Enter a Rotten Tomatoes movie slug to inspect the stored movie, batches, snapshots, and reviews.
Movie ID: 1352
RT slug: i_play_rocky
RT URL: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_play_rocky
Release year: 2026
Runtime: 128 mins
Wide release date: —
Limited release date: 2026-11-13
Festival premiere date: —
Streaming release date: —
Tomatometer final: 80%
Audience score final: —
Genres: Biography, Drama
Directors: Peter Farrelly
Writers: Peter Gamble
Producers: Christian Baha, Michele Weiss, Paul Currie, Peter Farrelly, Toby Emmerich
MPAA rating: PG-13
Executive Producers: —
Created: 2026-09-17 14:49:52
Updated: 2026-09-18 16:53:46
The film is an electrifying true story about an unknown actor with an unshakable belief that he wasn't just meant to write Rocky--he was meant to be Rocky Balboa. Told "no" at every turn, Sylvester Stallone bets everything on himself, holding the line on playing the lead against seemingly impossible odds. The result is the ultimate underdog story behind the ultimate underdog movie.
—
Canonical reviews: 45
Canonical fresh: 38
Canonical rotten: 7
Canonical calculated Tomatometer: 45 (38/7), 84% (84.444% raw)
Latest snapshot UTC: 2026-10-19 17:50:29
Snapshot Tomatometer: 84%
Snapshot review count: 45
Snapshot fresh count: —
Snapshot rotten count: —
Source note: Imported from manual review paste batch #4720 (delta_update)
| Company | Role |
|---|---|
| Amazon MGM Studios | distributor |
| Baha Productions | production |
| Fireside Films | production |
| Billing | Name | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony Ippolito | Sylvester Stallone |
| 2 | Matt Dillon | Frank Stallone Sr. |
| 3 | AnnaSophia Robb | Sasha |
| 4 | P.J. Byrne | Irwin Winkler |
| 5 | Toby Kebbell | Robert Chartoff |
| Batch ID | Status | Mode | Created | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1368 | processed | — | 2026-09-17 14:49:52 | Processed successfully into movie_id=1352 using update_mode=merge_non_empty. |
| Batch ID | Local Snapshot | UTC Snapshot | Entered % | Entered Count | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4720 | 2026-10-19 12:50:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-10-19 17:50:29 | 84% | 45 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 1 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=1, fresh=1, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=1, fresh=1, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=45 reviews, 38 fresh, 7 rotten, tomatometer=84% (84.444%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (45 reviews, 84%). |
| 4293 | 2026-10-02 11:51:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-10-02 16:51:08 | 84% | 44 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 1 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=1, fresh=1, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=1, fresh=1, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=44 reviews, 37 fresh, 7 rotten, tomatometer=84% (84.091%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (44 reviews, 84%). |
| 4157 | 2026-09-29 08:51:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-29 13:51:54 | 84% | 43 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 1 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=1, fresh=1, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=1, fresh=1, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=43 reviews, 36 fresh, 7 rotten, tomatometer=84% (83.721%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (43 reviews, 84%). |
| 4156 | 2026-09-29 07:45:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-29 12:45:48 | 83% | 42 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 1 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=1, fresh=1, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=1, fresh=1, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=42 reviews, 35 fresh, 7 rotten, tomatometer=83% (83.333%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (42 reviews, 83%). |
| 4086 | 2026-09-25 18:02:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-25 23:02:07 | 83% | 41 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 41 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=41, fresh=34, rotten=7, tomatometer=83%. Net new reviews added=0, fresh=0, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=42 reviews, 35 fresh, 7 rotten, tomatometer=83% (83.333%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (41). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (83%). |
