Rocky II

Officially a sequel is most a rehash but happens to be a nice second chapter about Rocky saga with intimate Stallone . Two-bit fighter Rocky now retired lives from records but our hero returns to face off a daring Apollo . Although he is homaged as one of the greatest boxing champions in the history also is panned as a down-and-out fighter , being nicknamed as the Chicken Stallion . But Rocky comes out from retirement for fame and self-respect to combat strongest, youngest and faster contender , again champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers)through a rematch. Apollo after being dethroned by obnoxious Rocky seeks vendetta . While Rocky attempts to prove himself and his family , his wife (Talia Shire), brother-in-law (Burt Young) and his recent born son. Then he's trained again by the veteran , feisty coach (Burguess Meredith who repeats efficiently his series role).

This agreeable predictable entertainment displays splendidly the 'formula Rocky'. The movie works at usual manner, fitting appropriately to franchise , even though we know the plot the film works . This soaper on the ring is developed in gentleness, dignity , feel-good style such as the initial outing. Spectacular and climatic final bout including slow-moving images. Writer-director-actor Stallone new entry is surprisingly entertaining and packs good feeling. Usual and nostalgic musical score by Bill Conti and atmospheric cinematography Bill Butler. The motion picture is lavishly financed by the producers complete saga, Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler and well directed by Stallone who along with John G Avildsen made the six Rocky.

While here the opponent is an invincible young boxer,champ of the world, in subsequent entries the contenders were the following : Rocky III against corpulent Mr T from A Team; Rocky IV against a massive Russian boxer played by Dolph Lundgren; and Rock 5 against an ingrate young fighter who he trained played by Tommy Morrison and Rocky Balboa proving his estranged young son Milo Ventiglimia who still can fight. Rating : Good , being impossible to dislike ,the result is deliciously corny agreeable and predictable amusement . Although we've seen it all before , Sylvester manages to make it work one more time and it works every way even better than subsequents Rockys.

Immediately after Rocky's close contest with Apollo Creed, he is drawn into fame only to find it is a temporary thing. As the money fades he finds personal crisis is never far away and is tempted into a big money rematch against Creed. Meanwhile Creed, who should fight other fighters, is plagued by suggestions that the first fight was staged to go the distance. Things build to the rematch.

Stallone proves that he has got a money making brain in his head by basically remaking Rocky. The story covers similar themes – it's a soap opera with a fight at the end. Here the soapy mush is mostly about his loss of money and decline back into the gutter, while we have children and comas thrown in for good measure. This is all well and good, and Stallone doesn't let it get too mushy. The script has some good scenes and mixes in comedy – my favourtie line being where Rocky is advised to invest his money in condominiums, to which Rocky replies `condominiums? But I don't use them.'

This comedy helps endear Rocky to us despite being a bit `punchy'. The fight however – that's where the money is. As in the first Rocky movie, the fight is a huge thing, full of emotion and welling music. The fighting is, of course, nonsense – even sillier than the first film, but with the raw emotion and use of music you can't help but get involved – even if you don't want to! At times it goes a bit far and may look a bit like ego-massaging by Stallone, eg the scene where he is out on his training run and is followed by hundreds of supportive children!

Stallone is good in all his roles, the playing of Rocky as a working class bum made good is bang on. Shire doesn't have much to do but she's good beside Stallone. Young is good and Meredith easily repeats his tour-de-force as the grizzled trainer. Carl Weathers is good as Apollo Creed and this is one of his best roles.

Overall this isn't a classic but by repeating the basic formula of the first movie and taking Rocky back to the gutter, this remains an entertaining soap that is driven by mushy, if formulaic, emotion.

Rocky II continued on from the first movie, and though it was no easy task, Sylvester Stallone did a terrific job returning to his now iconic role as well as taking on both roles as writer and director.

Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) has retired from boxing on medical grounds and is getting used to his newfound fame. Unfortunately, his post-boxing career has not flourished which sees him going back to dead end jobs such as working at the meat packing company with his best friend and brother in law Paulie (Burt Young) to keep his head above financial dire straits and his newly wedded wife Adrian (Talia Shire) vows to stay loyal to him. Meanwhile, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) is enraged by all the hate mail that he is receiving, mostly telling him that his championship match was nothing more than a fluke and vows to do everything in his power to goad Rocky Balboa into a rematch. Though Adrian is upset with Rocky's decision to return to the ring, Rocky teams back up with his trainer Mickey (Burgess Meredith) to regain his passion and pride.

The cast is faultless, and the spirit of the first movie still remains intact. In fact, I found the training scenes to be a lot more uplifting, and I found myself secretly cheering during the penultimate match. And the ending unashamedly had me in tears.

I've always had a soft spot for Rocky II and years later, it's one of the few movies that has me going through a roller-coaster of emotions. In some ways, I wish this was the ending of the first Rocky movie. But it is what it is. Still Rocky II is a worthy sequel that goes the distance.

8/10.

I have to hand it to Sylvester Stallone – he did the impossible with 'Rocky II' and made a successful follow-up to 'Rocky,' winner of the 1976 Best Picture Academy Award.

