My twisted imagination likes to believe that Warrior was first developed as Rocky VII--a sequel where the Italian Stallion comes out of retirement once more to “see what this MMA thing’s all about.” That certainly isn’t anywhere close to the truth, but it’s still good enough of an excuse to look back over the all-American movie saga that doesn’t involve long-ago, far-away galaxies. C’mon, when you’ve got a cinephile’s roundtable going, you know this is the one where everybody’s got their own favorite...
Rocky (1976) Dir. John G. Avildsen
By this point, everybody and their uncle knows this was directly inspired by the famous Ali/Wepner underdog fight of the year prior. Just like First Blood, the flick takes on different qualities depending on whether you choose to acknowledge the broader entertainment sequels or not. Taken on its own, it’s a much more bittersweet tale of a bum whose best and biggest ambition isn’t to beat the champion, but to simply not get obliterated by him. In all likelihood, Rocky’s never going to do anything noteworthy for the rest of his life, and that underscores all of the crowd-pleasing fun with some real sadness.
I also join this with First Blood as proof of Stallone actually being a real talent, both in front and behind the camera, despite any of the latter excesses of his fame. Rocky’s script is tightly written and witty, with probably the best-realized take-off of Ali’s legend anywhere on film.
Rocky II (1979) Dir. Sylvester Stallone
Well, this might be the longest epilogue/denoument ever filmed. It begins at the precise moment that the first ended and ties up basically every thread that was left even somewhat loose. Rocky marries Adrian, he gets to beat Apollo and his lifestyle even enjoys a few benefits from his success. It’s actually less of a boxing flick than just a straight, low-key domestic drama. There’s less humor and no signature song, but there’s a depth of emotional honesty that'll be surprising to anybody pre-judging this by the latter sequels.
Rocky III (1982) Dir. Sylvester Stallone
Here’s the clear turning point where the series went from down-to-Earth, heart-on-the-pavement character drama to over-the-top, highly-stylized entertainment. And that’s probably unavoidable when you’re packing Mr. T, Hulk Hogan and Survivor into one movie. While the formula of "Loss => training montage => victory" was well-honed by this point, Sly puts worthwhile spin on it by having Rocky ally with his old foe Apollo to put some speedy rhythm in his game and regain the hunger that his success has made him complacent about. Even if you don't catch those deeper themes, it all gets summed quite literally in "Eye of the Tiger."
Rocky IV (1985) Dir. Sylvester Stallone
Oh, good lord. Ferociously anti-commie, anti-drug and all-American, this flick's so emblematic of the 80s that 40-60% of its running time's comprised of pure training montage (it even runs two of them back-to-back!) Cinematic cheese doesn’t run any thicker than this, but none of the usual criticisms against “bad movies” hold any weight here because it’s just so damn entertaining. If you don’t have any fun watching this, you need to check that there’s actually something beating in your chest. Likewise, if this doesn’t motivate you to spend even one pointless hour at the gym, then nothing’s ever going to make you “verb it.”
Rocky V (1991) Dir. John G. Avildsen
OK, even Stallone’s trashed this one. I’m sure the idea was to bring the series back to its dramatic roots after two straight outings of fun and sun (barring the deaths of a couple close friends, of course) but Sly put it best when he said this was so dark it “brought audiences down into a mine shaft and turned off the lights.” Rocky having to quit fighting because of brain damage is a way serious buzzkill, the "Duke" manager based off Don King is a too-blatant parody and the 90's hip hop on the soundtrack isn’t too inspiring as pump up jams next to the likes of “Eye of the Tiger” or “Hearts on Fire.”
Rocky Balboa (2006) Dir. Sylvester Stallone
What I love the most about Sly’s recent (and final?) returns to his respective franchises is how each flick’s themes were summed up in succinct mottos. And, to be sure, “It ain’t how hard you can hit, it’s how hard you can’t get hit and keep moving forward” is much more inspiring bumper sticker material than “When you’re pushed, killing’s as easy as breathing.” This faced serious skepticism in its pre-release and it delivered just what I was hoping for--inspirational, low-key drama. Granted, the romance with "Little Marie" gets a little weird, the sub-plot with her son doesn’t go anywhere and the whole conceit of a sexagenarian stepping back in the ring maybe pushes the disbelief-suspension a wee too far, but I can’t deny that the plain-speaking philosophy of this flick didn’t hit home with me.
I really love Rocky Balboa. It's a smarter, sweeter film than it had any right being, especially when you contrast it with Stallone's indulgent nonsense in Rambo and The Expendables. It's a pretty amazing send off to just let that character fade away so perfectly. Definitely redemptive to the whole franchise after the pile that was Rocky V.
Great choice for this. I've seen everyone of the films in this series and definitely liked the first two and Balboa the best. Rocky III was probably the worst out of all them for having both Hulk Hogan and Mr. T. Rocky IV was fun but it was just dumb. Rocky V I enjoyed but it was pretty messed up.
Damnit I love this series so much.
First time I watched them was back to back to back over a couple days during a summer I was staying in Philly with some family.
I can always rewatch all 5 Rocky's an unlimited amount of times. Rocky I, II, III, IV, and Balbao... I have no idea what this Rocky V you're talking about is; some kind of fan fiction?
I enjoy Rocky V even though it's crazy depressing and somewhat terrible.
