Rocky II

"Rocky II" isn't as wildly entertaining as the next installment (which is my favorite), and it's slightly overlong, too. But it's still an earnestly made, appealingly tender sequel. Stallone dedicates time to character development and quirky humor (the scene where he attempts to star in commercials is really funny), making the movie more suitable for viewers who prefer dialogue over action - although the actual fight is more dynamic than the one in the original.

Sure, Apollo was pointlessly painted as the bad guy early in the film, but this a sequel. While it is not as good as the first film, it still embodies many of the themes and hopes which made the first film so powerful. This time, the audience got what it wanted, a win for a guy who had been kicked down for so long. With more money, the film felt more lucid and better put together, which made it a whole new experience in itself. I especially enjoyed the scene where the kids are chasing Rocky, certainly one of the most complicated and time consuming shots of all time, considering all of the extras the various sequences needed. Better than an average sequel, it still pales a shade below the original film.

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.

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.

I'm old enough to remember the thrill of seeing each of the "Rocky" films during their original, theatrical runs. The magical component that Stallone achieved was to tell nearly the exact same story, twice in a row, with the same characters... and yet, he gives us a one-two punch that hits just solidly as the first.

It's truly a remarkable feat. Differences? We've already met all the characters. Gone is the sense of discovery, the sense of learning who these people are. We already know, don't we? Yet, Stallone's characters are sufficiently interesting enough for us to want to spend more time with them, seeing them in a world most of us don't know, living a life few of us would really want. While the sense of discovery about these characters is gone, our joy of being a voyeur into their world is not.

It's a toss up which movie, "Rocky" or "Rocky II," asks us to suspend disbelief more. In "Rocky," we have to accept that a nobody, unrated, club fighter could a) get the chance to fight the world champion. B) He could possibly defy all odds and go the distance. That's a huge stretch only possible in Hollywood movies, classifying the first movie as a fairy tale along the lines of Cinderella.

Soap opera-esquire is not a bad way to characterize "Rocky II" because of the emotional ride, but I don't find it as trite as a soap opera. Rocky's actions are very believable, from his earnings feeling like a fortune to him (when they were obviously not), to his illiteracy and his unsophisticated, "punch drunk" boxer. The ramifications of his past are believable. He fritters away the money and is unable to capitalize on his 15 minutes of fame. Hey, it happens all the time. Very believable.

With a pregnant wife, no job, and no way to pay his bills, he's backed into a corner. What's a fighter to do? (And in this case, I mean "a fighter" in its most literal sense.) He's willing to risk his health and even his marriage to do what any man should do: provide for his family.

Adrian's bit of drama is the single "problem" with the movie, but it's also the heart of the movie. It's not a movie about losing it all and coming back again, it's much more than that. It's about a simple man who's trying to do the best he can with the only tools he has. And when Adrian is first to go down for the count, it puts it all in jeopardy.

It's not until his wife is ready to accept him as he is, for what he is, that he can continue his quest, one more fight, for his family, for himself.

The story arc feels so similar to the first movie that this one is often tossed to the side, yet it truly is amazing how Stallone managed to re-imagine all the magic of the first movie and, better still, give us a second helping of it that's just as sweet. Enjoy!