Some argue that 'Taxi Driver' (also nominated) deserved the Oscar more. I'm not so sure. 'Rocky' came along at just the right time – it was an uplifting story and people needed that back then. Now, 'Taxi Driver' is usually considered the superior of the two – but they're entirely different and, in my opinion (and it's a rare one), 'Rocky' is just as good – but in a different way. They're both great films, and I'm not saying that 'Taxi Driver' shouldn't have won – but I'm not necessarily saying it should have, either. 'Rocky's' achievement is monumental and it is one of the greatest films ever made. To say it's 'not as good' merely because it is more optimistic is nonsense.

So what's so great about 'Rocky II' and why is it generally underrated? (Its average user score right now on the Internet Movie Database -- with over 8,000 votes -- is a measly 6.2/10, compared to the original's 7.7)

Because it maintains the focus of the first film, and continues the story rather well. A story that didn't really need to be continued, per se, but nevertheless formed the foundation of one of the greatest film franchises of all time. That's right – many people hate the 'Rocky' sequels, but apart from 'Part V,' they're all surprisingly entertaining – and, more importantly, well made. I like them; they entertain me, and I think they all serve their purpose.

What's particularly interesting about 'Rocky II' is that apart from repeating the central theme of fighting Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), Rocky (Stallone) goes through a character arc here that many sequels totally ignore – we see the after-effects of his fight, and him struggling to adapt to the 'New Life.'

Rocky is not a smart person. But he is one of cinema's deepest characters. Stallone (who wrote all the scripts and directed three of the sequels) succeeds at evolving Rocky's self-confidence. After winning a small fortune from his famous fight with Creed, he goes out on an impulsive shopping spree, buying a cool car, a new leather jacket (with a tiger – the beast with the 'eye' that Rocky re-captures in 'Part III' – printed on the back), and a new luxurious apartment for him and his wife Adrienne (Talia Shire).

The problem is that Rocky soon runs out of money. His happy-go-lucky personality crashes when he is faced with the prospect of losing it all. He promised Adrienne never to fight again, and keeps his word by trying to get a 'real' job at the meat-processing factory (the same one he trained at in the original film). However due to staff cut backs he is fired and soon realizes that he was born for one reason: To fight.

Meanwhile, Apollo is eager to take on 'The Italian Stallion' again – to prove he isn't the coward that criticizers are implying he is. He entices Rocky back into the ring for a final match – and to say that the outcome is satisfactory is an understatement.

Most people seem to forget that Stallone is almost solely responsible for the entire success of 'Rocky' as a whole. He came up with the idea, wrote a script, fought to get it made, fought to become the leading star, and literally fought to get in shape. All of this fighting paid off – and it continued to pay off as he kept on cranking out all the sequels.

Indeed, the 'Rocky' legacy is often poked fun at because it is the typical endless Hollywood moneymaking franchise. But 'Rocky II' and 'III' (more so than the other two sequels) have guts, power, determination and focus – they've got the so-called 'Eye of the Tiger' and I can't really say that I agree with anyone who says these movies are worthless. They aren't masterpieces but they certainly aren't trash, either. I give 'Rocky II' a hearty recommendation – it's a truly solid sequel that surprises us right when we expect to be disappointed.

Three years after the Academy Award winning success of Rocky, Sylvester Stallone reprises his role as the heavyweight boxer in Rocky II, which he writes and directs this time around. Picking up right where the first film left off, Rocky II follows Rocky Balboa as he starts to adapt to family life after barely losing his match to Apollo Creed and then marrying his girlfriend Adrian. However, the adjustment to this new, much softer and simpler life isn't easy, especially while Apollo Creed continually harasses Rocky for a rematch, as he is hungry for the knockout, rather than just the winning score. Rocky must then make a choice, does he stay retired from boxing, or does he train to take on Apollo Creed once more? Rocky II, despite what die hard fans of the first film might say, is actually pretty good. It doesn't have the raw visceral emotion behind it that fueled the fire for the original but, as far as sequels go, it's really a decent film. It works really well as a continuation of Rocky's story, and it makes for a worthwhile addition to the first film. It's a lot of fun to see Stallone and Weathers reprise their roles as Rocky and Apollo, and getting an extra dosage of some great boxing is really exciting. Rocky II, while devoid of the visceral poetry of the first film, is pretty darn good.

It's not without a few problems of course. It's a much more watered down and predictable story than what we received in the first film. From the beginning we can see where the story is going and, while entertaining, it's not surprising and lacks the wow factor of the first film. The character of Rocky also changes a bit. He becomes softer in this film, and at times a caricature of the fabulous underdog protagonist Stallone established him as in the first film. He's a little goofy at times, and not as enjoyable as a character as he was in the first film. It's still great to see him get back in the ring, but it's not quite the same as the original.

But despite no wonder and power in the story, it's still really fun and Rocky II is plenty enjoyable to watch. If you liked the first film then I would definitely recommend watching the sequel, as it's just more great Rocky Balboa action, and a pleasant continuation of the story. It's not as fantastic as the first film, but worth two hours of your time.