What sorta annoys me is when people say that Rocky IV is the best one, even my wife-to-be says it is the best one, to which i give her a right haymaker to the chin!
Rocky IV is good, but it's nowhere near as good as Rocky 1-3 and 6, the previous 3 are more entertaining even though i think Ivan Drago is one of the best opponents. I think peoples love of the soundtrack (and don't get me wrong, it's a brilliant soundtrack) clouds their judgement over the film itself and makes it better than what it actually is. But what can i say, it's peoples opinions.
i thought the look of Rocky Balboa was awful when i saw the first trailers and clips and it was Stallone desperately trying to do the impossible and bring Rocky back from the gutter as a 'last chance of being famous again' sorta way, and somehow he succeeded, i dunno how but he made a brilliant film which is maybe onpar with the first one. I thank Rocky Balboa for being so good because it led to The Expendables, which i adore dearly!
@ReyGitano: I was also wondering what this Rocky V is since that movie was never made. You hear me Tom, Rocky V NEVER HAPPENED. Since Rocky Balboa is the last movie, we can go from IV to Balboa and not miss anything. Everything that 'happened' in Rocky V isn't mentioned in Balboa. Since Stallone didn't acknowledge it being a real movie, we can also acknowledge that it's not a real movie.
In all seriousness though, this is one of my favorite series of all time. Stallone shows in this series he's super talented when he wants to be and also shows how ridiculous he can be as well.
Nicely said and very well worded. Even reading these responses have led me to say: Rocky is 1 of the best series out there. I went to the theatre to watch Rocky V when I was in grade school. I left with a more modern thought of: WTF? When they announced Rocky Balboa I was skeptical in the beginning (as with a lot of you). WOW did Stallone deliver! That movie was a perfect cap to the franchise. Had that been in place of Rocky V, then we wouldn't have had an Expendables (I agree with @aseddon130 ).
Rocky II is in a limited list of films that has extracted tears from me (the scene where Adrian is in the hospital: The bells, the "Win".....classic!
Rocky III was good!. There were some great training montages (as with most of them) and you felt it when Rocky took down Creed.
Rocky V is just what was left on the cutting room floor after Rocky IV. To me Rocky V is to the Rocky franchise, as the prequels are to the star wars franchise for sw fans.
Not gonna lie, I've been training for my first marathon in November, and I begin and end each run by punching up "Gonna Fly Now" on the iPod.
Actually it's going to be the Philadelphia Marathon, which starts and ends at the foot of the Philly Museum of Art, so you had better believe I'm running those damn steps.
The best movie was Rocky IV! Come on! That movie ended the Cold War all by itself! HaHa
Seriously, Rocky I is the best hands down.
I really didn't like any Rocky film besides the first. Then I saw Rocky Balboa. That film was fantastic, more so than it had any right being.
Note: I didn't particularly dislike any of the other Rocky films, they just didn't strike a chord with me. I couldn't finish watching Rocky V, though.
I love friggin' all of these movies, because 5 never really happened for me. :)
They all feel different, which makes them so appealing for me. Apollo turns out to be such a likable character, and Rocky is always a really good guy. I never really cared much for Adrian in these movies, because she's so vulnerable and kind of weak. It just doesn't do wonders for me. But the music, and the style, the era, these movies are so fun and awesome. They are pieces of American cinema as much as any other films! These are when movies are fun!
"Embedding disabled by request."
You know, maybe you should do your homework to check and see if these videos are actually functioning and can be viewed while being embedded. This article wasn't so important you had to rush it out the door before everybody forgets about Warrior after the weekend.
It's a shame, V could have been great if Stallone got his way. III is my favorite easily.
Rocky IV is clearly the greatest - sure, Rocky defeats communism single-handedly! It's just to ridiculous, you can't help but love it. Also, the training montage music amazing.
I cry every time I watch the part where Mick dies in Rocky III. Gosh, the first time I watched that I was destroyed.
My favorite is the first, obviously, but II and IV are pretty great too. And Rocky Balboa is great too! Genuine emotional content in that flick.
I like all of them. even V, though it is definately the "worst" of them all. But I also used to be a big fan of Tommy's before his career ended...so that has some weight to why.
And I was expecting Balboa to suck..and it's probably one of my favorites..if only it had the soundtrack of IV's lol
I totally, 100%, completely un-ironically, LOVE Rocky IV. Even the multiple montages - hell, BECAUSE of the multiple montages:) For me, that movie spoils the rest of the series. Every time AMC gives it - and they've been giving it a lot recently - I'll check it out and watch it to the end. And enjoy the f*** out of all the Survivor tunes in it, and John Cafferty's "Hearts on Fire"...and Robert Tepper's "No Easy Way Out"...and "Training Montage" by Vince DiCola, etc. Yes, I have the soundtrack :D
That movie is amazing. I have no taste for other "sports dramas"; without the spectacle, or the montages (I mean, what they represent; that is, bettering yourself through hard work), or the style and presentation, they're just slow paced bores. But Rocky IV is one of my favorite movies ever. I'll lump it in - gladly - with Star Wars, Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, the Goonies, Bill & Ted, Indiana Jones and every other all time favorite movies of mine.
Oh, and man....the remixing on "Eye of the Tiger" at the end of the Rocky Balboa trailer? Painful. Don't touch Survivor, people.
These are such great movies. If you don't love them, then you don't love America. And I don't love you.