Telling the birth of Rocky means starting from a story whose ending we already know all too well. We know that Sylvester Stallone will manage to bring his screenplay to the screen, we know he will insist on portraying Rocky Balboa personally, and we know that that film will forever change his career. And yet, I Play Rocky seems to have succeeded in telling that story in a way that makes us root for Stallone once again, even though we know perfectly well how it will end.
The film directed by Peter Farrelly, already famed for Green Book, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the audience reception was particularly warm. During the premiere there were long applause and several standing ovations, especially in the moments when the film reconstructs some of the episodes that have now entered the legend of Rocky’s birth.
I Play Rocky Captivates the Toronto Audience
The initial reactions after the screening describe a film built to engage the audience and transport them directly back to the origins of one of cinema’s most famous characters.
Some reviews described I Play Rocky as one of the most moving films of the year, others as a practically irresistible crowd-pleaser. There are even reports of a theater reacting to the pivotal sequences as if a real Rocky Balboa bout were taking place on screen.
Farrelly chose to tell Stallone’s story, in part, using the same structure that made Rocky famous: that of a man with no money and no real standing in the industry, who is continually told why his project cannot work and who, despite everything, keeps trying.
The viewer already knows the outcome of the story, but according to the most positive reactions, I Play Rocky nevertheless manages to generate tension and engagement, making us hope Stallone will succeed even though we know very well how it will end.
Anthony Ippolito Delivers in the Role of Sylvester Stallone
A large portion of the attention inevitably focused on Anthony Ippolito, tasked with portraying the young Sylvester Stallone. A role particularly risky given how recognizable the actor’s voice, mannerisms, and way of speaking are.
The danger was to turn Stallone into an impersonation. According to many of the early reviews, however, Ippolito managed to avoid precisely this trap, concentrating on the man who existed before fame: a still-unknown young actor, stubborn in wanting to defend a story in which no one seemed to believe as much as he did.
Not Everyone Is Convinced: The Weight of Nostalgia
Yet the reception was not entirely unanimous. Some critics highlighted how the film leans heavily on nostalgia and the affection the public already feels for Rocky and for Sylvester Stallone.
I Play Rocky reconstructs images, situations, and moments now iconic, inevitably playing with the memory of the audience. For some, this familiarity is precisely what makes the film so engaging; for others, instead, Farrelly would know too well which chords to strike to elicit an emotional reaction from those who arrive in the theater already in love with this story.
The result is a film that is dividing mainly on this point: on one side those who consider it one of the year’s most accomplished and emotional titles, on the other those who see in its contagious enthusiasm mainly the result of nostalgia used with great precision.
For Italian audiences the wait will last a few more months: I Play Rocky will arrive in Italian theaters on December 31, 2026.
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