It’s a tough message to swallow that a second chance isn’t a life-changing wish, and going 15 rounds with Apollo wasn’t going to give Rocky a perfect life, but Rocky II lapses into wish-fulfillment rather than following the honesty that made the first movie a success. If the film really had the courage of its convictions, it would bring Rocky back to where he started, or at least only slightly above where he began. Rocky II has a promising start by trying to follow Rocky’s public victory to its natural conclusion and shows that he’s not ready for the accompanying fame and fortune and that what was presented to him was all too fleeting. It’s corny as hell and a product of its time, but the fact that it’s so stark in its jingoism and has delightfully dated touches like Paulie’s butler robot and terrible songs like “Hearts on Fire” has made the picture at least memorable. Rocky then gives a wishy-washy speech about how “Everybody can change,” meaning, “You guys can love America because I represent America!” Instead, Rocky takes it upon himself to basically win the Cold War to the point where A) the crowd starts chanting for his name for no reason, and B) even the Soviet leaders in attendance stand up and applaud his victory. The rest of the film is essentially flashbacks and training montages with almost nothing in the way of storytelling or character development. Apollo exists in Rocky IV to die, and that’s a shitty way for the character to go out not to mention lazy motivation for Rocky. In Rocky IV, he’s an arrogant moron who doesn’t seem to train at all, thinks that Drago being bigger will make him slow enough to beat, proceeds to have a dance number before the fight, and then gets murdered in the ring. The one upside of Rocky V’s conclusion is that it opened the door for better Rocky movies, although no one knew that back when they made the series’ nadir. ![]() Instead of Rocky gracefully exiting to let a new champ reign, it’s Stallone reasserting that even if it’s not official, he’s the true champion and no one is going to take his crown. It’s a climax that goes against everything the Rocky movies had established, and it’s a clumsy finish to the story. Which makes Rocky V a hypocritical film because Rocky overcomes brain damage to defeat Gunn in a street fight. Once you get arrogant in a Rocky movie, you’re going to lose. Also, Gunn is easily seduced by Duke’s charms and the lure of fame and wealth, which leads to the cardinal sin of the Rocky franchise, arrogance. ![]() The emotional honesty is gone, and it’s been replaced by an after-school special where Rocky learns that he should pay more attention to his flesh and blood rather than Gunn, a man who feels no reluctance to share his abusive childhood with the Balboa family when they invite him over for dinner the first time.
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