Favourite Rocky Film

[Faustus]

Thought I'd do this with two Rocky threads currently on the GF.

 

Rocky III for me.

[RedKnight]

From a cinematic point of view, it's the first movie but I like the cartoonishness of III and IV. I can't vote for III because Mick dies and I can't vote for IV because Apollo dies and that stupid robot of Paulie's is in it. The original for me.

 

The sixth movie is great too.

[RedKnight]

Just checked the previous poll on this and I voted the same way; winner.

[Faustus]

The first one is quality, but I went for III because it's got everything- Rocky coming back from the brink, turning to a former foe for guidance in defeating an even bigger enemy, and the ultimate avengance of Mick. Fucking great film. They should have ended it there and then because the final shot before Rocky and Creed lay punches on each other in the gym is perfect.

 

On a side note, after the the European Cup final in Athens in 2007, we were having a couple of drinks in this bar and we got speaking to a group of fellas, and one of them was the spit of Mick. He got some merciless stick and we were coming out with all the catchphrases "you're a bum, Rock, you've always been a bum" etc. After a while, he said he was knackered and was gonna head to bed after he finished his pint and his mate turned to him and went "one more round, champ, one more round." That was probably the best thing about the night actually.

[Unrighteous]

Rocky, the original, is just superb. It's always fantastic.

[The Midnight Rambler]

Only watched Rocky Balboa the once so watching it again tonight, hoping its better second time around. Strangely enough my mate was telling me about this in the boozer last night.

 

July 25, 2013 11:41 Sylvester Stallone to return as Rocky Balboa in spin-off movie 'Creed' Spin-off will focus on the grandson of Apollo Creed, Rocky's longtime boxing rival

 

Sylvester Stallone is set to play Rocky Balboa for the seventh time in a forthcoming spin-off film called Creed.

 

The spin-off will focus on the grandson of Apollo Creed, Balboa's friend and longtime boxing rival played by Carl Weathers, who was killed in the ring in Rocky VI. The Wire's Michael B Jordan is "in early talks" to star as the grandson, Deadline reports, and Stallone will reprise his role as Balboa, now a retired fighter-turned-trainer.

 

Creed's grandson will apparently be portrayed as a young man who enjoyed a privileged upbringing thanks to his grandfather's boxing winnings. Though he has no financial incentive to follow Apollo into the ring, he is blessed with the natural talent to become a heavyweight champion and turns to Balboa for mentorship.

 

Creed will be co-written and directed by Ryan Coogler, whose debut movie Fruitvale Station - which also stars Michael B Jordan - won the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Stallone is said to "love" the premise of the spin-off movie and will serve as a producer as well as appearing on screen.

 

Stallone last played Balboa in 2006's Rocky Balboa, which revived the iconic franchise after a 16-year break. The actor is currently overseeing the transfer of the Rocky stage musical from Hamburg, Germany, where it debuted last November (2012), to Broadway, where it's due to open early next year (2014).

 

[Harry Squatter]

I think I've watched Rocky 3 more than a hundred times, I just never get bored of it. Rocky suddenly realises he isn't as good as he thought he was, Mr T completely humiliates him and he just loses complete faith in himself despite previously being the man who never gave up under any circumstances. He then blames himself for Mickey dying.

 

Apollo gets involved, not only because he feels sorry for Rocky and still sees some potential in him but because he's bored off his tits being retired and wants to prove himself at the end with a private fight. He gets Rocky to change his entire fighting style and mindset and proves to the commentators that he's not just a slugger and he can box.

 

As mentioned before it should have ended there. You can buy the canvas print of Rocky and Apollo freeze frame off the Internet, just need a spare 300 quid!

[Hooch]

Definitely I.

 

It's clearly the one with the lowest budget but I Love the camera work, the sounds of the city and the overhead trains in the background, the gritty pictures of Philedelphia, the soundtrack itself - Marvellous. My Favourite film of all time.

[Bjornebye]

2 for me. Absolutely love 1 to 5. The last one shouldn't have been done.

