Any fans of the "Rocky" films out there? Which is your best, favorite, and most "underrated"?

This probably isn't a very original question, but I have always loved these films from day one. They are highly entertaining as a whole.

I suppose it's possible that one could have the same film under each of the criteria I asked, but this is how I would view them:

Best Rocky (1976)
Favorite Rocky IV (1985)
Underrated Rocky II (1979)

 

Well, I’m of the opinion that favorite and best are one in the same when it comes to art.

My best and favorite for many years was Rocky III, though I have not seen any of these films in many years and am not sure how I would feel now. Underrated? Well, I guess that would have to go to the much-maligned Rocky V.

I’m going to be getting the complete Rocky saga on Blu-ray some time in the near future, perhaps for the holidays. I’ll watch Rocky through Rocky Balboa and get back to you. Perhaps I’ll have a different view after watching them again.

 

So the first two posts have Rocky IV as a favorite and Rocky V as underrated.

I have a very bad feeling about this thread. But for S&G, I’ll go :

Best: Rocky
Favorite: Rocky
Underrated: Rocky II

And bonus categories:
Best Performance: Mr T., Rocky III
Best Prediction: Mr T., Rocky III

 

You are right that best and favorite are essentially one and the same in regards to art. I guess by "Favorite", I just meant the one you tend to watch the most. Which might be different than the one you feel is better written or more enduring. In my case, I will always feel the first "Rocky" is best, and thus it is probably my favorite as well. Yet "Rocky IV" is the one I seem to replay the most. It is the most "re-watchable" or entertaining entry, shall we say.

 

Looks like I mostly agree with the OP on this, as follows:

Best Rocky (1976)
The gold standard by which all else is measured. Interestingly enough, aside from the classic theme song, I never really warmed to this film until I saw the 2006 "Collector's Edition" DVD with Stallone's surprisingly intelligent and informative audio commentary (one of the very best of these I might add ), such that now I'd probably also call it my favorite of the series, but for...

Favorite Rocky III (1982)
Well, maybe you could call this a nostalgic "guilty pleasure" given it was my proper introduction to the series as the one I saw first in "real time"; back then, I seem to recall that Mr. T was actually more popular than Stallone, at least for a while among my (Chuck E.) cheese loving junior high crowd, and certainly that big 80's song "Eye of the Tiger" (which sounds a lot like Stevie Nicks' "Edge of Seventeen" to me) was all over the radio, so it was kind of an event.

Underrated Rocky II (1979)
Tends to get lost in the overall mix, I think partly because it was basically a re-match with Apollo Creed, so there were no new "baddies" to root against, which got increasingly cartoony as the franchise wore on; here though, the original grittiness was still more or less intact, and the film probably does merit a critical reassessment, or at least a few more re-watchings.

Obviously, Rocky is an iconic American film character, and Stallone's "Yo, Adrian!" ranks right up there with Brando's "Hey, Stella!" for all time classic movie quotations. In fact, I think Rocky has probably aged better (cinematically speaking) than Rambo due to the timelessness of the basic story, but that is getting a bit off topic, and I'm only really familiar with the first three films, so I'll leave discussion of the rest to other participants.

Go Italian Stalion!

 

Great post!

Yes, it's hard not to fall in love with the story of "Rocky", not just in terms of the eventual classic film, but in how much it mirrored Stallone's own struggles as a writer and getting that "chance in a million" to star in his own film.

I also agree about "Rocky II". I seem to enjoy it even more today (and even watch it more frequently than the first film). There is a charm to it that is kind of slow, rooted and meandering, but in a good way. The way we see Rocky and Adrian's relationship blossom, the struggles of Rocky trying to make a "real" living. The way that both Rocky and Apollo gradually understand what they were "made" to do and how the film sets both camps on a collision course to a rematch. And it also has the endearing and emotional climax, with Adrian having complications with the baby, the church scene with Mickey, the thrilling fight itself. So many great scenes and lines are in the film but, as you said, I think it will always be bound to live in the shadow of the timeless first film.

 

Of all the fights that actually take place in the ring, Rocky III's is the one that stands apart. It's the only one that doesn't go the distance. It's the only one in which Rocky completely dominates the first round. In every other fight, Rocky is pounded for most of the first round. They all seem to follow a similar pattern. Rocky gets pounded for most of the first round and most of the second round, but gets in a few good licks near the end of the second round. Key the music and the fight montage. We get a little of each round. The music ends at the close of the second to last round, and we get a music-free or mostly music-free final round. We get a similar pattern in Rocky III, but we get the entire three rounds, and Rocky pretty much sticking it to Clubber.

In my opinion, the Rocky saga is the only saga with four or more films that is consistently good. There isn't a single bad film in the series, and that includes Rocky V. Yes, I like Rocky V. Sue me. I chose it as the most underrated film because it is the only film in the series that is widely panned. None of the others fit the "Underrated" bill because none of the others come close to taking as much heat as V. It is widely disliked, but I like it. Therefore, it is underrated, in my humble opinion.

 

That's a good observation about the fight in III. It's also unique in that it features Rocky fighting his adversary twice in the same film.

I also agree that the thing that sets the enjoyment of these films apart from most other series, is that nearly every entry is a winner (pun unintended). Even if most agree that the first is "best" or most genuine, every film is at least "true" to the arc of Rocky's boxing life. And as I hinted at in a post above, I think II in particular might be in the running of "greatest film sequel".

In short, all these entries are a lot of fun and at least entertaining.

