Rocky (film)/YMMV

• Accidental Innuendo: Rocky's special training routine in the first film consists of him "beating his meat."
• Crowning Music of Awesome: THE EYE OF THE TIIIIIIIIIGERRRRRR!
  • Don't forget Gonna Fly Now
  • Going the Distance
  • This as well
  • Everything from Rocky IV.
  • The fight from Rocky IV scored to a new version of Bill Conti's "Conquest" theme during the opening credits of Rocky V.
• Ensemble Darkhorse: Apollo Creed's nameless trainer in the first film gets an expanded role in all the subsequent ones, including getting a name (Duke). He ends up being the only character/actor other than Stallone and Burt Young to appear in all six films.
• Fridge Brilliance: Rocky Balboa works as either a direct sequel to V, a sequel to just Rocky that ignores the four other films, or as a standalone film. One does not need to have any direct knowledge of the prior Rocky films to enjoy it. How awesome is that?
  • Though he was a former champion in Balboa, so perhaps the third in a trilogy consisting of Rocky, Rocky II, and Rocky Balboa
• Funny Aneurysm Moment: In the Mad Magazine spoof of Rocky IV, after Apollo Creed dies, Adrian mentions being nervous because Mickey died in III, and now Apollo, meaning she's next if there's a V. While she doesn't die in V, she does die between then and Balboa.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: In Rocky IV, the depiction of the new (at the time) Soviet premiere Mikhail Gorbachev. Probably one of the nicest leaders in Russian history!
  • It's hard to call Gorbachev "nice" : he was a pure product of the Soviet Communist Party elite, most of his mentors and people who made him Secretary General were leaders of the KGB and the Soviet Army, he was a Magnificent Bastard who efficiently and ruthlessly eliminated (politically, not physically) many of his opponents in the Politburo and his real primary goal was pure Soviet national interest : preserve the USSR's status as a superpower through intense reforms (not that any other leader doesn't do the same). However, it is true that he quickly tried to appear as a nice and wise leader, looking only for peace and such. And this worked extremely well in America and elsewhere in the West (the infamous "Gorbymania"), making his depiction in this movie hilariously stand out.
• Ho Yay/Foe Yay: Apollo and Rocky.
• Memetic Mutation: Any big, strong, Russian character with a mean streak (or just a flat-out desire to win) will have Ivan Drago's famous line "I must break you" tied to them at one point or another.
  • I PITY THE FOOL!
    • SHUT UP, FOOL!
    • "ADRIAAAAAAAAAN!"
    • Yer a BUM Rakkko.
    • The steps. Just,...just the steps.
    • He'll kill ya Rock! He's a wwwrrrrecking machine!
  • The Training Montage is also getting popular...
  • The concept of the movie itself. Calling anything a Rocky moment, a Rocky story, or what have you, is pretty much synonymous with an underdog story. Rocky is a Trope Codifier for the underdog.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In IV, Apollo's showboating and attempted intimidation of Drago by exposing him to a ridiculously overblown introduction - complete with James Brown - arguably results in the Russians intimidating Rocky during the match in Russia, with the incredibly dramatic Soviet anthem and portrait of Drago being unveiled.
• Sequelitis: The franchise was widely accused of this, becoming a frequent source of mockery as the series progressed. II and III were fairly well received, but IV and V are nearly unanimously despised, especially the latter. Balboa is move divisive - some found it a nice return to form and cap-off to the franchise, others found it unnecessary.
• Straw Man Has a Point: Rocky IV. Ivan Drago rebels against his Russian handlers and yells that he isn't boxing for Russia, but for himself. Somehow, this makes him a selfish jerk instead of a wordless tool suddenly desiring freedom of choice. Of course, he earlier accidentally killed murdered a certain former champ, so he can't really gain any sympathy.
  • Apollo was arguably responsible for his own fate as much as Drago was, given he demanded that Rocky not thrown in the towel for him.
  • Also it's possible to look at that another way: Ivan declaring that he's fighting for himself was actually meant as Character Development, showing that he wanted to win on his own terms and to say he did it, just like Rocky does. It's the first time he really starts to be his own man rather than just a flesh and blood avatar of Soviet power.