Rocky II (1979)

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Carl Weathers, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Burgess Meredith, Tony Burton, and Joe Spinell, with cameos from Roberto Durán and Frank Stallone
Grade: A+

They said Apollo Creed was in the best shape of his life for “SuperFight II” but wait until they see how good he looked when he fought the Predator in 1987!

Summary

To remind the viewer what happened previously, the final two rounds of the world title match in Rocky are replayed to open the film. Champion Apollo Creed (Weathers) sends Rocky Balboa (Stallone) to the mat in their heavyweight championship bout in the 14th round, with Rocky’s trainer and manager Mickey (Meredith) telling him to stay down. Instead, Rocky gets up to break Apollo’s ribs before the bell. After Apollo refuses to end the fight despite his injury and Rocky doing the same once he gets his eye cut open to see, the final round commences where Rocky goes the distance and even has Apollo on the ropes when the final bell rings. Just as Paulie (Young) tries to enter the ring but is denied, Apollo is declared the winner by split decision. Rocky avoids questions from reporters as he loudly calls for his girlfriend Adrian (Shire). They declare their love for each other, and it’s seemingly the greatest moment of Rocky’s life.

Now, the story of this sequel begins.

Taking place immediately where Rocky ended, Rocky is taken straight to the hospital still wearing his robe. Mickey, Adrian, and Paulie accompany him, with Mickey clearing the crowd of onlookers for him to walk, as fans and reporters alike are mobbing him. He is placed in a wheelchair as reporters ask Rocky if he thought he won or if it’s the worst beating that he ever took, prompting Paulie to threaten the guy who asked the latter. Another asks if he thinks he has brain damage to which he replies, “I don’t see any”. Just then, Apollo interrupts. Also in a wheelchair and at the same hospital, Apollo goes over to Rocky to tell him how lucky he is. Rocky asks Adrian rhetorically if he looks lucky. Apollo is mad over Rocky going the distance with him and challenges him to finish the fight right there in the lobby, prompting Apollo’s wife Mary Anne (Sylvia Meals) to sit him back down. Rocky isn’t sure if he’s serious. Apollo is asked if he was saved by the bell from a reporter, but he goes on about how he can take Rocky anyplace, anytime. Rocky reminds Apollo how he said after the fight that there wasn’t going to be a rematch, but Apollo reiterates that he wants to go anytime. A reporter comments how a rematch could be worth millions, but Rocky says he’s retired. Adrian quietly smiles to herself. Apollo is having none of it and presses Rocky about giving him a shot the first time and how he wants to give him another. Rocky tells Apollo that Apollo has nothing to prove, but Mickey chimes in to say that Rocky won the fight. He doesn’t care what the judges say. Apollo continues to call Rocky lucky and tries to goad him into something, but they wheel Rocky into the opposite direction. Before Rocky is taken to his room, he tells Adrian to go home to get some sleep. She leans in close and tells him she loves him, and he reciprocates. Rocky gets prepped for surgery and while he’s going under, he hopes they can fix his nose. The surgeons have that covered, but they do admit they are concerned about his eye. Following surgery, Rocky has his head wrapped in bandages, along with the messed-up eye and his nose.

Paulie is the first one in the hospital room to speak with him.

After Rocky asks how his face looks and Paulie admits “I wouldn’t want it”, Paulie asks Rocky to talk to loan shark Tony Gazzo (Spinell) to let him take Rocky’s old job of collecting. Rocky finally agrees to talk with Gazzo for him once he’s finished healing. Since visiting hours are over, their conversation is cut short because the nurse tells Paulie to leave. Paulie does, but he lets Rocky know how everyone is proud of him, which makes him feel good. The nurse gives Rocky some water once Paulie exits, but she can’t help but ask for his autograph for her kid. She asks him to write, “To my good friend, Charlie Flynn”. It’s Rocky’s first autograph, and he signs it happily, despite his hands being so sore. Once she leaves the room, he comments aloud to himself “To my good friend, Charlie Flynn, who I don’t even know”. That night, Rocky gets out of his hospital bed to open Apollo’s door to talk to him. Apollo is lying in bed. Rocky just wants him to answer one question: “Did you give me your best?”. Apollo looks over at him directly and admits he did. Rocky thanks him and closes the door. Sometime after, Rocky is let out of the hospital and Adrian walks with him. Immediately, an agent named Leonard (Leonard Gaines) greets him and talks about how Rocky can make $300,000 with his team this fiscal year. They are interrupted by a younger guy from the hospital being wheeled around in a body cast who is friendly with Rocky. He asks Rocky to sign the head part of his cast, and he happily does so. Leonard and his female partner continue to try and talk Rocky into a deal on the spot, calling it a “standard deal”. Rocky tells the two he will call them later because he’s busy at the moment. Leonard lets Rocky go but tells his partner that Rocky probably has brain damage. Following this, Rocky takes Adrian to the zoo while it’s snowing, a callback to Buddy’s suggestion from the first Rocky. Rocky rambles about how great it is to be outside and how he likes the zoo when it snows. Adrian likes the zoo too, and they stop by the tiger exhibit when Rocky suddenly proposes to Adrian. She says yes!

