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Rocky III

Rocky III

List Price: $14.95
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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Series should have ended with this one.
Review: Rocky III is not the best of the series but it is a fitting end. The premise is a good one. In the third part of Rocky's story, he is on top of the world, a millionaire heavyweight champion basking in the glory. He has numerous endorsement deals, is universally loved and things couldn't be better. That changes, however, when a fast rising newcomer Clubber Lang (A lot of original thought was put into that name, right?) challenges Rocky for the title. Although Lang's taunts anger him, especially when he comes on to his wife, Rocky doesn't take him seriously. He later finds out that his title defenses have been against hand-picked nobodies ("tomato cans" as they're referred to in boxing) for the purpose of protecting him while enabling him to keep his title. While Clubber trains hard in meager conditions, Rocky makes a sideshow of his training regimen much to the frustration of his trainer Mickey. This results in Rocky suffering a humiliating knockout. The pain of defeat is worsened by Mickey's death from a heart attack suffered before the fight. Defeated and grief stricken, Rocky now begins to believe that the fame and glory since becoming champion has been a lie and he goes into a funk.

Apollo Creed offers to help Rocky get his edge back. He invites him to come to Los Angeles so that he can train him in the same facilities where he was forged into a champion himself. Rocky is very much out of it at first but aster an inspiring talk from Adrian, he resolves to get the "eye of the tiger." back and regain his title, We all know how it ends so let's not go any further.

The idea of doing another Rocky movie where he loses his edge, gets the bighead and loses to a hungrier challenger was a good one but the movie was much too cliched and predictable to be considered a really good one. Casting Mr. T as Clubber Lang wasn't a bad idea but his performance was way too over the top and the "I'm a baaaaad dude!" overacting was, dare I say it, racially stereotypical. the fights scenes themselves were unrealistic and over the top as well. Even Mike Tyson knew to go back to his corner after the bell and no real life fighter would be allowed to get away with picking up his opponent and throwing him onto the ropes. Some might say I'm nitpicking but anyone who has watched real life boxing and then watched this movie would know what I'm talking about. If nothing else though, this was was better than the two that followed. If the Rocky series had stopped here, it would have been a nice trilogy.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Rocky III
Review: Rocky III is one of the best films of the whole saga. It's to me the best only behind "Rocky IV", my personal favorite. The suspense starts when heavyweight champion Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is suddenly defeated by a boastful contender, the brutish Clubber Lang (Mr. T). During the bloody defeat, his trainer and close friend, Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith), passes away. Now clear that he has lost his edge, his only hope is when his old foe and nemesis, ex-champ Apollo Creed, comes to help him get back the "eye of the tiger" in Los Angeles. Training in L.A. with Creed and his former trainer, Tony Duke, Rocky attempts to triumph in a comeback rematch at Madison Square Garden in the Big Apple with the cocky Lang. A must-see hit from United Artists and writer, director, and star Sylvester Stallone.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Rocky III
Review: Rocky III is one of the best films of the whole saga. It's to me the best only behind "Rocky IV", my personal favorite. The suspense starts when heavyweight champion Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is suddenly defeated by a boastful contender, the brutish Clubber Lang (Mr. T). During the bloody defeat, his trainer and close friend, Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith), passes away. Now clear that he has lost his edge, his only hope is when his old foe and nemesis, ex-champ Apollo Creed, comes to help him get back the "eye of the tiger" in Los Angeles. Training in L.A. with Creed and his former trainer, Tony Duke, Rocky attempts to triumph in a comeback rematch at Madison Square Garden in the Big Apple with the cocky Lang. A must-see hit from United Artists and writer, director, and star Sylvester Stallone.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Rocky + Mr. T = Typical Rocky Sequel, good and bad. Enjoy!
Review: Rocky III may be the Rocky Sequel that time forgot, but it's not that far off from other Rocky sequels in terms of quality and emotion.

Rocky movies usually have a moral overtone, and this one is no different. Rocky get's complacent and loses his championship as a result. He also has to deal with loss in the characteristic Rocky formula when Micky dies. In the end, as usual, he trains hard and comes back to overcome his opponent.

Throw in a few appearances by Hulk Hogan and Mr. T and you have yourself an 80s movie.

It's hard to know how to feel about this movie. Then again it's hard to know how to feel about Rocky in general. On the one hand, the fight scenes are totally unrealistic. But Stallone pulls you in with his emotional and pityful character. The acting is never bad. But the writing is meant to be more soap opera than serious drama. If you were to see this movie on it's own, it's pretty cheesy. But in the context of Rocky films in general, it's actually not that bad.

Mr. T actually gives one of the best performances of this movie. He is very believable as the bitter and cruel Clubber Lang (try to ignore the ridiculous names of characters like these). Tony Burton doesn't get as much face time as "Duke" in this picture, but in my humble opinion he is the best actor out of the entire cast. As for Burgess Meredith, Carl Weathers, Burt Young, and Talia Shire, they all give their consistent decent performances.

Stallone really makes you feel for him, truly mastering the "gentle giant" character. It is heart wrenching watching him get his face beat in, even if the fighting is totally unrealistic.