| 4085 | 2026-09-25 17:51:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-25 22:51:45 | 83% | 41 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 2 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=2, fresh=2, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=2, fresh=2, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=42 reviews, 35 fresh, 7 rotten, tomatometer=83% (83.333%). WARNING: entered headline 41 reviews / 83% did not match current canonical totals 42 reviews / 83%. |
| 4019 | 2026-09-24 13:00:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-24 18:00:18 | 82% | 39 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 39 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=39, fresh=32, rotten=7, tomatometer=82%. Net new reviews added=0, fresh=0, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=40 reviews, 33 fresh, 7 rotten, tomatometer=83% (82.500%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (39). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (82%). |
| 4018 | 2026-09-24 12:53:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-24 17:53:15 | 82% | 39 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 39 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=39, fresh=32, rotten=7, tomatometer=82%. Net new reviews added=0, fresh=0, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=40 reviews, 33 fresh, 7 rotten, tomatometer=83% (82.500%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (39). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (82%). |
| 4016 | 2026-09-24 12:41:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-24 17:41:15 | 82% | 39 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 39 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=39, fresh=32, rotten=7, tomatometer=82%. Net new reviews added=0, fresh=0, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=40 reviews, 33 fresh, 7 rotten, tomatometer=83% (82.500%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (39). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (82%). |
| 4012 | 2026-09-24 12:11:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-24 17:11:07 | 82% | 39 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 2 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=2, fresh=2, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=2, fresh=2, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=40 reviews, 33 fresh, 7 rotten, tomatometer=83% (82.500%). WARNING: entered headline 39 reviews / 82% did not match current canonical totals 40 reviews / 83%. |
| 3855 | 2026-09-20 09:11:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-20 14:11:52 | 82% | 38 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 1 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=1, fresh=1, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=1, fresh=1, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=38 reviews, 31 fresh, 7 rotten, tomatometer=82% (81.579%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (38 reviews, 82%). |
| 3805 | 2026-09-18 12:02:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-18 17:02:37 | 81% | 37 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 1 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=1, fresh=1, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=1, fresh=1, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=37 reviews, 30 fresh, 7 rotten, tomatometer=81% (81.081%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (37 reviews, 81%). |
| 3777 | 2026-09-17 17:01:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-17 22:01:08 | 81% | 36 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 1 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=1, fresh=1, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=1, fresh=1, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=36 reviews, 29 fresh, 7 rotten, tomatometer=81% (80.556%). Entered headline matched current canonical totals (36 reviews, 81%). |