Sometime later, Rocky and Adrian get married at the church in a small ceremony with Adrian’s co-worker at the pet shop Gloria (Jane Marla Robbins), Mickey, Gazzo, and Paulie in attendance. Following the ceremony, Gloria asks if Rocky wants to buy into the pet shop, but he politely declines because he’s going to get into commercials. Mickey wishes them both the best of luck, but he has to go back to the gym because he has a couple of good prospects. Gazzo talks to Rocky privately and asks how much money Rocky cleared from his last fight. Rocky reveals that it was around $37,000. Taxes are killer. Anyway, Gazzo wonders what he’s going to do with his money now and suggests he hit the street again. Rocky tries to change the subject considering he just got married seconds before, and Gazzo agrees but does bring up investing in condominiums because it’s safe. Not fully grasping what Gazzo is talking about, Rocky responds innocently, “I never use them”. Later, Rocky has Adrian in his arms as he walks back to their apartment. They stop by the street crooners (which includes Frank Stallone) and Rocky greets them, mentioning how he got married. Hearing this, they sing a song about love. Rocky continues on to the apartment and recalls how the first time he saw Adrian, that underneath all her sweaters and such, he saw the best girl in Philadelphia, which she appreciates. Upon getting inside, he tells their dog Butkus to get off the bed. He takes off her veil, and he places her on the bed. It’s in this moment, as they stare into each other’s eyes that Adrian wonders if it will always be like this. Once he confidently confirms so, she hopes Rocky will never get tired of her and nothing will change. Rocky tells her that he’s not changing and he would never change anything about her either. They express their love to each other and get intimate. Sometime after, Rocky buys a sports car. Adrian is with him, but she doesn’t think they need one. Rocky however is okay with the expense since he can afford it on account of doing commercials now. She doesn’t even think he can drive, but he assures her that he can.

Well, he was lying.

Rocky drives terribly and parks on the street near a department store window because he sees a cool black jacket with a tiger on the back and a fur coat, likening them to possible upgrades for the both of them. Adrian is cool with her red coat, but Rocky insists and buys both. Next, they’re at a jewelry store, and he picks out a new watch for Adrian. She thinks it’s expensive, but Rocky doesn’t care. He buys one for her, Paulie, and himself, even if he can’t tell time very good. At the pet store, he buys a big collar for Butkus from Gloria and a matching bracelet for himself. Following this, they go house shopping. Naturally, Rocky is excited about everything in and outside of the house while Adrian asks the realtor the real questions like if there is copper plumbing and what the taxes are ($1,500). Rocky is already down to buy it, prompting Adrian to talk to him privately about how he’s making the realtor’s job too easy. She reminds him that the bank would give them a $16,000 first mortgage at 9.5%. Even so, Rocky is cool with going for it, even though he hasn’t even seen the upstairs yet. Hearing him tripling down at this point, she relents and Rocky tells the realtor they’re buying it. Rocky sends the guy away for a moment, so he can tell Adrian how he wouldn’t be here without her and they kiss. At the Creed residence, Apollo’s kids are playing and Mary Anne is stopped by Apollo who is on the upstairs balcony. He reads aloud to her a bunch of hate mail telling him the fight was fixed, he should kill himself, and another asking how much he was paid to carry Rocky to 15 rounds. Mary Anne thinks he should play with his kids rather than read hate mail and wonders why he can’t just ignore it, but he can’t believe what he’s hearing from her. He angrily throws the letters in the air and storms off. Back in Philadelphia, Rocky is happily playing stickball with the neighborhood kids. Next, Rocky is at the hospital where Adrian gets a confirmation that she’s pregnant, and the two are elated. Afterwards in the park, Rocky happily talks about how a potential boy will succeed with her looks and brains and his left hook.

Then, it hits him that it could be a girl, and he hasn’t even considered this. Adrian points out how their potential daughter could be everything that she isn’t. She doesn’t have to be shy, and they could put her in singing and dancing lessons.

Rocky gets excited and comments how they can get a new dress for her every day and hire a bodyguard for her to keep the boys away. Adrian says if they have a boy that she wants him to be just like Rocky, prompting a laugh from Rocky because he thinks one “dumbbell” in the family is enough. They both hope their kids to be like each other while shyly downplaying themselves until they kiss. Sometime later, Rocky is doing his first commercial, as he signed with Leonard and his partner who approached him after the hospital exit. The reason they didn’t get to him months ago was because they wanted to wait until the swelling went down. He’s in the makeup chair with him in the attire of a caveman. As they work on him, the guy tells Rocky they got a deal with the Smart Deal Toy Company over a Rocky doll that will allow kids to beat the hell out of it. Once the makeup artist is done, he asks how he looks and the commercial people say he looks great, but Rocky wants to hear what Adrian thinks. She says he looks “different”. They walk and talk, and she does admit he looks stupid when he asks but they laugh it off. Rocky is brought onto set and placed into a cage to complete the caveman aesthetic for the commercial. He reads off a cue card that the aftershave he’s promoting “smells manly”, but he messes it up. He also argues that it doesn’t smell manly, but the impatient director doesn’t want to hear it. Four hours later and countless ruined takes because of Rocky’s struggle with the basic reading of his lines, everyone is annoyed and the director decides to go with an alternate set. This time, Rocky is made up to look like his boxing self, complete with a similarly disfigured face that Apollo gave him in their fight. He messes up the first take again and asks to re-do it, prompting the director to yell at Rocky to read it off the “dummy cards”. Rocky takes offense to this and assures him that he’s not punchy. He just has more of a “relaxed brain”. The director doesn’t care about the difference and just wants to get this done, but Rocky doesn’t think this situation is right. He points out how hard he’s working and calls the director out for being rude, and Adrian agrees.