Overall, this is a typical Rocky movie. Nothing compares to the raw emotion of the original Rocky, but if you like the series and you have a few hours to kill, this is an entertaining movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Rocky is STILL the champ
Review: Rocky is known for its numerous sequels and some people have become very dissapointed with them. But I have to say, the group behind Rocky has been able to spawn 4 sequels off of it's original, and they do so without repeating the same story over and over again--that is difficult to do in some cases. For this, I give them a lot of credit.

Rocky III picks up where Rocky II left off. Rocky(Sylvester Stallone) has just beaten Apollo Creed and is now the new heavyweight champion of the world. But now the once underdog fighter who's main goal was to fight his best, win or lose, has become entrapped in the media world and is more concentrated on fighting easy opponants to make him look good and spends all of his free time doing commercials, posing for magazines, doing charity funds, and other plublicity stunts.

But when a new underdog fighter Clubber Lang (Mr.T) challenges Rocky to a title fight, Rocky immediatly accepts, assuming he can take this guy out in 1 round. But the problem is that Lang wants nothing more than to destroy Rocky and win the title. He does not care about the plublicity, he wants to be the champ. So Rocky loses the title fight in a humiliating defeat, and is trying to also cope with the loss of his trainer, Mickey, who dies shortly after the fight. Now Rocky is ready to retire.

But the ring beckons him once again for a rematch with Lang to regain his title and respect. With the help of his old rival Apollo (Carl Weathers), Rocky must go back to the beginning and back to the streets to learn how to get back the edge he had before he was a celebrity and prepare for the ultimate fight.

Rocky III is definatly a good movie. It isn't a cheap sequel that just repeats the previous story. It has it's own story and new goals and still is very inspiring, just as the two before it were as well.

"ROCKY III" runs for about 95 minutes. It is rated PG for violence and some language.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: the only other "rocky" you need.
Review: second only to the original, this is the only other "Rocky" movie you need to get. (since the second was basically a retelling of the first and the others were...uh....forgettable. This movie has all the elements of good mythology. The hero who hasn't really been tested, the mentor/master who dies during the hero's test, the (really) bad guy, the failure, the aging warrier who returns to help the hero defeat the new (and improved)villan and the rebirth of the hero to defeat the villan. I was surprise to see that Sallone directed this because I liked it so much. Great performances and a truely stirring dialogue between rocky and Mrs Rocky on the beach that turns Rocky around. The training sequences and the fights themselves are well done, well staged and well delivered. Some racism from Paulie but I guess it was to show how even he grew up a bit.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: You Cannot Deny Its Power
Review: Sure, the first "Rocky" won the Best Picture Oscar. And, yeah, Rocky beats Apollo in the second one. What more do you need, you ask? Need -- who cares? You WANT "Rocky III," and Sylvester Stallone delivers a knockout punch. Two decades removed from its theatrical release, "III" still holds up. It's the final piece in the BALBOA TRIPTYCH: after reaching the heights of success, the once-hungry fighter must now rediscover his desire and drive. Without "III," the first two movies simply act as complements to one another. With "III," "Rocky" becomes a rich study of an Everyman's life. And it's got Mr. T.

The DVD transfer is very serviceable, but otherwise, it's just the meat and potatoes, kid. You're a "Rocky" fan -- you don't need no sissy special features. Besides, you don't have time for 'em when you're watching the movie for the 50th time. And maybe, just maybe, you might have an appetite for no. IV?

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: You Cannot Deny Its Power
Review: Sure, the first "Rocky" won the Best Picture Oscar. And, yeah, Rocky beats Apollo in the second one. What more do you need, you ask? Need -- who cares? You WANT "Rocky III," and Sylvester Stallone delivers a knockout punch. Two decades removed from its theatrical release, "III" still holds up. It's the final piece in the BALBOA TRIPTYCH: after reaching the heights of success, the once-hungry fighter must now rediscover his desire and drive. Without "III," the first two movies simply act as complements to one another. With "III," "Rocky" becomes a rich study of an Everyman's life. And it's got Mr. T.

The DVD transfer is very serviceable, but otherwise, it's just the meat and potatoes, kid. You're a "Rocky" fan -- you don't need no sissy special features. Besides, you don't have time for 'em when you're watching the movie for the 50th time. And maybe, just maybe, you might have an appetite for no. IV?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The saga continues
Review: The saga continues - and I couldn't be happier. I believe each Rocky movie had its own appeal, and this one appeals to the 80's and to slacking. Rocky III is about resting on your laurels, and Rocky learns the failure in this when Clubber Lang (Mr. Midget throwing bouncer champ T.) shows up on the scene. I don't want to give it away that Mick dies...oops, and that Apollo trains Rocky to find the "eye of the tiger" again (apparently Rocky lost it when he became civilized).

This is a great film. Yeah, I know, the artsy-fartsy fans didn't like it. But they should stick to their abstract art shows and leave the movie reviews to us real-men.

Rocky III is action packed, movie making at its best. Buy it, even if its just to see Hulk Hogan throw Stallone out of the ring and into the audience. They should have made that a 3D scene!

See ya next review.

www.therunninggirl.com

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: How to ruin a francise in 5 steps
Review: This film should never have been made. This is the same old stuff rehashed. The only difference is that we have a slightly older Rocky doing the same old boring training scenes and same boxing pattern. I've had nightmares because of this film


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