The Rocky Saga

About a year ago, I started watching the Rocky movies again, and only now am I finishing them up (what can I say, I got distracted). Before I dive into the reviews, let me just say that the sixth installment, Rocky Balboa, at first struck me as a last-ditch effort by Stallone to retain something of his Hollywood career, but when I saw the trailer . . . I actually thought it looked interesting! My hope for Rocky Balboa is that it can end the series on the inspiring note that it started on. So having said that, let's dive into the series.

Rocky

After watching the original Rocky again (for the first time in years), I was quite surprised, because it was a much better movie than I remember it being! You might say that it did win Best Picture of 1976, but in the shuffle of all the sequels, I think the magic of the first movie managed to slip through the cracks. If anyone else can remember their way back through the sequels to the original, Rocky tells the story of streetwise loser Rocky Balboa, working as a bouncer for a loan shark and hanging out at the local gym in the forgotten back streets of Philadelphia. While at the gym, he spends his time boxing under the direction of Mickey, and old crust-bucket if there ever was one. Rocky also hangs out at the local pet store, subtly flirting with the painfully shy Adrian, and the two slowly build a friendship that grows into a romance. I have to confess, their ice skating scene was quite beautiful.

In the meantime, arrogant professional boxer Apollo Creed (who I guess was supposed to be a cinematic Muhammad Ali) offers the chance for an amateur boxer to go 15 rounds with him, and Rocky of course jumps at the chance, with the support of Adrian, Mickey, and Adrian's lug-nut brother Paulie. Rocky’s gradual uphill climb from streetwise loser to amateur boxer is admiring to see (though I draw the line at drinking 6 raw eggs at 4:00 in the morning before going out to jog), and we're treated to some of the most memorable—and inspiring—scenes of the whole Rocky franchise: his boxing the slabs of meat at the butcher's, his run up the steps of the Philadelphia Library, Rocky’s famous shout-out, "Yo, Adrian!" when being interviewed on TV, the aforementioned ice skating, and of course the bout with Apollo. The original Rocky is essentially an inspiring underdog movie, because even though he loses the fight, he does go the distance with Apollo—something that everyone (including Apollo himself) thought was impossible for a kid from the streets.

Rocky II

Rocky II pretty much picked up where the original left off, with Rocky and Apollo heading to the hospital right after their match. At the hospital, Apollo publicly accosts Rocky, shouting rhetoric to the effect of, "What you just did was a miracle!", referring to Rocky’s going the distance. And in the background, Apollo is sweating the fact that, even though he was awarded the fight against Rocky, Rocky's going the distance means that Apollo technically didn't defeat him, and his ego is given quite a rattling—enough to want a rematch so that he can beat Rocky. In the meantime, Rocky marries Adrian, Rocky starts to do commercials (it's still funny to see him stumble through, "In the morning, I splash it on . . ."), and Adrian almost dies in childbirth. But when she recovers and lends her support to Rocky in his rematch against Apollo, Rocky hits the streets with more willpower than you can shake a stick at. I'd have to say that Rocky II was just as uplifting as the first, because you can't help but feel inspired when Rocky is jogging down the street and hordes of fans are running with him, cheering him on. And of course, Rocky wins the fight against Apollo in the ring—by only a second, though.

Rocky III

I've already heard Rocky III dubbed the ultimate sequel, and I think that's largely credited to Mr. T's guest spot as the angry Clubber Lang. By this time in the series, Rocky is already an established fighter, raking in the millions, making AmEx card commercials, and sporting cameos on "The Muppet Show". Just to get us pumped, we have an early exhibition/charity fight between Rocky and Thunderlips, who's played by Hulk Hogan during his glory days of the mid '80s. I guess that could be construed as the comic relief, because all of a sudden things turn deadly serious when out of nowhere comes a fighter determined to bring Rocky down, and that fighter is Clubber Lang—i.e., Mr. T in all his I-pity-da-fool glory. And let me tell you, Mr. T is really intense here, and he dominates every scene he's in! His interruption during the unveiling of the Rocky statue is genuinely startling, where he publicly challenges Rocky and makes advances towards Adrian as a way to threaten Rocky's manhood. (I ask you, how many men—myself included—can't quote this scene word for word by now?) Clubber Lang is enough to jar Mickey pretty badly, too, because right before Rocky and Clubber Lang fight, Mickey has a heart attack. Rocky goes down after two rounds in the ring, rushes back to the locker room, where Mickey dies by his side. Mickey's death, on top of a humiliating loss to Clubber Lang, brings out all the demons from Rocky's closet, and he gains an unexpected ally in his grief—Apollo, who helps Rocky retrain for a rematch against Clubber Lang . . . though it's Adrian who ultimately gives Rocky the boost that he needs, in scene where her character shines like never before in the previous two movies.