 

Even though i've seen them all so many times I still shout at the telly in the final fights !

[Pidge]

How can you like V stig?

 

I and IV are my favourites. IV has the best soundtrack of all time as well.

[Lee909]

One is the best film but I cant split 3 or 4 as my favourite.

[General Dryness]

1, 3 or 4. Gone for Rocky on this poll. Agree with what Pidge says about 4 having the best soundtrack, I remember having that on cassette. Ace.

 

5 is shite, but during the fight at the end, when he sees Mickey in flashback and he says "Get up you sonofabitch, coz Mickey loves ya" then the trumpets kick in, if you haven't got a lump in your throat you're one hard hearted fucker. Gets me every time.

[littletedwest]

one is probably the best but the fact I watched them all as a kid clouds my view so three is probably my favourite.

hope the Creed film gets made as well

[Bjornebye]

How can you like V stig?

 

I and IV are my favourites. IV has the best soundtrack of all time as well.

 

For the exact reason Hudu has just pointed out. that fight at the end is brilliant. Utter cheese but just brilliant

 

'you knock him down why dont you try knocking me down now'

 

'my rings outside'

 

'no guys this aint no pie-eating contest'

 

etc etc

 

The duke is a cunt in it as well and I like cunts in films

[Sweeney287]

The original has always been the best for me but love 2,3 and 4.

[SCOUSE TAPAS]

Has to be the third film for a few reasons. The sound of the punches are awesome and it also introduced Mr T and it also had this.

 

[YOUTUBE]VgSMxY6asoE[/YOUTUBE]

[Rapey Hugh]

Rocky IV every time for me. That training montage, gets me fucking jacked every damn time!

[YOUTUBE]1SUzcDUERLo[/YOUTUBE]

 

Fuckin' A!

 

Also this is just incredible!

 

[YOUTUBE]UzDDJm27vmc[/YOUTUBE]

[Chris]

Rocky IV. It's not the best, but it's my favourite.

[Special K]

If this article is elsewhere I humbly apologise. If not, enjoy. It's a cracking, if a bit long, read.

 

Oh, and III for me. Rocky is a great 'film' Rocky III is the greatest 'movie'

 

 

 

 

Which Rocky Is The Best

 

By Rocky O'Rourke

 

"Rocky V" and the latest effort get disqualified ... because they never happened. You hear me? They never happened. That leaves the original, II, III and IV. So let's tackle them chronologically

 

 

 

On to the movies ...

 

Rocky

Plot Rehash:

How's this for a premise: A down-on-his-lock boxer gets handed an improbable chance to fight for the heavyweight title, dedicates himself to training for his 15 minutes of fame, falls in love and realizes his potential in the process. The end. Doesn't get much better than that. Often imitated, never duplicated.

 

 

 

A down-on-his-luck boxer standing toe-to-toe with the heavyweight champ for 15 rounds ... what a great script.

 

And yet the movie wouldn't work nearly as well without the little nuances. The transcendent soundtrack. The young Stallone, having his breakout movie. Rocky, the lovable loser. Paulie, the alcoholic bum who rates a 9.2 out of 10 on the Unintentional Comedy Scale. Apollo Creed, an angrier, more flamboyant Muhammad Ali. Mickey, the grizzled old trainer searching for one last run at the top.

 

My favourite character was the mobster Gazzo's sarcastic driver, the guy who said stuff like, "Did you get the license plate of the truck that hit your face?" and "Take her to the zoo. ... I hear retards like the zoo." He should have gotten his own sitcom, along with the Turks driver in Godfather and Johnny – the Colonel’s Limo Driver in Boogie Nights.

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, it's a smart movie, which reminds me of something: What about the fact that Sly wrote this? It's a complicated, heavy screenplay, with rich characters and splendid dialogue ... and Sly Stallone wrote it? I always loved the fact that Rocky didn't actually win in the end ... he went the distance. Maybe the finest touch happens when Adrian runs into the ring after the fight, just to give him a hug and tell Rocky that she loves him, and Rocky says, "Where's your hat?" The movie's filled with moments like that. Just a terrific film.

