So yesterday after I got home from work I turned on the TV and to my surprise I tuned in just in time to catch Rocky's comeback and rematch with Clubber Lang in Rocky III. I have to say that out of the entire Rocky franchise (in which I only include Rocky I, II, III, IV); this movie IMHO is by far the best. Before I go any further I would like to further quantify why I only include those four movies when in fact there are a total of six ( I exclude Rocky V and Rocky Balboa) . Rocky 5 was a joke and Rocky Balboa should never have been released. I feel this is enough qualification!
When comparing Rocky I,II,III, & IV let's look at the merits. In the debut of the franchise Rocky gets a shot at fighting Apollo for the first time, Apollo is the champion, Rocky a no name boxer in Philly. The outcome of the fight? Rocky loses in a hard fought battle. In Rocky II, Rocky and Apollo rematch, the fight scene is great and in the 15th round, Rocky and Apollo both fall to the ground and Rocky is able to stand up with 1 second left in the count and beats Apollo and wins the title. In Rocky III, its described through discussion that Rocky fought a couple of guys in defense of his title prior to the start of III. In the first part of the movie Rocky does a charity match against Thunder Lips (Hulk Hogan), it is touted as a boxer vs. wrestler match-up. Obviously not a fair match-up but fun to watch. Rocky gets his ass kicked. He then begins training after being challenged to a fight by B.A. Baracus himself, Mr. T, after a miserable bout of training Rocky fights and loses, Mickey dies, and Apollo eventually become Rock's trainer for the inevitable rematch. Rocky goes through emotional turmoil over the loss of Mickey and he questions his drive and desire to fight. He faces his demons, trains with Apollo in the LA Ghetto and then kicks Mr. T's ass. Sounds like a complete package huh!
So let's think about how I just described the first 3 movies. By far Rocky III has the most actual fight time, it has new opponents, it has big names involved in the cast, and Rocky win's by a natural KO! I have no idea how anyone could compare the first two movies and say that they were as interesting and as fun as Rocky III. In the third installment we are also privileged to hear the release of "Eye of the Tiger" for the first time, questionably one of the best pump-up jams of all time.
The only movie in this collection that can hold a candle to Rocky III is Rocky IV and the story line in four was such a stretch for me that it lost me. I mean no way in real life would a guy like Apollo get back into the ring after a five year hiatus without researching and knowing his opponent. Not only that but he would have trained for months before jumping into the ring. He for damn sure wouldn't have shrugged off the 2100 PSI punch measurement of Drago; and in real life Rocky would have thrown in the towel long before Apollo died. Although I do have to say that emotionally this movie of all four will definitely pull on your heart-strings the most. Unfortunately the criteria for a great fight movie doesn't highlight emotional investment for the largest qualifier. So for the remainder of the movie Rocky trains in Russia, is received by a hostile crowd and beats the Russian and then makes a corny speech about why can't we all just get along. Much of it is very contrived and annoying. So what is the final result?
Rocky III is the best Rocky movie of all time. Take that to the bank!
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Chip Koty can be reached via twitter @chipkoty or via facebook at facebook.com/chipkoty
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