| 3733 | 2026-09-17 09:48:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-09-17 14:48:26 | 80% | 35 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 35 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=35, fresh=28, rotten=7, tomatometer=80%. Net new reviews added=35, fresh=28, rotten=7. Current canonical totals=35 reviews, 28 fresh, 7 rotten, tomatometer=80% (80.000%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (35). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (80%). |
| ID | Critic | Outlet | Fresh? | Score | RT Time Raw | Approx Published UTC | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 291671 | Lexi Amoriello | Movie Recs by Lex | Fresh | — | 1 hr ago | 2026-10-19 16:50:00 | It packs a one-two punch of humor and heart that’s likely to delight most moviegoers...While it may not work for everyone, I’d much rather see more movies like this than a generic Sylvester Stallone biopic or an unnecessary Rocky remake. |
| 284870 | Ridge Harripersad | CGMagazine | Fresh | 8.5/10 | 2026-10-02T16:03:45.000Z | 2026-10-02 16:03:45 | "There has not been a biographical drama that has got me hyped the whole time more than I Play Rocky...By some miracle, [Peter] Farrelly was able to capture the lightning in a bottle." |
| 280975 | Neil Pond | Neil's Entertainment Picks | Fresh | 4/5 | 2026-09-29T13:10:17.000Z | 2026-09-29 13:10:17 | The story you didn’t know about a movie almost everyone knows—and one that became a multi-film franchise, a pop-cultural touchstone, a multiple Oscar winner and the launching pad for Stallone’s blockbuster acting career. |
| 280974 | Ricky Valero | Geek Vibes Nation | Fresh | 8/10 | 2026-09-29T11:49:00.000Z | 2026-09-29 11:49:00 | I Play Rocky is a poignant knockout that delivers all the goods. Anthony Ippolito is pure perfection as Stallone, leading to a performance you won't soon forget. |
| 279698 | Joe Schmidt | Polygon | Fresh | — | 2026-09-25T21:50:24.000Z | 2026-09-25 21:50:24 | This is a movie that deftly captures the painstaking journey to create something with meaning, even when you're struggling to figure out what that meaning is in the moment. |
| 279699 | Adam Courtliff | InSession Film | Fresh | A- | 2026-09-25T12:42:34.000Z | 2026-09-25 12:42:34 | I Play Rocky does a phenomenal job of harnessing that spirit without simply trying to replicate it, turning Stallone’s incredible journey into one of the most enjoyable rags-to-riches stories in recent memory. |
| 279545 | Max Covill | It's The Pictures | Fresh | B- | 2026-09-24T15:55:31.000Z | 2026-09-24 15:55:31 | It’s not as compelling as Rocky, but it doesn’t need to be. I Play Rocky will have audiences cheering all the same. |
| 276830 | Rachel Wagner | Hallmarkies Podcast | Fresh | — | 2026-09-19T23:01:22.000Z | 2026-09-19 23:01:22 | crowd pleasing, entertaining. Anthony Ippolito is amazing |
| 275867 | Bill Bria | Slashfilm | Fresh | 7/10 | 2026-09-18T16:03:23.000Z | 2026-09-18 16:03:23 | I Play Rocky makes a respectable companion piece to Rocky itself. |
| 275799 | Rachel Ho | Exclaim! | Fresh | 7/10 | 2026-09-17T21:45:17.000Z | 2026-09-17 21:45:17 | Easily the most crowd-pleasing film at this year's Toronto International Film Festival. |
| 270345 | Radheyan Simonpillai | Guardian | Fresh | — | 2026-09-17T12:04:58.000Z | 2026-09-17 12:04:58 | It’s all very amusing but I Play Rocky rarely has pathos in its corner. Save for some truly touching moments involving Stallone’s struggle to care for his dog Butkus, it’s often as emotionally vacant as Stallone’s stare. |
| 270346 | Eli Friedberg | Slant Magazine | Rotten | 1.5/4 | 2026-09-17T02:32:17.000Z | 2026-09-17 02:32:17 | Peter Farrelly’s film shows little interest in uncovering anything beneath the familiar surface of the Hollywood icon at its center. |
| 270347 | Nate Adams | The Only Critic | Fresh | B+ | 2026-09-16T22:47:23.000Z | 2026-09-16 22:47:23 | Anthony Ippolito delivers the kind of uncanny transformation that occasionally makes you forget you are watching an actor playing Stallone rather than Stallone himself. |
| 270348 | David Gonzalez | The Cinematic Reel | Fresh | — | 2026-09-16T20:29:51.000Z | 2026-09-16 20:29:51 | 4.5 I Play Rocky goes the distance! Peter Farrelly captures the spirit of what made Rocky Balboa an icon by turning Sylvester Stallone’s journey into its own rousing underdog story. |