 

 

 

Nitpicking:

It kills me to say this, but I watched "the original" this week and it felt ... dare I say ... dated? It's a '70s movie (slow, sprawling and painstaking), which doesn't necessarily lend itself that well to the "MTV/Internet/Now-Now-Now" Generation. I found myself losing concentration a number of times during the first 90 minutes, especially during the agonizing Rocky-Adrian scenes, which usurp a sizable chunk of the middle section.

 

Let's face it: 95 percent of the scenes between Rocky and Adrian in the Rocky series were crap. It was Stallone's way of roping a "Chick Flick" angle into the whole thing. Rocky would have been better off marrying a local stripper or something - at least the stripper would have immediately flown to Russia to see him fight Drago, for God's sake. Did Adrian bring anything to the table? Anything?

 

 

 

One other problem: The fight scenes haven't aged well; you can glimpse empty seats in every closeup of the two fighters, because they were filming in an empty arena. The producers could easily pull a "Spielberg with ET" and make some digital revisions to that sequence (some fake crowd insertions). I know I wouldn't complain.

 

Chill Scenes:

The key to any great sports movie? The quality of the Chill Scenes, those scenes that give you goosebumps on top of your goosebumps. And Rocky was loaded with them:

 

1. Rocky chasing Mickey down the street after he yelled at him (when Mickey wanted to train him). Always gets me.

 

2. The training sequence. Way ahead of its time. Does anyone not get fired when "Gonna Fly Now" kicks in?

 

3. The entire fight scene, basically a 10-minute Chill Scene (special emphasis on the part when Adrian walks into the stadium just as Rocky gets knocked down in the 14th, and then Rocky gets up and Creed, astounded, drops his shoulders in disbelief -- another 10.0 on the CFS, as well as my favourite moment in any Rocky movie...probably).

 

4. The ending (Adrian and Rocky hugging as the ring announcer screams, "And still champion ... Apollo Creed!"). You run the gamut of emotions with that one. Still gets me.

 

Final Watchability Verdict: 13 out of 10.

Even five years ago, that would have been closer to 20, but I've just seen "Rocky" too many times, and it's just a little too dated. Remember, we're nitpicking here.

 

 

 

Rocky II

 

 

 

Plot Rehash:

Picks up right where "Rocky" left off, with Creed and Balboa heading to the hospital after the fight (accompanied by a jazzier, put-a-hop-in-your-step soundtrack). As it turns out, Rocky can't fight anymore, because of his damaged right eye (which mysteriously heals itself over the subsequent few years). He marries Adrian, buys a Trans AM and a condo, and embarks on a commercial career ... which ends in about two hours because he can't read. After losing a few jobs, Rocky starts working at Mickey's gym, where he gets teased by other boxers as he lugs around spit buckets and picks up bloody towels.

 

To make matters worse, Apollo is pushing for a rematch and calling him "The Stallion Chicken." Rocky's going broke, to the point that Adrian starts working in the pet store again. Finally Creed bullies him into a rematch - bad eye and all - but Adrian makes him miserable at home for fighting again, so Rocky is half arsed through his training (the lesson, as always: women ruin everything). Paulie argues with Adrian about her treatment of Rocky and causes some sort of medical disaster, in which Adrian gives birth to a healthy baby boy, but lapses into a coma (unfortunately, she eventually wakes up).

 

So we're treated to another 11 minutes of riveting coma/hospital sequences before Adrian finally snaps out of her coma, eventually leading to this exchange:

 

Adrian: "You can do one thing for me."

 

Rocky: "What's that?"

 

Adrian: "Win. Win."

 

Mickey (getting up): "Well what are we waitin' for?"

 

(Quick cut to Rocky doing a one-handed push-up as the inspiring "Rocky" music kicks in.)

 

Now ...