He takes off the prosthetic from his face and quits, so the director is fine with it. Leonard and his partner leave. The director continues to criticize a silent Rocky for costing them thousands of dollars because he can’t read. That night, Rocky is in bed with Adrian reading a book aloud while holding his hand on her now pregnant stomach. Adrian encourages him, especially with Rocky telling her how this will help him get a good office job at some point. The next day, Rocky is at an employment office, and the guy gives him some basic questions to answer to see where he can fit. Rocky reveals he only went as far as 9th grade, and when the man asks if he has a criminal record, Rocky replies, “Nothing worth bragging about”. The man asks if he’s willing to do manual labor, but Rocky would prefer if he can find something sitting down. The man is honest in saying that no one will offer him an office job and questions why he won’t just fight since he heard about Rocky being a great fighter. Rocky admits that getting hit in the face 500 times stings after a while and he heads out. Following this, he’s turned down at another place and Rocky himself turns down another manual labor job. At night, Rocky gives Butkus a bath while talking about how he doesn’t want to do something he’s not happy doing. However, he does note they need the money now. With no other options, Rocky takes a job lugging around beef at Paulie’s old work. Paulie gets him in there. He’s offered the job to start tomorrow, but Rocky is down to start that day, so the foreman (Frank McRae) agrees since they have a load coming in. Paulie tries to get smart with Rocky by saying he doesn’t have to thank him, so Rocky gives it back to him by saying Paulie doesn’t have to thank him for the watch either. Rocky works at the meat facility for some time. He works his ass off, despite being dog tired. Sadly, one day they have to let him go as a cost-cutting measure. Since he doesn’t have enough time in, he’s the first one to be cut. Rocky offers to take a pay cut, but the foreman can’t do it because of union rules. He does let Rocky finish out the day though upon his asking, and he apologizes to Rocky over the whole thing.

Rocky drives over to greet Paulie at the docks and asks Paulie if he wants to buy his car from him. Even though he likes it, he says he doesn’t need it anymore. Plus, he has a hard time taking right turns with his bad eye. Paulie sees through it and questions if he needs some money, but Rocky denies this and continues trying to sell him the car. Paulie isn’t interested, but he’s willing to give him a hand-out. He thinks Rocky should fight again and even suggests he hit Adrian if she’s giving him a hard time, but Rocky isn’t about all that. He just gives Paulie the keys. Paulie offers to give him a ride, but Rocky declines and starts bouncing his ball on his walk, the Rocky trademark. Paulie departs by telling Rocky they can use the car anytime and to just ask. That night, Rocky is hitting the heavy bag in the basement, and Adrian is surprised to see him home because she thought he was at work, leading to him delivering the news. She questions what he’s thinking about doing, so he admits he’s thinking about fighting again. She brings up how the doctor recommended not to because of his eye, but Rocky reiterates that it’s a “recommendation”, and he wants to override it with his own recommendation. Adrian doesn’t like this because he could go blind, but he thinks he’ll be fine. Still, Adrian tries to uplift him, saying he could be whatever he wants and doesn’t have to fight anymore. However, Rocky sees himself as a fighter. He admits that he might not be a good one, but it’s what he does. Adrian points out how Rocky gave her his word that he wouldn’t fight anymore and suggests that she get a job instead, part-time at the pet shop. Rocky is saddened over this because he’s the one who should be supporting her. Plus, he’s worried she might catch a pet shop disease or something, but Adrian is down to do it and dispels the disease worries for obvious reasons. With this, Rocky relents. He has her start dinner while he finishes up his workout, but his emotions are obvious when he starts to angrily hit the bag. Later that night, Rocky takes Butkus on a walk to Mighty Mick’s Boxing gym, using his key to get in. A hearing aid-wearing Mick approaches soon after because he thought it was a burglar, especially because he doesn’t remember giving Rocky a key. However, he lets Rocky to the main area once he sees who it is.

Rocky asks for his old locker back because he’s thinking about fighting again, but Mick tells him that his fighting career is over because of the eye.