| 270349 | Brian Tallerico | RogerEbert.com | Fresh | 2.5/4 | 2026-09-15T04:45:37.000Z | 2026-09-15 04:45:37 | As Stallone battles homelessness, finds love, and writes his way into a cultural phenomenon, Farrelly and his team land their punches in remarkably crowd-pleasing ways. |
| 270350 | Ty Burr | Ty Burr's Watch List (Substack) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2026-09-14T22:59:33.000Z | 2026-09-14 22:59:33 | Ippolito recovers the human under the layers of waxy pop-culture build-up and reminds you of why the country fell for the guy in the first place. |
| 279546 | Eric Goldman | IGN | Fresh | 8/10 | 2026-09-14T19:28:45.000Z | 2026-09-14 19:28:45 | I Play Rocky lets us look back at an earlier time, even if it’s through the haze of nostalgia, and root for both the talented young Sly himself and those around him who helped him achieve his considerable goals. |
| 270352 | Therese Lacson | Collider | Fresh | 8/10 | 2026-09-14T17:41:45.000Z | 2026-09-14 17:41:45 | Rocky's overwhelming success is justification enough for I Play Rocky to be made, but it's the soul and performance in the film that ultimately makes it a movie worth watching. |
| 270353 | Mike Ryan | The Hard Pass (Ghost.io) | Fresh | A- | 2026-09-14T17:18:53.000Z | 2026-09-14 17:18:53 | I Play Rocky is the definition of a crowd-pleaser … I will watch I Play Rocky 40 or so times before I die. |
| 270354 | David Poland | Hot Button (Substack) | Fresh | — | 2026-09-14T15:56:11.000Z | 2026-09-14 15:56:11 | I had a great time watching this movie... a tribute to independent cinema. |
| 270355 | Doug Jamieson | The Jam Report | Fresh | 3/5 | 2026-09-14T15:38:23.000Z | 2026-09-14 15:38:23 | As a piece of unapologetic popcorn entertainment, it works more often than it probably should. Ippolito is simply too damn good to resist. |
| 270356 | Edward Douglas | The Weekend Warrior (Substack) | Fresh | 8/10 | 2026-09-14T13:58:00.000Z | 2026-09-14 13:58:00 | Endlessly entertaining, regardless of your love or affection for the original Sly Stallone boxing movie and character ... true Rocky Balboa diehards will thrill to watch this "origin story" told in such a super-populist way. |
| 270357 | Rendy Jones | Rendy Reviews | Rotten | 2/5 | 2026-09-14T13:50:48.000Z | 2026-09-14 13:50:48 | A generic, self-important, over serialized dreck that coasts on your affection towards the original Rocky rather than give Stallone's origin story some real triumphant gravitas. |
| 270358 | Ankit Jhunjhunwala | The Playlist | Fresh | B | 2026-09-14T13:41:34.000Z | 2026-09-14 13:41:34 | Farrelly is essentially shooting a goldfish in a fish tank with a nuke. |
| 270359 | Joey Magidson | Awards Radar | Fresh | 3.5/4 | 2026-09-14T07:04:24.000Z | 2026-09-14 07:04:24 | I Play Rocky is an incredibly satisfying crowdpleaser that will have you cheering for the underdog. |
| 270360 | Jonathan Sim | ComingSoon.net | Fresh | 9/10 | 2026-09-14T00:30:38.000Z | 2026-09-14 00:30:38 | If Rocky is the ultimate cinematic underdog story, I Play Rocky proves that the story behind it might be even more unbelievable. Rags-to-riches stories don’t get much richer than this. |
| 270361 | David Rooney | The Hollywood Reporter | Fresh | — | 2026-09-13T22:25:50.000Z | 2026-09-13 22:25:50 | The element that holds the movie together is Ippolito, who nails the garbled, rumbling diction, hangdog expression and hulking physicality of Stallone while never losing sight of his insecurities at this unproven point in his career. |
| 270362 | Owen Gleiberman | Variety | Fresh | — | 2026-09-13T22:24:30.000Z | 2026-09-13 22:24:30 | The pleasure of “I Play Rocky” is that it understands the karmic way in which the story of “Rocky” -- the underdog who triumphs against all odds -- was echoed in the saga of how Stallone got the movie off the ground. |
| 270363 | Johnny Oleksinski | New York Post | Fresh | 3.5/4 | 2026-09-13T22:20:16.000Z | 2026-09-13 22:20:16 | 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. |
| 270364 | Kate Erbland | IndieWire | Fresh | B- | 2026-09-13T22:17:55.000Z | 2026-09-13 22:17:55 | 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. |
