I was too young to see the original "Rocky" film in the theaters, but though I was still rather young at the time .. I got to see "Rocky II" and it was inspiring. I consider the original "Rocky" a true classic and the fact that Rocky lost and won in the end makes it even more memorable to Rocky fans.
So that brings us to "Rocky III" the first of the series to be released in the 80's. This film is like an extended MTV music video with an opening montage of Sylvester Stallone making appearances as the heavy weight champion Rocky Balboa. Fun to see segments from Stallone's real appearances at the Academy Awards and of course The Muppet Show!
Life is great for Balboa.. and the movie gives us a glimpse at his nice family, monster house, fancy cars, and his ten successful title defenses in the last three years. Rocky has come along way since the original film and he is truly starting to think it is time to hang up the gloves for good.
"Rocky III" is totally early 80's and it is hilarious to watch the charity wrestling match between Rocky and Thunderlips played by a then mostly unknown Terry Gene Bollea who quickly ascending to WWF stardom as the now legendary 'Hulk Hogan'.
"To all my love slaves out there.. Thunderips is here. In the flesh, baby."
Life is good for Rocky right? Even though Thunderlips goes mental on Rocky and tosses him around a bit.. Rocky keeps his sense of humor and turns the match around as expected. Great charity work!
Then at the unveiling of his infamous statue, Rocky is confronted by the #1 challenger Clubber Lang. Rocky was planning his retirement, but Clubber Lang played masterfully by Mr. T is so menacing that it forces Rocky to accept Clubber’s challenge to a fight. Mick is not on board with this decision. He confesses to Rocky that he’s been protecting the champ by setting up fights that he knew Rocky could win. Mick argues it was to protect Rocky. After receiving this bit of news, Rocky is devastated and more than ever wants to prove that he can defend his belt against tough competition. Eventually Mick caves and Rocky enters the fight with Clubber Lang... (I'll stop there with the story in case some of you haven't watched Rocky III for awhile and might now be interested)
"Rocky III" is an entertaining film that tugs at the heart strings while inspiring you at the same time. And the music is great with tunes by Survivor, Bill Conti, and one of Ronnie's favs .. Frank Stallone. I suddenly have the urge to watch "Staying Alive" again!
And fans of "The Karate Kid" already know this, but what would have happened if "Rocky" had stuck with the originally planned Bill Conti written tune "You're The Best" for this film? As an admirer of "The Karate Kid", I really can't imagine it any other way.
What a cool painting!
One thing that I truly enjoy about "Rocky III" is the fact that it humanizes Apollo Creed and was a nice performance for Carl Weathers and might have opened a few eyes that he could be a leading man in the future. Which reminds me that I need to watch "Action Jackson" again sometime.
Still not ready? Well, there is a scene in the movie where Pauly enters a retro arcade and if you look closely you will see an impressive assortment of arcade games and pinball machines. And if you want to see one of my 80's favs from my "Cheap Thrills" arcade days.. check out that 'Star Castle' game!
[ 05. February 2012, 01:29: Message edited by: Valley ]
Posted by The Good Package (Member # 9492) on :
all hail thunderlips the ultimate male!
Posted by Logan 5 (Member # 1467) on :
"The ultimate male... against the ultimate meatball!"
This movie has so much entertainment value. It was the point at which the series went from serious to comic-booky - and in a good way!
Posted by skatexedge (Member # 5712) on :
Ha! This is my favorite of all the Rocky movies a definite favorite overall. I watch it regularly. Clubber Lang is just great and that first fight when he beats Rocky down is classic!! =)
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
love rocky 3,difference between this and the classic original and excellent first sequel for me is i find this moves at even brisker pace,i think this hits somewhere between the 1hr 30 - 40 mark where as i'm sure the first 2 come in at around 2hrs .
like logan said this where the series slightly crosses over in to the realms of comic book so it does loose some of the serious edge from the first 2 but i feel it makes for an even more fun ride. excellent performances from stallone,weathers, a menacing looking mr t and a appearance by wrestler hulk hogan just add to the fun.
like valley mentions director stallone definitely knows how to tug at the audiences heart strings,the scenes of mickey's passing and balboa throwing his crash hat at his statue as his world comes crashing down around him really make you feel for his charachter,plus bill conti's great score http://youtu.be/e7n8m246z7I playing in the background makes these scenes hit home even harder. great,great movie.
[ 05. February 2012, 12:23: Message edited by: the young warrior ]
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