ROCKY IV!

[RandyS]

Rocky III was the best. EYE OF THE TIGER!

Yeah, III was good, but personally I liked II best. I HATED the rap music in V, but that was nothing compared to the absolute shit that was Rocky Balboa. I hated the fact that Adrian wasn't in it, and the fact that she died kept reminding me of my mom's death (not from cancer, but she resembled Talia Shire), and that kept taking me right out of the movie.

 

[HRHTheKING]

I loved Rocky IV

I like the training sequences.

Drago in uber-high tech facilities.

 

[Holdfast]

You certainly have to love the unintended homoeroticism with Apollo Creed on the beach in the montage in that movie (I think the beach scene is from part three, but whatever).

The beach? The beach was homoerotic? Did you just MISS the whole sweaty gym sequence in the montage? And don't get me started on the symbolism of catching that damn rooster...

 

[Harvey]

You certainly have to love the unintended homoeroticism with Apollo Creed on the beach in the montage in that movie (I think the beach scene is from part three, but whatever).

The beach? The beach was homoerotic? Did you just MISS the whole sweaty gym sequence in the montage? And don't get me started on the symbolism of catching that damn rooster...

My apologies if I am not a definitive scholar on this particular film. But what goodness awaits me upon another viewing of it!

 

[Aragorn]

Wasn't the first Rocky movie applauded for having the most realistic fight scenes?

Then in Rocky IV, Rocky takes more direct punches in the first round than most boxers take in a career, and the ref never stops the fight despite Rocky taking enough hits over 15 rounds to kill several boxers.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Rocky is great.

Rocky II is decent as a sequel to a movie that really didn't need and probably shouldn't have had a sequel in the first place.

Rocky III is, IMO, the worst of the bunch. Suddenly, Rocky has gotten way smarter and no longer sounds like such an imbecile that he can get TV commercial gigs and that sort of thing. "Eye of the Tiger" & Mr. T are its only redeeming features.

Rocky IV is a little bit better but is still in the same class as Rocky III. Ivan Drago is great as a villain you just hate.

Rocky V is pure cheese but I admire it for being the greatest divergence from the formula that has plagued all of the other movies, including...

...Rocky Balboa. I don't know why other people like this movie so much. Of all the films, this one just blatantly follows the exact same plot of the 1st movie even more than any of the other sequels. It's less a movie than a 2 hour nostalgia trip.

BTW, jeers to the 6 disc box set for not including any bonus features, not even the ones done for the 2-disc 30th Anniversary Edition of Rocky.

 

[Holdfast]

You certainly have to love the unintended homoeroticism with Apollo Creed on the beach in the montage in that movie (I think the beach scene is from part three, but whatever).

The beach? The beach was homoerotic? Did you just MISS the whole sweaty gym sequence in the montage? And don't get me started on the symbolism of catching that damn rooster...

My apologies if I am not a definitive scholar on this particular film. But what goodness awaits me upon another viewing of it!

You'll never see it the same way again...

Wasn't the first Rocky movie applauded for having the most realistic fight scenes?

Then in Rocky IV, Rocky takes more direct punches in the first round than most boxers take in a career, and the ref never stops the fight despite Rocky taking enough hits over 15 rounds to kill several boxers.

Didn't they give him brain damage by Rocky V as a result of what Drago did to him?

 

[Aragorn]

The first and only doctor he saw said he had brain damage. He never got a second opinion... until Rocky Balboa.

 

[Hermiod]

I thought it was damage to his eye socket, not his brain.

 

[Trekker4747]

The first and only doctor he saw said he had brain damage. He never got a second opinion... until Rocky Balboa.

The BTS opinion in Balboa is that when he was originaly diagnosed it was a cross between not getting a second opinion and a differing of opinion/science of the brain between the events of the two movies.

 

[Admiral James Kirk]

There were no sequels.

Sure there was! He fought B.A. Baracus in one and then Frank Castle in another...right?

Nope. He fought Apollo Creed, became a champion, then in his retirement he came back to "refind himself" after the death of Adrian to fight Mason Dixon.

I recall no street brawls, brain leisions, trips to Russia, none of that.

There's only "Rocky" and "Rocky Blaboa."

No other movies in the Rocky series.

You're wrong! He got knocked on his ass by Clubber Lang and then listened to Eye of the Tiger and kicked his ass! Then he and Apollo had a throw down and hit each other so hard they turned into paintings! And then Rocky Balboa happened!

 

[HRHTheKING]

Rocky I, II and III actually form quite a cool trilogy with a very coherant storyline which makes perfect sense, and it ends with Rocky getting back his title, proving he was a proper champions, coming to terms with Mickey's death, making friends with his old rival, Apollo regaining his pride, Paulie finding his place in life alongside Rocky/Apollo/Duke, and Rocky ending the trilogy which his health, wealth and family intact, and becoming a fairy deep and intelligent guy.

 

[Admiral James Kirk]

If you watch it 1-5 you realize the story arc is as much about Apollo Creed as it is Rocky.

In Rocky 1 Apollo is at the top of the world and lost his edge. He takes on a big joke of an exhibition match with a nobody and nearly loses.

In Rocky 2 although he finds that he won the match with Rocky he lost as far as popular opinion goes and he overcompensates in an attempt to win back popular favor by beating Rocky and... loses popular favor and his title to the man.

In Rocky 3 Apollo's basically lost his self-respect after losing to Rocky and regains it by training Rocky to regain the title which he lost to Clubber Lang in effect winning back his self-respect by proxy.

In Rocky IV Apollo's still restless and finds a way to regain his self-respect by fighting the unstoppable Drago. Of course Drago kills him which drives Rocky to fight the massive Russian. Again you could call this a proxy victory for Apollo.

In Rocky V you see the fallout of Apollo's hubris. Because Rocky fought Drago he was brain damaged and thus unable to make a living forcing him once again into poverty. In a way the first five Rocky movies were a vicious circle that was set into motion by Apollo. Had Rocky not been selected by Apollo then it's likely that the events that caused the fall and later death of Apollo would never have happened. Apollo just seemed to have a corrupting touch. He destroyed everything he touched... Well everything but Drago.

 

[Aragorn]

I wonder how the last two movies would've turned out if Apollo hadn't died. They already played the death card with Mickey. What if instead, Apollo were paralyzed, his wife left him and took his money, etc.? How would that have played out and affected Rocky V and Rocky Balboa?

 

[Loupjo]

I love Rocky!

The music, the character of Rocky, everything. Well, not so much the boxing but the whole dynamic behind it. I couldn't really pick a favourite.

Rocky I because of Rocky declaring his love for Adrian: Love you Adrian

Rocky II has the marriage of Rocky and Adrian and the birth of Rocky J.

Rocky III has Mr T

Rocky IV has the death of Apollo (so emotional) and some more family dynamic

Rocky V has lots of family dynamic and is a bit different

Rocky Balboa is just a beautiful conclusion even though I missed Adrian.

I was always more interested in Adrian&Rocky the love story then Rocky boxing.

Seriously Rocky is a wonderful character. He is no superman, no superhero, he is not a born winner, he is not perfect. He fights hard and tough to get where he want. His story is human, it doesn't have the perfect happy ending but a very human one. An ending with flaws. Just like Rocky has flaws. He was never the most outspoken, eloquant person. He made mistakes but his heart was in the right place and he always got up again when he fall.

Did I mention that I love Rocky?