Mick argues that he should be happy with shaking the world champion, but Rocky thinks they can do better this time around and wants this favor for him since he did Mickey the favor last time. Mickey wants to test him. He has Rocky look at his nose while he waves a finger on both sides of Rocky’s face to see how long it takes for his peripheral vision to pick it up. He does well with his good eye, but he doesn’t see it until much later on the bad eye, with Mickey noting how Apollo would cave in his face if he got that close. He knows Rocky has the heart, but he doesn’t have the tools anymore. With this, he tells Rocky to forget it. Rocky tries to say that Mickey doesn’t have it anymore, so Mickey slaps him. It just proves even more that Rocky didn’t see it coming. If he couldn’t see it coming from an old man, what would he think the champ could do to him? Rocky admits he’d be hurt bad, but Mickey corrects him, saying he’d hurt Rocky “permanent”. Coming to this realization, Rocky offers to help around the gym instead of fighting. Mickey isn’t sure if Rocky wants this because he’s a celebrity around these parts and it may hurt his pride if he’s seen carrying towels and such. Even so, an emotional Rocky just says that he wants to be around it in some capacity, so Mickey agrees to let him start tomorrow. Elsewhere, Apollo is meeting with people over a rematch. His trainer Duke (Burton) argues that they can get the same money for the top two contenders, so he questions why Apollo wants to go after Rocky. A pissed off Apollo points out how there are a lot of people that still think Rocky won, the fight was fixed and have accused Apollo of being a fake. They are even insulting his kids at school. Duke argues that Rocky was lucky last time, and he’s been doing nothing for the last 6 months. They should just go after some new meat. Apollo flat-out asks Duke if he thought he won the fight. Duke walks around it and points out how Apollo won by decision, which angers Apollo. He “won”, but he didn’t beat Rocky. He wants to know what Duke is afraid of, so he goes up to his desk and tells him directly that Rocky is all wrong for them. He saw Apollo beat Rocky like he’s never seen before, but Rocky kept coming after him.

He doesn’t think they need someone like Rocky in their lives. Duke just tells him to let it go, but Apollo can’t. He tells his PR guy to get a campaign started publicly to bring Rocky out, something for the people around him to start talking. The PR guy reminds Apollo that if they go through this public humiliation of sorts, he’s setting himself up to be the bad guy. Apollo doesn’t care. He just wants whatever to be done to get Rocky into the ring. Soon after, Rocky gets to Mickey’s gym and all the boxers are staring at him strangely. One guy asks where his heart is at, and Rocky is confused. The guy hands him a newspaper with a cartoon in it of Apollo taking out Rocky who has the body of a chicken. Above it is the title “Apollo Creed vs. The Stallion Chicken”, which isn’t a very clever insult if you ask me. Rocky tries to laugh it off and shows some other fighter the picture for a joke, but he doesn’t think it’s funny and walks past Rocky. Rocky goes into the bathroom and tosses the newspaper on the floor before bouncing his ball a couple of times. Mickey works with young boxer Chico and tells him to snarl more when he punches because it will give him a psychological edge, so he brings Rocky over to show him. Rocky does and smiles about it after. Mickey tells employee Johnny to grab the buckets because they’re overflowing, but Rocky takes it upon himself to do it for him. As he grabs one, a boxer tells him to wait so he can spit into it first and then he sends Rocky off. Rocky bumps into a random guy on the way out and just says “oops” before continuing. The boxer insults him by wondering why he couldn’t say anything tougher than that. Rocky is hurt by the comment but tries to laugh it off. Mickey sees the whole interaction while he works with Chico. After hours, Rocky is sweeping the ring. Gazzo shows up because he’s heard what Rocky has been up to and offers a spot working for him again because he’s Italian. Rocky isn’t interested in collecting anymore though, so he declines. Gazzo departs respectfully. On the way out, he points at the cutout of Rocky and asks, “Remember that guy, Rock?”.

Rocky goes to see Adrian at the pet shop and helps her with a bag before suggesting she close up shop early so they can go out. She agrees, and he attempts a corny joke, which she laughs at. When they get outside, a group across the street insult him by saying sarcastically how good he sweeps. Adrian asks if they are talking to him, but Rocky denies it and they keep walking. Once they leave, one guy comments how he’s the “Italian Chicken”. At home, Rocky feeds his turtles, Cuff and Link. Then, he turns on the TV to the news while he sits with Butkus on the floor. Apollo is interviewed at his gym, and he goes on about how people want to see his rematch against Rocky. The reporter reminds him how Rocky is retired, but Apollo calls him scared. The reporter counters by saying how he thought their previous fight was a draw. Apollo says Rocky can’t last five minutes in the ring with a superior athlete like him and is down for a fight anytime, anywhere. He invites Rocky to call him. A saddened Rocky heads upstairs and Adrian watches him. Back at his place, Mickey sees this on the television too and gets angry at the reporter’s words asking where Rocky is. Adrian goes upstairs to console Rocky. Rocky mentions that he doesn’t think he’s supposed to be in commercials nor is he supposed to work at a meat house. He is supposed to be a fighter. Despite Adrian reminding him that he gave it up, Rocky admits that he feels as if he’s becoming a nobody again. Adrian doesn’t think he’s a nobody, but Rocky feels it himself. Adrian is sure they’ll get by, but he doesn’t want her to have to get things the hard way. He wants her and their future child to have good things, and he thinks they need them now. Adrian pleads with him, adding that he doesn’t have to prove anything. However, it’s all Rocky knows, even if she doesn’t want him to do it.

“I never asked you to stop being a woman, ya know? Please, I’m asking you, please, don’t ask me to stop being a man”.

The two are interrupted by Mickey at the door. Rocky lets him in, and Mickey says right away that they need to knock Apollo’s block off. Rocky wholeheartedly agrees. On the stairs, Adrian tries to plead with him, but Rocky just tells her, “I’m sorry”.

