I Play Rocky Review: Stallone’s Underdog Story Goes Distance

Anthony Ippolito delivers a knockout performance as Sylvester Stallone in Peter Farrelly’s emotional underdog story, even as pacing issues keep the film from delivering a perfect victory.

Many cinephiles are well aware of the journey that ‘Rocky’ took to become the “little movie that could” of 1976. The film that was made for less than $1 million and starred a certain actor that – at that time – no one had ever heard of would, of course, go on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, spawn a massive franchise, and go down as one of the most memorable movies in the history of cinema. But does ‘I Play Rocky’, a biopic that chronicles the making of ‘Rocky’, also go the distance? The answer is that the movie, like the titular boxer, manages to move forward with an emotional story despite taking a few punches along the way.

The Fight to Bring Rocky to Life

Anthony Ippolito plays Sylvester Stallone (heard of him?), a struggling actor taking any audition he can get between working odd jobs and occasionally resorting to sleeping on the street. During his audition process, Stallone is eventually recognized for his writing talent by a pair of producers, Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff, portrayed by P.J. Byrne and Toby Kebbell, respectively. When Stallone eventually hands Winkler and Chartoff the script for ‘Rocky’, they enthusiastically want to make it, that is, until Stallone gives them the caveat that Stallone himself must portray the lead character Rocky Balboa.

Naturally, studio head Sandy Maddox (portrayed by a perfectly crotchety Tracy Letts) is against the idea, and a large portion of the plot is about the negotiation of the studio’s attempt to raise the price in order to buy out the script from Stallone so they can make the movie without his direct involvement.

We all know how Stallone’s career turned out in reality, and that success is mostly owed to ‘Rocky’.

So the fact that Stallone’s stubbornness to release the script for what was a very large sum of money, especially in the early 1970’s, is such a prominent plot point in the movie is undoubtedly important. However, the pacing of this portion of the film is really to the overall detriment of the flow of the story, especially when audiences of the movie know where it’s eventually going, and just want to see how ‘Rocky’ was eventually made.

Once the plot gets over that speed bump and we get into the movie within the movie, it really starts to take off, and the charm begins to shine through. Seeing some of the most iconic scenes of ‘Rocky’ being recreated and how they came to be is fascinating, especially since in some cases it’s budget and timing reasons that led to odd choices that actually made some of the scenes ultimately more endearing in the final cut.

Anthony Ippolito Delivers a Knockout Performance

Ippolito is staggering in his portrayal of a young Stallone. It’s cliché to say at this point, but there really are several times that you forget that you aren’t actually watching Stallone and instead an actor portraying him. Early on in the film, there are some times where the portrayal teeters on impersonation and true embodiment, but Ippolito is really able to get there. At the end of the film, when the audience is shown some of the recreated scenes of ‘Rocky’, there were true moments where I had to double-take to see if I was seeing the actual film or a recreation.

‘I Play Rocky’ is also a great stage for some character actors to get more of a chance to shine. In addition to Byrne, Kebbell, and Letts mentioned above, Jay Duplass memorably portrays director John Avildsen, who is brought on to make ‘Rocky’ happen on the most minimal of budgets. AnnaSophia Robb is Sasha Czack, Stallone’s love interest and eventual wife, and Robb is able to be a grounded center that’s needed for how big of a character that Stallone can be.

About midway through the film, Stephan James enters the film as Carl Weathers, and he charismatically demands all attention and gives the movie a massive jolt of energy. James’ portrayal of the late Weathers is absolutely spot-on and entertaining, and one of the biggest complaints I had was that we didn’t get to see more of it.

An Inspiring Story That Stumbles Along the Way

‘I Play Rocky’ leaves you feeling a bit torn because there is definitely an emotional rush seeing Stallone conquer the odds and make ‘Rocky’ happen. However, when you’re seeing recreated scenes of ‘Rocky’ play out in front of you, you can’t help but ask yourself why you aren’t just watching ‘Rocky’ instead. The whole point of the ‘Rocky’ screenplay is that Stallone put himself on the page, and then was able to put himself on the screen. So seeing a movie tell that story in some ways just feels redundant, despite being an overall enjoyable experience.

VERDICT

Director Peter Farrelly reached into his ‘Green Book’ hat and has proven once again that he knows how to direct a film with tons of mass appeal despite some storytelling flaws. While ‘I Play Rocky’ does encounter some major pacing issues throughout, ultimately some strong performances and emotional storytelling are enough for this film to go the distance. ‘I Play Rocky’ will definitely play well with audiences this holiday season.

I PLAY ROCKY arrives in select theaters on November 6, 2026, before expanding nationwide on November 20, 2026.

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