 

That scene happened about 90 minutes into the movie; coincidentally, that's right around when the movie starts to click. Rocky steps up his training, wins the title from Creed and everyone lives happily ever after.

 

 

 

Nitpicking:

 

The first 90 minutes of "II" are nearly unwatchable. Who wants to see Rocky repeatedly humiliated and beaten down like that? And why would Adrian refuse to let Rocky fight, forcing him to resort to the "I never asked you to stop being a woman, don't ask me to stop being a man" routine. Nothing worse than a whipped Rocky Balboa.

 

If that wasn't bad enough, Stallone plays Rocky for much of the movie like he's mentally retarded, with no real reason given. There's a difference between "punchy" and "retarded." When you're "whipped and retarded" ... well, that's no fun. And you never ever go full retard (waves!).

 

Chill Scenes:

1. The aforementioned "What are we waiting for?" scene, which immediately makes up for every wretched moment in the previous 90 minutes. The best single exchange in "Rocky" history. An absolute tour de force.

 

2. The subsequent training scene, climaxing with Rocky jogging along with every kid in the entire state of Pennsylvania. (Bonus points here, because I actually got chills while I was typing about this.)

 

3. The entire fight scene. You knew Rocky was winning ... but the unexpected Double Knockdown was an inspired wrinkle, wasn't it?

 

4. Rocky's post-fight speech. Goosebumps galore. Yo, Adrian! I did it.

 

 

 

Final Watchability Verdict: 9.5 out of 10.

Put it this way ... if I'm flicking channels and I see Adrian just about ready to snap out of her coma, I'm locked in for the rest of the movie. They should have just turned the last 30 minutes of "Rocky 2" into an extended 30-minute "Deleted Scene" for the "Rocky 1" DVD. Frankly, there's still time.

 

 

 

 

 

Rocky III

 

 

Plot Rehash:

 

The most polished of all the "Rocky" movies, with the best storyline and some stunning twists. The opening "Rocky's the champ and kicking butt!" sequence (with Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" pounding in the background) sets the tone. And Rocky's charity wrestling match with Thunderlips (Hulk Hogan, in a career-altering performance) might have been the best 10-minute sequence of any Rocky movie.

 

You want surprises? What about Mickey dying before the first fight with Clubber Lang? (Nineteen years later, and I'm still blown away by this one. People in the flicks were reeling when this happened; nobody saw it coming. Mick? Mick? Mick?) Or Rocky getting knocked out by Clubber? Or Apollo coming out of nowhere to train Rocky? Or Adrian unveiling the first of her irritatingly enjoyable "You can't win!" speeches? Or that really awkward hug between Rocky and Apollo after Rocky finally wins the beach sprint, when they just show a little too much affection for two grown men?

 

 

 

Even the gimmick ending worked here - after Rocky recaptures his title - with Apollo and Rocky lacing up the gloves again for the impromptu, no-crowd exhibition, capped off by a freeze-frame "both opening rights landing at the same time" ending. Who won? We'll never know.

 

 

 

Best of all, how 'bout Mr. T as Clubber Lang? Was there a better villain in sports movie history? "Hey, woman! Hey, woman! I bet you go to sleep every night wondering what it's like to be with a REAL MAN!! Have you ever noticed the eerie similarities between Clubber Lang and Mike Tyson? It was like Mr. T was ripping off Tyson's gimmick before Iron Mike even got started.

 

 

 

Of course, Stallone is the key to everything. From his wailing/speaking seizure at Mickey's bedside after the first Lang fight ("Ehrhhshngh Mick! Aw sjsjshshgwge Trrrhsshh! Awrrtttt doin' jsjsfdgdgdfdfdf! I can't Ahjhdhsgsfsfeurjdjsiaj") to his confession to Adrian on the beach ("I'm afraid! All right! I'm afraid!") to the final fight scene with Clubber ("You ain't so bad! You ain't so bad!), Sly reached his absolute apex here. In the history of cinema, no actor has been as alternately cheesy, hysterical, likable, ludicrous, inspiring, laughable and endearing ... sometimes even all at once.