I’ll give the first three Rocky films each an 8 out of 10—and having said that, I think the Rocky saga should have ended with the third movie, because after this is when it starts to go downhill.

Rocky IV

Rocky IV was the first movie in the saga that I saw as a little kid, and of course I had Apollo's death ruined for me. I vividly remember being at my friend Ricky's house watching this for the first time, and he told me just before the fight that Apollo was going to die. And let me tell you, seeing Rocky IV now, in 2006, compared to seeing it when nine years old really opens up a new perspective on it. As a child in the late '80s and in the last days of the Cold War, the political overtones of the movie didn't mean much to me when I first saw it, but when viewing it 20 years later, I kind of felt hammered over the head with the film's anti-Communist let's-all-be-friends rhetoric. (And when you combine Rocky IV with Rambo II and III, one gets the feeling that Stallone really didn't like those Commies.)

The story of Rocky IV is pretty well-known by now. Apollo takes the challenge issued by Soviet fighter Ivan Drago to an exhibition match—something Apollo accepts so he can prove to himself that he's still got it, that he hasn't turned into a has-been fighter. His old-time arrogance returns, though, patronizing the silent Drago at every turn and really putting him on the spot with that whole James Brown intro to their match. Even so, in the ring Drago proves vastly superior to Apollo, and ends up killing him. Rocky, though, decides that he needs to fight Drago himself, to win back the glory for Apollo, and by extension for America—which seems kind of flimsy to me. Even Adrian doesn't understand why Rocky wants to fight him. The stairway scene of them arguing, while well executed, doesn't convince me of Rocky's motivations, because he seems to think that winning against Drago will avenge Apollo. It just seems unnecessary to me. Rocky, meanwhile, goes off to the frozen Soviet Union to train, and we’re treated to a lot of musical reminiscences in the process: Rocky's solitary drive through the streets of Philly, intercut with footage from the previous three movies to the strains of "There's No Easy Way Out"; or Rocky's long and solid training in the frozen landscape of Russia to "Heart's On Fire" (a scene which, I must say, ain't that bad at all); or "Burning Heart" playing over Rocky's jet landing in Russia (and if you listen closely to the lyrics, it's very political); and last but not least, Paulie sitting back by the fire and chilling with the Chipmunk's Christmas music.

When Rocky and Drago finally go head to head, I could never understand why the Soviet crowd turns against Drago and begins to cheer for Rocky, but when he finally beats Drago (in front of a worldwide audience on Christmas Day) and gives his "Everybody can change" speech, I guess we're supposed to think that Rocky's just won the Cold War for us.

Rocky V

When Rocky V came out, I remember there being quite a lot of anticipation for this. Supposedly taking place right after Rocky's return from the Soviet Union—though with a noticeably older Rocky, Jr.—things start to go badly for the Italian Stallion. First he's told that he's suffered brain damage from his years of boxing, and second, Paulie has signed away the family's power of attorney to their accountant, who lost all their money in shady real estate dealings. Forced back onto the streets of Philly, Rocky and Adrian just want to lead a quiet life now (or at least Adrian does), but Rocky meets a boxing newcomer named Tommy Gunn who wants Rocky to train him. It takes convincing, but Rocky finally agrees. In the meantime, Rocky is being mercilessly hounded by George Washington Duke, basically a cinematic version of Don King, to do a comeback fight. When Rocky declines, Duke instead aims for Rocky's young protégé, who gets caught up in all the glamour and ritz of the high life that professional sports can provide. Suffice it to say, Rocky feels snubbed, because he devoted so much time to developing Tommy, even at the risk of alienating his own son.

But Tommy isn't as welcomed by the public as Rocky was. The difference between the two men is that Rocky genuinely won people's hearts, whereas Tommy feels that he's entitled to admiration and respect because he won the title right off the bat, and when people don't take him seriously as a boxer, he becomes resentful—and at Duke's urging, challenges Rocky, the man who trained him, to a match. The match does happen, but not in the ring—it happens on the streets of Philly, and in the midst of it all, Rocky can hear the encouragement from Mickey, his long-dead but sorely-missed trainer, shouting "Get up, you son of a bitch!" like only he could. And of course, Tommy goes down, Duke goes down, and Rocky is still Rocky. The problem is . . . no glory was attained, no manhood was proven (because Rocky doesn't need to prove it anymore), nothing has changed, really, so you're left wondering what the point of all this was. Don't get me wrong, Rocky V isn't a bad movie, but it doesn't really add anything memorable to the franchise. Despite its being an okay movie, I didn't really think it was necessary. 6 out of 10 for both IV and V.

Let me just say that I have enjoyed the Rocky movies, some more than others (as is always the case with a long franchise), but in some ways it's been the victim of its own successes, and while the original was quite magical, the later sequels turned the series into an object of disdain rather than inspiration. I just hope, as I said at the beginning of this review, that Rocky Balboa can find that inspiration again, so the series can end on a high note.