 

Best: Rocky
Favorite: Rocky II
Underrated: Rocky II

 

Rocky for all 3. Underrated because there are any that claim one of the sequels are better. By the way, feel the same about First Blood too.

 

Rocky is my favorite film of all time.
I count it as best and my favorite.
Underrated - Rocky II. When I was a kid it was all about III with Mr. T and Hulk Hogan, and IV as well. But I appreciated II more the older I got. I also have good II related memories of being very young and getting Rocky II trading cards.

 

I loved IV when I was a kid but now not so much. I still love III since I think it gives a good mix between the drama of the first two films and the OTT nonsense of IV.

 

Rocky Balboa
Rocky IV

 

I think I heard a commentary once that after Rocky II, Rocky changed in that he used revenge as a motivating factor which was not the case in Rocky or Rocky II.

My favorite of the series is Rocky II. It is one of the few sequels that serves as a direct continuation of the first film, and brings the story full circle to a logical conclusion.

 

Favorite: Rocky. I've seen it hundreds of time throughout my life and can quote the thing from start to finish (much to the entertainment of my physical therapist). I SHOULDA BROKE YOUR THUMB!

Rocky II - I like this one. Yes, it's more of the same, but that's a good thing. Not as good as Rocky but a solid film. If any film is underrated I suppose it's this one. It makes me smeel mainly.

Rocky III - I have fond memories of seeing it as a kid so there's a nostalgia factor at work here. I have a soft spot for it but it is kinda ridiculous at times (the Thunderlips scene, in particular). But the Mickey scene was sad (and unintelligible, of course). I like Mr. T and thought he made for an intimidating nemesis. But it feels like we're getting off course with this one. But it was the 80's after all.

Rocky IV - Ok, now we're getting stupid. Pure MTV 80's cheese. James Brown. Paulie's robot. How did we go from working for Mr. Gazzo down at the docks to this crap? It was of it's time, I guess. I saw it in the 99 cent theater. I was less critical when I was 9 years old.

Rocky V - At the time I welcomed a return to Rocky's roots but this is a pretty bad film. I remember seeing it in the theater on opening night with a packed house, and everyone cheered when Rocky got back up during the fight at the end, but overall the thing is a mess. Sly plays Rocky a little too punchy. It was nice to see Mick, though.

Rocky Balboa - finally redemption for this franchise. A solid, touching story, and Sly plays Rocky correctly for the first time since Rocky II. The speech he gives to his son is epic, some of Sly's best work. Rocky waving goodbye at the cemetery at the end was the perfect ending to the series.

If only he'd stopped there.

I know Creed wasn't his idea. I really didn't want to see Rocky deal with anymore hardships. I should have quick with Rocky Balboa. I want to unsee Creed. Not that it isn't a good film but Rocky Balboa was the best place to end this. Now it continues with Creed II.

What next? Creed III where Creed fights the illegitimate second cousin of Clubber Lang trained by the angry ghost of Spider Ricco?

 

Rocky's grandson becomes a fighter.

 

Best: Rocky I
Favorite: Rocky I
Most overrated: Rocky I (because Taxi Driver was the best movie of 1976 )

 

Rocky III is the best.
\
All the principals are still there. Clubber makes you cringe whereas you gotta love Apollo Creed. Adrian looks good. Paulie is even more himself.

Lots of clever snippets like Rocky doing the Amex commercial, the Muppet show appearance, etc. And the encounter with Thunder Lips is great (those babes .... ).

Lots of easy to spot but genuine themes going on. Good theme song. Fantastic final scene.

And Adrian's pep talk saves the day.

 

Check the Search function. 2 pages of Rocky threads you might find entertaining to read through.

Search Results for Query: rocky | Steve Hoffman Music Forums

 

Rocky will always be my favorite/vote for best. It's a classic story that captured its era perfectly. The then-unknown Stallone living his own Cinderella story at the time was the icing on the cake. I mentioned in another thread that when I saw it in the theater in '77, the audience gave it a standing ovation.

I saw Rocky II as soon as it came out and didn't care for it. I've seen most of the others...none of them recaptured the magic for me. I keep meaning to see Rocky Balboa, though, as was recommended to me here.

 

Rocky 3 tends to be underrated in my view but it is actually a strong movie (IMHO, of course) for the following reasons ;

• First time we see him lose decisively.
• Mick dies. Sucks but as a plot device, it was great.
• The relationship between Apollo and Rocky was nice to see. Carl Weathers is such a natural actor.
• 2 fights rather than one.
• Mr T was fantastic. Wish he had more scenes.

The one everybody dumps on is Rocky V and deservedly so but the flashback scene with Mick is fantastic. Maybe at some point, I'll edit it so that it's in either Rocky 3 or 4 instead. One of my favorite scenes in the series by far.

 

Best Rocky Balboa
Favorite Rocky II
Underrated Rocky II

 

I love the soundtrack. Hi res.

Though not as popular with some, I think “Rocky Balboa” (last in the series) pushed all the right emotional buttons. It also appears to be aging well, though young.

 

I disagree. You can recognize that one is objectively better than another but still like the inferior one more.

I mean, I know Beethoven is better than Spice Girls, but I still like Spice Girls more!

 

Best - Rocky
Favorite - as above
Underrated - Rocky II

Everything after is a big *meh* and gets increasingly cartoonish... at least until Creed, which was surprisingly excellent, with Sly giving the performance of his career and which he deservedly should have got the Oscar for (ditto Mickey Rourke on The Wrestler).