You got your wish Apollo. Now, it’s time to eat your words.

My Thoughts:

Picking up literally right where the first film left off, Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky II impressively does not miss a beat. It completely carries the momentum of the first movie and does an excellent job at continuing the saga of Rocky Balboa’s life in a logical, compelling, and relatable way. It’s the least talked about movie in the franchise because it’s sandwiched in-between the greatness of the first movie, Mr. T taking control in the third, and the out-of-control entertainment spectacle that the fourth movie is, but this should not be the case. The film deserves to get a second look by critics. As far as sequels and sports films go, along with the difficulty of carrying the weight of its predecessor’s cultural phenomenon status and trying to come close to meeting the expectations of its foundation just three years after the first movie, Rocky II should be in serious consideration to be reevaluated as a “Classic“.

At the end of Rocky, the final exchange between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed after the bell was a frustrated Apollo telling Rocky, “Ain’t gonna be no rematch” and Rocky replying, “Don’t want one”. In a perfect world, both wouldn’t have had it any other way, but the tornado-like combination of time, insecurities, hurt egos, and money problems can change one’s thoughts very easily. To begin Rocky II, following the healing of both fighters from the injuries suffered during their 15-round war, they try to go their separate ways. Well, at least Rocky does. He’s happy, he gave Adrian his word that he would stop boxing, and he got a private confirmation from Apollo himself that he gave Rocky everything he had when they talk in the hospital (“Hey, it’s me Rocky”). That’s enough to satisfy Rocky and for him to call it a career after turning into a celebrity following the biggest fight of his life. On the other hand, Apollo’s reaction is different. Instead of Apollo being the confident showman obsessed with promotion for his fights and only trash talks to sell tickets, his tone is changed once he has had time to think about the fight. He never wanted to give a rematch to an unknown like Rocky, but considering how he’s the world champion and went the distance for the first time in his career with someone who is supposed to be a bum, he can’t have this. He knows how bad this is for his image as the undisputed champion of the sport. Granted, he’s still 47-0 now, but the split decision finish warrants a rematch in the public’s eyes because Rocky did the unthinkable. Rocky not only lasted, but he was the first person to knock Apollo down and had Apollo on the ropes before the final bell saved him. So, many think Apollo either carried Rocky in a fix, or he doesn’t deserve the title because Rocky had him beat. The public perception is that Rocky deserves another shot and that Apollo is on the verge of being a fraud. Sure, it’s an overreaction for someone who has the undefeated record Apollo has, but it’s not far from the truth regarding sports media and the general public. We see it in combat sports all the time, especially in boxing. As soon as someone as good as Apollo loses or looks vulnerable, pundits and critics are quick to accuse him of being past his prime or how his opponent got screwed by scorecards and whatnot.

It’s a great avenue to take the Apollo Creed character down, giving him a reason to want to fight someone like Rocky again, despite knowing what they went through before. The truth is that Apollo had trouble with Rocky’s southpaw style, the way he’s built in his ability to take punishment, and his relentless heart. Duke is right in that the matchup just isn’t right for someone like Apollo. That’s why he struggled. As we know in professional sports, all the greats have someone they just can’t stop. Everyone has a weakness in their game, and there is always someone that for some reason can get under that person’s skin with their approach. Sometimes, it’s someone of equal ability. Other times, it’s someone like Rocky, unorthodox in his fighting style and general personality. Even in a wheelchair, Apollo decides he wants to continue things and fight Rocky in the hospital that funnily enough, they are both staying at. He’s not trying to sell people on a rematch either. He wants it because he’s incensed over being embarrassed like that. Rocky is just happy that he made it out of there, but Apollo is mad that he didn’t mop the floor with him. He demands to fight Rocky again, and he won’t make the same mistake of underestimating him like he did the first go-around. Everyone in Apollo’s life tells him to move on, but the competitor that exists in the professional athlete that is Apollo Creed won’t let him. His wife Mary Anne doesn’t understand why he just can’t ignore it, but this is what separates the commoners from professional athletes. A non-athlete or someone who’s unaggressive in their own lives may take Mary Anne’s more logical side of just moving on. Why can’t Apollo just forget about it? He’s got the money, he’s got the family, and he still technically retained the title, keeping his record intact too. There are no blemishes. Sure, the Rocky fight was a contested decision, but the fact of the matter is that Apollo still came out on top. Why not just move on, especially knowing the struggle it was dealing with Rocky? The public will get over it eventually. They always do. He doesn’t need the stress of giving Rocky another shot.

