Rocky II

Rocky II is a frustrating movie to me. While a movie like Rocky has a lot of artistic integrity and Rocky III is a total Hollywood box office sell out, Rocky II cannot figure out which way it wants to go. It starts off with a really good story and ends just rehashing the end of Rocky with one change.

I love the first act of Rocky II. It is the most interesting act in any of the six Rocky movies. It asks the question what does a boxer do after they lose in his one title shot. In the first act Rocky blows through all of his money on dumb things like expensive clothing and a Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am. Rocky does not even know how to drive a stick. This is a compelling story to me. Who is Rocky after the big fight? He has been changed and what does he do now. He tries making commercials but fails. He has to go back to the gym to be an assistant to Mickey.

There is a point in this movie where the whole series starts going downhill. A downhill side that does not stop until Rocky Balboa is slightly better than Rocky V. It is amazing that you can pinpoint the exact moment that a movie series makes that turn. In the Rocky Movies that point is when Adrian falls into a coma after giving birth. Yes, I bet you all forgot there is coma scene in Rocky II. What was Sylvester Stallone watching a lot of soaps when he wrote Rocky II?

From that point Rocky becomes a rehash of Rocky with a bunch more cheese. This time when Rocky runs through the streets of Philadelphia kids are following him. When he is jumping up and down on at the top of the Art Museum steps there is a mob around him.

Burgess Meredith steals as many scenes as he can with he wise cracks. This is the movie where Rocky chases the chicken as part of his training. This is where we get the famous line "You're gonna eat lightnin'; you're gonna crap thunder."

I can't decide if the end of the fight Rocky II is great or terrible. In neither Creed-Balboa fight is there a clean win. We will have to wait for Rocky III for Rocky to really take someone apart.

In the end the problem with Rocky II is that it could have been a great movie or it could have been a movie that made money. If I had it my way, Rocky II two would have been the last movie because there would have been no fight at the end. I know what Stallone made this movie he made, but I find it frustrating because it could have been great. Instead I got four more Rocky movies after it.

Nominations:
Best Sports movie sequel of all times
Best Boxing Boxing sequel of all times.