| 270365 | Pete Hammond | Deadline Hollywood Daily | Fresh | — | 2026-09-13T22:16:18.000Z | 2026-09-13 22:16:18 | A winner in every way, a movie that in fact manages to carry the same emotional wallop as the original Rocky and containing a performance from Anthony Ippolito that is so uncanny I didn’t for a minute think he was anyone but the actual Stallone. |
| 270366 | Lauren Bradshaw | Fangirl Freakout | Fresh | A | 2026-09-13T21:21:59.000Z | 2026-09-13 21:21:59 | I Play Rocky is a total crowd pleaser. Anthony Ippolito completely disappears into his role Stallone, the performance feeling more like an otherworldly possession than an impersonation. |
| 270367 | Trace Sauveur | Awards Watch | Rotten | C | 2026-09-13T19:56:11.000Z | 2026-09-13 19:56:11 | Farrelly opts to continue in the vein of his Best Picture-winning Green Book, an easily digestible schmaltz that doesn't pose much challenge to himself or his audience. It's the grit and humanity of Rocky reflected through a funhouse mirror. |
| 270368 | Carla Hay | Culture Mix | Fresh | — | 2026-09-13T16:37:13.000Z | 2026-09-13 16:37:13 | The biographical drama I Play Rocky is a crowd-pleasing story about Sylvester Stallone and the making of his 1976 breakthrough Oscar-winning film Rocky. The charismatic performances and comedic touches make this unevenly paced movie shine. |
| 270369 | Scott Menzel | Awards Buzz | Fresh | 9/10 | 2026-09-13T16:17:32.000Z | 2026-09-13 16:17:32 | I Play Rocky is the best film I have seen so far this year. It is an irresistible retelling of one of Hollywood’s most iconic underdog stories destined to follow in Rocky’s footsteps. |
| 270370 | Nick Schager | The Daily Beast | Rotten | — | 2026-09-13T14:51:43.000Z | 2026-09-13 14:51:43 | [A] corny pantomime, which reveals nothing, stumbles incessantly, and wholly pales in comparison to its iconic subject matter. |
| 270371 | Chris Bumbray | JoBlo's Movie Network | Fresh | — | 2026-09-13T13:16:09.000Z | 2026-09-13 13:16:09 | A guaranteed crowdpleaser with uncanny casting. |
| 270372 | Robert Daniels | Screen International | Rotten | — | 2026-09-13T12:59:05.000Z | 2026-09-13 12:59:05 | A walking piece of pastiche, the uninventive crowd pleaser takes its best cues from Rocky, recreating memorable scenes with little of the movie’s original humanism. |
| 270373 | Joonatan Itkonen | Region Free | Rotten | 1/5 | 2026-09-13T12:33:55.000Z | 2026-09-13 12:33:55 | I Play Rocky has nothing to say about who Stallone was or who he became as a result of creating Rocky. It doesn't care why Rocky became what it is, only that we recognize the IP. |
| 270374 | George Bate | Screen Rant | Fresh | 9/10 | 2026-09-13T10:51:42.000Z | 2026-09-13 10:51:42 | In the most resounding of ways, I Play Rocky captures the soulful, crowd-pleasing triumph of the 1976 classic. It's easily one of the year's best movies to date, and already among the best movies about movie-making of all time. |
| 270375 | Christopher Schobert | The Film Stage | Fresh | — | 2026-09-13T10:13:19.000Z | 2026-09-13 10:13:19 | I Play Rocky simply works, even if liberties have been taken. |
| 270376 | Alfred Castaneda | Shade Studios | Fresh | — | 2026-09-13T06:23:46.000Z | 2026-09-13 06:23:46 | I Play Rocky is simply sensational. It matches the heart and grit of the original film, with a leading performance so good it’s like we’re seeing Stallone himself, from the past. |
| 270377 | Chase Hutchinson | TheWrap | Rotten | — | 2026-09-13T03:27:47.000Z | 2026-09-13 03:27:47 | The only blows it lands are when it repeatedly punches itself in the face by insisting on spelling things out, rather than dancing gracefully in the ring. |
| 270378 | Travis Hopson | Punch Drunk Critics | Fresh | 4/5 | 2026-09-13T03:09:45.000Z | 2026-09-13 03:09:45 | A true crowd favorite, it’s a film that could see Farrelly return to the Oscar stage, and do for star Anthony Ippolito’s career what Rocky did for Sylvester Stallone. |
| 270379 | J. Don Birnam | Next Best Picture | Fresh | 8/10 | 2026-09-13T02:08:52.000Z | 2026-09-13 02:08:52 | "I Play Rocky" never reaches the grandiose moment that propelled the film it chronicles, but it has enough heart, sufficient laughs, and a highly entertaining performance by Tracy Letts to be worth your while. |
Showing the latest 100 canonical reviews for this movie.