He doesn’t need to prove anything, which is something Rocky even points out to him at the hospital. However, Mary Anne and possibly some of the casual audience can’t understand the mindset of a true fighter, in a literal and metaphorical sense. Having that competitive spirit and ego drives someone to want to be the greatest. They want everyone to know it, which is why being the best in a combat sport is one of the hardest things to do and consequently the most prestigious. It’s the idea of having this unofficial title that you are the baddest man on the planet, and everyone who gets into the sport wants to have that moniker. You have to be cutthroat to get there. For the first time in his illustrious career, Apollo isn’t considered it and everyone is questioning the validity of his top guy status for what Rocky did to him in their first clash. Apollo can’t stand for it. Duke reminds Apollo that he won and he knows it. Nevertheless, he still didn’t “beat” Rocky. It makes his skin crawl because of it, and his insecurities over his personal reputation consumes him. In the scene at his home, he’s ignoring his kids and getting angry with his wife who doesn’t understand the mental state he’s in. Apollo can’t let it go. He’s the best. Why isn’t this still the consensus? Is it because some journeyman got lucky on an off night? Just as we tend to watch sports media only to get angrier with the hot takes of so-called “analysts”, finding ourselves commenting furiously over the ridiculousness of it all, Apollo can’t help but read hate mail addressed to him to fuel his obsession even more. He can’t believe what he’s hearing, but he can’t ignore it. He has to see what people are saying because of curiosity and his ego speaking to him, reminding him that he’s not looking like the man he says he is. Some of the hate mail is even telling him to kill himself, an unfortunate response that obsessive fans still tell professional athletes daily due to the open world that is social media. It’s part of why Rocky II is just as relevant today as it was in 1979. Looking at it through the modern lens, a lot of what these two boxers go through is very much what celebrity athletes face today. Representing the other side of said athlete’s life is Rocky.

Content with retirement initially because he wants to live the married life with his loving wife Adrian, all is sunshine and rainbows once Rocky is done healing and proposes in the most Rocky way possible rambling, “I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind marrying me very much”, comically thanking her at the church after she says “I do”, and even telling the priest “Thanks father. I’m real proud of you” right after. The generous Rocky is finally getting to enjoy life after barely scraping by in the first movie, meaning most of his life. Because of this, he’s spending his earnings on those he loves. Why not? He can afford it, and Rocky is such a sweetheart of a person, you don’t want to stop the man from having fun and celebrating those close to him, even if some of them are impulse buys. For instance, Adrian didn’t need a new fur coat, but why not let the love of your life have something better than what she had before? Did Rocky need the coat with the tiger on the back of it? No, but it is cool. Just ask Vince Vaughn in The Watch. What’s cool about this angle that they take with Rocky’s life is that they use him to depict the lives and problems that many professional athletes have faced. A lot of athletes that rise up the ranks to the top of the card had nothing growing up. It’s why they put every ounce of energy they have into training for their respective sports because they had nothing else in their lives to look forward to. It was either train or die. This is especially true in combat sports, as the “poverty mentality” gives a fighter an extra edge than someone who is born in a higher-class household does not have. It’s this edge that can make someone dangerous because they will do anything to get out of their situation in life (see Dame Anderson in Creed III). Once these types of fighters experience success at the top and collect more money than they have ever seen before, it’s hard for them to not get excited and start buying all the things they’ve never had, a fact of life that we see later with future opponent Tommy Gunn in Rocky V. What hurts is that Rocky isn’t doing this to keep the party going. He’s spending money on others due to the kindness of his own heart.

It’s hard to turn that off, especially someone as genuine and caring as Rocky.

Nevertheless, it’s his poor understanding of financial literacy, and regular literacy too as we find out, that becomes his downfall. How many times have we seen a pro athlete fall on hard times because they don’t fully comprehend how to handle their money? It’s a tale as old as time. This isn’t Brewster’s Millions or Richie Rich where it’s all about buying and doing whatever you want with a never-ending flow of cash. This is reality. If you remember in Rocky, his purse for the fight was $150,000, but he reveals to Gazzo after the wedding in Rocky II that he was left with around $37,000 because of taxes and such. This absolute thrashing from the IRS is questionable, but it’s unimportant in the grand scheme of things. The real importance of this detail is that it shows the viewer a lot of insight on how this type of athlete lives. The money from these fights is never what they say it is, and taxes do play a huge factor. It’s just never reported on ESPN how much these players or athletes make AFTER they pay the government because those numbers would be significantly lower, unless you’re one of those lucky bastards that plays in Texas or Florida or something. Nevertheless, you still have to pay the bills. Though Rocky was able to just get by with a small wedding, he wants to buy a car and a house for his wife because they want to start a family. Just these two expenditures alone eat quite the chunk out of that $37k, but Adrian still has trouble speaking up because the jovial Rocky still tends to dominate the conversation with his overtalking and positivity. When the realtor shows them the house, which is probably the first one they went to knowing Rocky, he compliments everything and anything the place has because he’s just excited and doesn’t fully grasp how big of a purchase this is (“That’s a nice mailbox! These numbers here almost add up to 9. That’s a good omen”). We know he’s in trouble when Adrian starts talking about the mortgage with our favorite protagonist, and he just wants to buy the house without even going upstairs. Do you realize how crazy that sounds?

