Really didn't like it

I didn't feel any sympathy for him either and I'm surprised other viewers did. I still sort of liked the movie nonetheless, De Niro's performance was great, as was the directing work.

I saw this in high school after seeing Taxi Driver. I didn't like it nearly as much because I disliked Jake so much compared with Travis Bickle even though both are anti-heroes at best and villains at worst. But I just re-watched the last half hour on cable and thought, "Damn, this is amazing". I think I missed much of the dark comedy the first time. In the end, a story doesn't need a lovable hero to be great. Citizen Kane didn't have one either. Or Othello--who had a lot in common with Jake: both fighters (one in the ring, the other on the battlefield) and both poisoned by psychotic jealousy.

I tried several times to watch Raging Bull, finally saw the whole movie 5/12/16 and was very unimpressed.

Good enough acting, cool cinematography but the story, plot and flow were very disappointing.

I never understood why this movie is held in such high regard, to me it did, does not and never will be notable

To all the non-fans, maybe what you are really against is Martin Scorsese's treatment of the subject. He specializes in depicting nihilistic human behavior, albeit compellingly and uniquely. From Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Departed, to Wolf of Wall Street, the level of nihilism seems to be increasing in every film. I know those with a more delicate constitution may be overwhelmed by this, but what his films show is often truthful, powerful, and epiphanous.

I think the content and themes of the film were very well-thought out, but it was delivered in a dreadful and chaotic manner at times.

That said, the fight scenes were very well done and could easily have been real footage.

Now we know the Italian Mafia artificially prop up these sorts of movies.