 

Nitpicking:

None. I wouldn't change anything about this movie ... not even the incredibly awkward beach hug between Apollo and Rocky. I might have tossed in a gratuitous sex scene with Adrian, because she was looking so frisky in "III," but that's about it.

 

 

 

Chill Scenes:

1. Rocky convincing Mickey to train him one more time for the first Clubber fight. Come on, Mick. One more. I loved that scene.

 

2. The final training sequence, when Rocky finally regains the "Eye of the Tiger."

 

3. Clubber saying to Rocky before the second fight, "I'm gonna bust you up," and Rocky mumbling, "Go for it."

 

4. Rocky regaining the title. Good times ... good times.

 

 

 

 

 

Final Watchability Verdict: 16 out of 10. Hasn't gotten remotely stale even after the 575th viewing.

 

 

 

Rocky IV

 

 

Plot Rehash:

 

 

This wasn't exactly an intricate plot: Apollo makes a comeback, gets subsequentally destroyed by Russian Olympic hero Ivan Drago - partially because Drago forgot that this was supposed to be a an exhibition and partially because Rocky forgot to throw the towel - which means that Rocky needs to avenge his buddy's death. And he does, in an improbable Christmas Day fight in Russia, for which Rocky receives no money and gets knocked down approximately 330 times before winning the Russian crowd over and vanquishing Drago. It could happen…

 

 

 

Somehow, this remains my favourite Rocky movie, mainly for the way it straddled the balance between "absorbing action" and "unintentional comedy galore." There are 10-minute sequences without any dialogue. There's Dolph Lundgren as evil, monosyllabic, steroid-frenzied Drago (who has six intelligible lines of dialogue all movie - "I cannot be defeated," "You will lose," "I must break you," "If he dies, he dies," "Until the end" and "You're dead").

 

 

 

There's Brigette Nielsen (Sly's woman at the time, but Mrs. Drago in the movie) with a god-awful Russian accent, saying things like, "You think you Americans are so berry berry good, and we're so berry berry bad."

 

 

 

There's Apollo's shocking in-ring death, capped off with Barry Tompkins saying, "What started out as a joke has turned into a disaster!" as Warner Wolf feigns horror. There's Adrian with her standard "You CAN'T win!!!!" speech as Rocky contemplates fighting Drago (could somebody shoot her please?).

 

 

 

There's Stallone hopping in his Lamborgini after Apollo dies - as Robert Tepper's "No Easy Way Out" blares in the background - and having a flashback driving scene where he goes 140 mph, changes gear at least 40 times into at least the 35th gear, and never looks at the road once.

 

 

 

There's Survivor trying to recapture their "Eye of the Tiger" magic with "Burning Hearts" ("Was it East vs. West? or man against ma-annnnn?"). There's Stallone, pulling out his old beard from "Nighthawks" for the training sequence, which concludes with him climbing a 40,000-foot mountain in Russia and screaming "Dra-goooo!!!!"

 

 

 

There's the comical training sequence which juxtaposes Drago's new-age training with Rocky's back-to-the-basics training (hmmm ...what was the director going for there?). There's Duke (Apollo's old trainer) entering the Sports Movie Pep Talk Pantheon (more on this in a second).

 

 

 

Best of all, there's the ridiculous 20-minute fight-to-the-death scene (can you imagine the CompuBox numbers on that one?), which ends with the Russians turning on Drago and cheering Rocky -- the biggest stretch in movie history, bar none, and for the love of God, I will not argue about this -- Rocky winning in the 15th round, and Stallone giving his Cold War-altering "If I can change, and you can change, everyone can change!!!" speech.

 

What a ludicrous, awful movie. I loved it.

 

 

 

Nitpicking:

I would have made one change: When Adrian changed her mind right before the Drago fight and decided to fly to Russia, I would have had the KGB shoot down her plane.

