performance of the year’.
‘Perfectly captures one of the most iconic cinematic achievements in history and the legend of Stallone. An absolute must watch,’ he added.
‘I Play Rocky was absolutely amazing. The cast was uncanny. This is a winner,’ agreed @joblocom, while blog @theholofiles celebrated ‘a magnificent underdog story about the making of a magnificent underdog story’ and called Ippolito ‘indistinguishable from Stallone’ in some scenes.
‘So much heart, so crowd pleasing, so soulful, this is one of the best movies of the year and easily one of the best movies about the making of a movie of all time’.
Others reported on the reaction in the room, with Erik Davis writing: ‘Credits just hit on #IPlayRocky and the entire theatre is already on its feet. Biggest reaction I’ve seen at #TIFF so far.’
‘Idk [sic] if I’ve ever seen a crowd receive a film so rapturously at TIFF in recent memory as they just did for I Play Rocky. Holy s**t,’ added TV and film journalist @treymagnum.
Official reviews have largely so far also been positive, with the film sitting on 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, from 21 reviews at the time of publication.
Screen Rant has echoed other praise, dubbing it ‘easily one of the year’s best movies to date’, while Deadline’s Pete Hammond called it ‘a winner in every way’ and praised it for ‘manag[ing] to carry the same emotional wallop as the original Rocky.’
Are you excited for I Play Rocky?
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Yes, I can’t wait!
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No, it’s not for me
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I wasn’t, but the response has intrigued me
‘I Play Rocky is a rare thing, a film that gets more enjoyable as it goes on – right till the end. There’s no sag. I never once got tired of it. Frankly, I wouldn’t have said “no thanks” to another fifteen minutes,’ wrote The New York Post’s critic Johnny Oleksinski.
Indiewire was a little more reserved in its praise, with Kate Erbland noting: ‘You can see the strings being pulled (the ropes being strung?), but that means it works more often than not. With a big crowd, I Play Rocky does exactly what it’s trying to do.’
However other critics were not fans, with Screen International’s Robert Daniels calling it ‘uninventive’ and ‘a walking piece of pastiche’, while Nick Schager for The Daily Beast labelled it ‘an insult’ to the original and ‘[a] corny pantomime, which reveals nothing, stumbles incessantly, and wholly pales in comparison to its iconic subject matter’.
Fans have been excited to watch the film since Ippolito’s ‘spot on’ portrayal of Stallone was unveiled in the trailer in July.
‘Holy s**t, I’m freaked out. This looks like AI. The guy is IDENTICAL to young Stallone. The voice is the same, the way he talks. This nutjob is gonna win the Oscar,’ announced Rodolfo Gomes on X at the time, while Stephen L Miller joked: ‘This guy has Stallone so down that the sequel to this should be I Play Rambo.’
Rocky’s success led to a further eight sequels and spin-off movies, with 2023’s Creed III – the most recent film about the son of Rocky’s former rival, Apollo Creed, played by Michael B Jordan – the first to not feature Stallone reprising his trademark role.
Crowdpleasers don’t need to please critics
By Senior Film Reporter, Tori Brazier
In my initial coverage of I Play Rocky, I suggested it may all be ‘a bit too much’, given the clichés and dramatic moments, as well as all the – very obvious – re-enactments from the classic film in the trailer.
But the film’s initial reception out of TIFF proves, as ever, that often those things won’t matter if audiences are truly entertained.
No one can deny the behind-the-scenes struggle Stallone faced to make Rocky is a fascinating one, mirroring a lot of the story onscreen, and it’s unsurprising that Hollywood couldn’t resist retelling this real-life Cinderella story, which took Stallone and the movie all the way to the Oscars.
Now playing at TIFF could be considered a bit of a home crowd advantage, given how many American critics, influencers and industry people attend. I Play Rocky might receive a slightly less enthusiastic reception elsewhere – and some of its harsher critics have already complained it’s merely a pale imitation of real life.
But in a world of sequels and reliable franchises – of which Rocky is one of the originals – it’s unsurprising film fans are more than happy to line up for another serving, especially from a new perspective.
And a movie never needed to be perfect, or entirely original, to inspire fandom – and that includes from critics.
Stallone isn’t involved with I Play Rocky either, but director Farrelly revealed in a post-screening Q&A that Stallone has seen the finished film and approves, telling the audience: ‘Yeah, Sly liked it.’
Ippolito also took part in the session and admitted he feels grateful to Farrelly and the producers for casting him as Stallone and taking a huge chance on an unknown actor – in keeping with the spirit of the original film.
He said: ‘[I’m] grateful [they] were willing to take a chance on me. The movie shows it’s not easy to be an actor sometimes and this is absolutely surreal.’
I Play Rocky will be released in UK cinemas on November 6, and in US cinemas on November 20.