Even at the press conference for the fight, they bring up the money Rocky is getting for it, and the reporters ask what he’s going to do with it. After he mentions rent, the rest of his list consists of a bunch of unnecessary items like hats, a motorcycle, perfume for Adrian, toys for his future son, a statue for the church (Okay, we’ll give him that one), and a snow cone machine for Paulie since he likes snow cones. It’s like he’s learned nothing, despite creeping into poverty territory again before publicly accepting the fight. The problem is that we enable him as the viewer because of Sylvester Stallone’s performance, which is just as good as it was in the first movie. Humble and still a representative of the working class, Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa still wins our hearts all over again. Despite being a celebrity, Rocky is willing to just work in the gym for cheap because he craves to be around boxing and doesn’t have an ego about who he was in that fight against Apollo. He never loses himself, and that’s the most endearing part about the protagonist. He doesn’t switch up or think of himself to be on a different playing field than others when he becomes a star. He’s still the playful, humble, and lovable fighter that he always was. Despite how heated the press conference is to set up the fight, he can’t help but be Rocky. When they bring up how it’s at the Spectrum again, he just jokes that he’s happy about it because he lives 10 minutes from the stadium. When Apollo goes off on a tangent, the reporters ask Rocky if he thinks he has a chance against him to which he comically responds, “I don’t know. He looks pretty mad”. Then, he just calmly states how him and Mickey are going to try their best. His tight grip on his humble beginnings never loosens, and that’s why we love him. If we were locals in Philadelphia, there’s a good chance we too would hang outside of his house to cheer him on before he heads to the arena. Even when he gets to the arena late, all the cops in the hallway that are there to escort him for his entrance cheer for him too. Everyone is on Rocky’s side, and it’s hard not to be. He’s still the pride of Philadelphia, and he’s earned that moniker.

You know what? Somebody should give this guy a statue.

Though there are a lot of the same beats present, Rocky II’s difference in the training this time around compared to the first movie is how they approach the fight to try and throw Apollo off. They need a new strategy. Apollo is still the best in the world, and as Rocky notes in that press conference, “He’s very upset”. Apollo set up the rematch to be at the Spectrum in Philadelphia just like it was before because he wants Rocky’s hometown to see him get destroyed, along with the entire world. The southpaw jinx doesn’t matter anymore. He admits he took the first fight lightly and Rocky was “lucky” because of it. When he says that they are going to see the “real” Apollo Creed, he means it. Knowing this, the gameplan has to be different. There has to be a different angle they can take to combat a studied, focused, and angry Apollo this time around. As Mickey and Rocky watch film of the first fight, Mickey gives Rocky credit for his guts to step in the ring against a pissed off Apollo for a rematch, but Rocky’s style as a boxer is too easy to figure out, especially for someone as great as Apollo. Mickey goes on about how left-handed fighters lead with their face when trying to throw the left and how they should outlaw southpaws altogether, an insane statement in hindsight. Of course, this leads to the comical exchange where Rocky asks why he didn’t tell him this before and Mickey admits he didn’t want to hurt his feelings before moving on to how they should approach “SuperFight II”. To pull off the miracle, he has to change everything. He has to learn how to be a right-handed fighter. Not only will it confuse Apollo and his gameplan because he is preparing for the old Rocky, but it also will protect Rocky’s bad eye. If he leads with his right to force Apollo to adjust mid-fight, he can change back in the middle of it all and frazzle Apollo on his unpredictability. I love it. What’s amazing is that this idea stemmed from a legitimate injury Sylvester Stallone sustained during pre-production working out with bodybuilder Franco Columbu.

Stallone tore his left pectoralis and had to get surgery to reattach the muscle, so he couldn’t fight with his left. Despite this, Stallone turned the negative into yet another positive story element to Rocky II, evolving the character in the face of adversity from his opponent and life itself. You have to credit Stallone for managing to turn something potentially catastrophic into a major plot point without missing a beat. Just the image of Rocky learning to jab with his left and hitting the bag 500 times while his right arm is tied down is enough to make you realize how difficult it would be to change your natural instinct when in attack mode (“Where was I? 7 or 8?”). It’s genius in its simplicity, and it makes sense from a story and character standpoint. It gives an extra hurdle to climb for Rocky, it makes Apollo even more of a daunting antagonist this time around because it’s forcing Rocky to change everything he knows, it makes the training different, it’s compelling from a boxing movie standpoint in-between all the personal life drama Rocky has to face, and it expresses the importance of change and adaptation in the face of adversity and how difficult it can be, something Rocky III and Rocky IV take to the next level. It’s going to be hard, but it’s just like what Mickey responds to his trepidations, “What’s can’t? There is no cants! He will beat you uglier than you are now!”. It’s not supposed to be easy. You might not be comfortable, but that’s what it takes to dethrone the king. Besides that, speed is the other factor. Some incorrectly recall Rocky chasing the chicken around from his old school training in the first movie, but it’s actually Rocky II where this is part of his training, as the difficulty of catching the chicken forces Rocky to make quick movements and build his cardio for the long haul. If you can catch that thing, “You can catch grease lightning”. It’s arguably just as iconic as Rocky hitting the raw meat, even if he does feel like “… a Kentucky fried idiot”.