 

 

 

Chill Scenes:

1. Rocky cradling an unconscious Apollo, as Drago sneers at him and tells reporters, "If he dies, he dies" and eerie, evil '80s synthesizer music drones in the background.

 

2. Duke's pep speech in Rocky's cabin, which was so phenomenal that I can actually remember it without cueing up the DVD: Apollo was like a son to me. I raised him. And when he died, a part of me died, too. But now you're the one ... you're the one who has to make sure his death didn't go for nothing. You're the one. Do it. Do it.

 

3. The entire training sequence, capped off by Rocky climbing the mountain. Bonus points here for the TREEEEEEEEE-mendous

 

4. The 15th round, when Rocky knocks out Drago and avenges Apollo's death. He's chopping the Russian down!

 

 

 

Final Watchability Verdict: 18 out of 10.

"Rocky IV" remains one of those guilty pleasures that I can never resist. It's still the most watchable "Rocky" movie for me, even after all these years. If all four Rocky’s were showing at the same time, I would choose "Rocky IV."

 

And even if you don't agree, well ... if I can change, and you can change ...

[WaltonRed]

Rocky and Rocky II are up there with the greatest films of all time for me, they're unreal.

 

The story of how he struggled to get it funded and how he wanted to be the star and no one is boss

 

3,4,5 and six are shite. 5 is the worst, fighting Tommy Gunn in the street, naaaah

[Lee909]

Rocky and Rocky II are up there with the greatest films of all time for me, they're unreal.

 

The story of how he struggled to get it funded and how he wanted to be the star and no one is boss

 

3,4,5 and six are shite. 5 is the worst, fighting Tommy Gunn in the street, naaaah

 

 

Disgrace

[Juan Galonso]

For the exact reason Hudu has just pointed out. that fight at the end is brilliant. Utter cheese but just brilliant

 

'you knock him down why dont you try knocking me down now'

 

'my rings outside'

 

'no guys this aint no pie-eating contest'

 

etc etc

 

The duke is a cunt in it as well and I like cunts in films

 

Yeah the George Washington Duke is clearly a Don King impersonation.

 

I didn't know until recently when I was watching a Tyson documentary that the speech Mickey gives when Rocky is reminiscing in Mickey's gym in Rocky V was a speech that the great Cus D'Amato gave to Mike Tyson word for word they used it for Mickey to Rocky.

 

Rocky V isn't great but still has a few heartfelt moments in it especially when Adrian peps Rocky up n the street after Tommy speeds off in the car saying the fighters he beat he beat them with heart not muscle and that's why Tommy will never be Rocky because he doesn't have his heart.

 

Awe inspiring stuff.

[Tony Moanero]

Rocky gets my vote, although I used to love Rocky IV as a boy, and still still do.

 

Personally, I think Balboa is a lot better than V, although Antonio Tarver (Mason Dixon) is fucking turd in it, the fucking wooden bastard.

[Rapey Hugh]

Shocked nobody has referenced Rocky 7: Adrian's Revenge yet, y'all be slippin'!

[Juan Galonso]

Balboa was a more than satisfactory end to the franchise and went back to its roots after Stallones admission about his regrets about Rocky V.

 

I thought Paulie was ace in Balboa after him generally being an obnoxious slob for the majority of the movies apart from the odd tender moment. Some of the vile things he said to Adrian in the original Rocky were beyond the pale.

 

Out of all of Rocky's challengers I don't know who my favourite was. They were diverse if nothing else.

 

We had the flamboyancy and extrovert Apollo Creed. We had the nasty, trash talking, powerful brute Clubber Lang. We had the introvert, ultra serious robot like Ivan Drago. We had the streetfighter originally hungry but ultimate sell-out Tommy Gunn who let the dollar signs corrupt him. We had the undisputed champ but not without criticism for never having a serious challenge in the ring Mason Dixon.

 

I think I would just pump for Apollo for my favourite due to his legacy to Rocky's life and the friendship they embarked upon.