Rocky II (1979)

There's one thing I want you to do for me.

After pushing champ Apollo Creed all the way in their title fight, Rocky Balboa retires from the ring and basks in gallant loser glory. However, he soon finds he is down on his luck and accepts a challenge to a rematch with the ever irate Apollo Creed, something that is much to the chagrin of Adrian.

Judging by the rating and some of the comments on the net, it would seem that I like this sequel more than most, but I honestly feel this is a worthy sequel to the first (and rightly much beloved) film. It still has credibility at its heart (something that would vanish as each further cash in sequel was trundled out), and crucially, it still has enough rags to riches nuance to keep the audience in its palm.

For sure it's guilty of over sentim...

I haven't seen Creed yet, either of them, and that has me concerned mainly because I hadn't even heard of them until after they were released. So I can't weigh in on all the Rocky movies just yet...

... But Rocky II is what I consider to be the last real Rocky movie. That doesn't mean I don't like the others, but it means that there was a dynamic shift for the series after II.

I and II were heavy on the characters and relationships in the universe (although Creed was under-developed in I). In Rocky II they make up for that and you get to know Creed as someone who is a pompous and arrogant poser on the surface and a much deeper and respectable character underneath. And that other side to him comes out in the final bout. He's deeper than just flash, and Action Jackson did a stellar job...

Rocky II is an incredibly worthy sequel to the 1976 hit.

The story picks up immediately after the conclusion of the first fight and follows Rocky as he tries to cope with his new-found fame and return to normalcy. I found this aspect to be incredibly impactful. He has very little to offer the white-collar world, forcing him to return to a life of menial labor with only one true dream: to fight again. The true conflict of the film is between the internal desire to fight and provide versus the external pressures to retire. It is in this fight that we dive deeper into the psyche of Rocky. He is a broken and unconfident man, wanting to be more and do more. But the only talent he has is fighting. The journey to this realization may be slow at times, but the payoff is totally worth it. Once t...

Undaunted by his defeat, the eponymous Italian Stallion and his stalwart trainer "Mickey" (Burgess Meredith) return for a rematch against the cock-sure champ "Apollo Creed" (Carl Weathers) in this superior sequel that manages, successfully, to build upon the original film and to develop some interesting, quirky, characters whilst again epitomising just how boxing was the route out of poverty for so many urban kids even as late as the 1970s. Written and directed by Stallone, he captures well the aspirational characteristics of this generation; the determination to succeed - and of his personal decency and devotion to his gal "Adrian" (Talia Shire). Is he actually acting, or just being himself? Well I am not sure that really matters. This is a film about integrity and ambition and though the...