In one of my favorite moments of the entire franchise, an all-smiles Adrian wakes to Rocky by her bedside. Knowing how much this means to him and how much she loves him, she instead only asks him for one thing: “Win”. It gives me goosebumps every single time and could bring a tear to your eye with how beautifully the buildup to this line is after everything these characters go through. The sleepless nights where Rocky stays in the chapel praying to God that Adrian gets out of the coma, the doubt creeping in, the time running out as they are losing training days because Rocky can’t focus on Apollo with Adrian in this state, all of it leads to Adrian waking up and hitting him with the happy directive of “Win”. It’s everything. Combining that with Mickey’s excited, “What are we waiting for?” call to arms and the music shift to Bill Conti’s iconic “Going the Distance” tune to follow, it’s an all-time movie moment. It goes without saying that Rocky II does just as great a job with the workout scenes as the first film or any of the sequels for that matter too. Mickey tells Rocky that to prepare for a 45-minute fight, he has to train 45,000 minutes, which equates to 10 weeks and10 hours a day. The struggling parts of the workouts before (where Roberto Durán cameos as a sparring partner) and the montages after when Rocky locks exemplify this 10 hour a day timeline Mickey gives him. You can feel the energy. From the return of the sweatsuit to the crunches where one of Mickey’s workers hits Rocky in the stomach to simulate the punishment he will take to the body but him not stopping, to the rapid jump rope moves, to the sledgehammer swings in the shipping yard, it boosts the adrenaline no matter what time of the day you watch it. The pain, the focus, and the relentlessness of Rocky is felt through Stallone in these scenes, and it fuels your body like shot of pure caffeine. Right after he snaps on the speedbag though, we take this sweet little pause to remind the audience how much is hanging over Rocky’s head, as he stops to put his baby to sleep in his crib. He doesn’t forget about his personal life in the midst of training like he did in the first movie.

Things are different when you are a father and a husband, which only makes his dedication in these workout scenes mean that much more to the viewer. Rocky goes through so much in Rocky II, dealing with unemployment, pregnancy, and a coma to his wife in a relatively short time span. He nearly lost all hope and considered giving it all up for her, but now she’s on board, and he has a family to come back to. Just seeing him still take time out of his day when he’s probably at his most exhausted but most determined to see his newborn shows you why this man is a hero like no other. Yeah, this fight is huge, but family will always come first. It’s the same reason why he stops at Father Carmine’s for a quick prayer before the fight (“And I was wondering you know, if you could throw down a blessing, so that if I get beat up tonight, you know, it won’t be too bad, you know?”). Even so, right after Rocky puts his baby to sleep, “Gonna Fly Now” returns, and the follow-up to this scene with Rocky hitting the streets for his jog and eventual sprint, as the city of Philadelphia cheers him on like he’s going to war and the kids join him for it while they run on the street straight to the “Rocky Steps”, is as heartwarming a moment as you will ever see on film.

The immediate cut to Apollo sitting ominously by a fire like he’s Dr. Claw and then going to the mirror to crumble up a picture of Rocky he has hung up was a great way to show the intensity of Apollo this time around too.

Another great aspect of this sequel is how close Rocky and Mickey become after this. He’s not just the old-timey trainer. Mickey still tries to get at him for training like a bum, but he’s saying it out of love. He wants to get the old Rocky back, the one who was fierce and had heart like no one he ever saw. It’s the only thing they can do because there’s only so much time, and he knows how important this opportunity is. Rocky got lucky that first time for even getting a title shot. If he gets killed in this rematch however, it’s over. In a private moment at the chapel where both men are at their most emotional because Adrian’s coma is hanging over Rocky’s head, Mickey finds him at 3AM sitting in silence. Removing his usual attitude just like how he was trying to be serious with Rocky in the first movie at his house, he stresses how Rocky is getting a second title shot against the most dangerous fighter in the world and he’s not ready. They are closing in on fight night, and Rocky is nowhere near the shape he needs to be in. He practically begs him to return to form, “So I say for God’s sake. Why don’t you stand up and fight this guy hard, like you done before? That was beautiful! But don’t lay down in front of him like this”. Apollo doesn’t want to just win. He wants to bury Rocky, humiliate him, and prove to the whole world that Rocky just got lucky the first time. Remember, Apollo knew he won the last fight, but he told Duke that he didn’t “beat” Rocky. That’s the difference. He’s out for blood and training nonstop, and Rocky is in this chapel wallowing because life circumstances have thrown him off course. Still, Burgess Meredith’s excellent performance in this sequel is felt once again, with this scene being his brightest moment. He knows where Rocky’s head is at regardless of this fight because he knows how much love he has for Adrian. With Rocky not responding to Mickey’s speech, he just adds how he doesn’t want to get mad inside a “biblical place like this” but tells him that he’s not a one-time lucky bum. In fact, he’s “a hell of a lot more than that kid, a hell of a lot”. Coming from Mickey, that’s love.

It’s such a great moment to see Mickey acknowledge Rocky’s emotions in the moment, promise to be by his side through, and being willing to throw the fight to the wayside because his fighter’s life has superseded all priorities. Just like that, Rocky’s heart not only has changed worldwide audiences and captured the heart of millions through his kindness, authenticity, and genuine care, he even softened up Mickey to what matters most (“You want to stay here? I’ll stay with you. I’ll stay and pray. What do I got to lose?”). To Mickey’s credit, he does stay there through the whole thing and doesn’t interrupt Rocky reading poetry to the unconscious Adrian, nor does he bring up the fight while Rocky sits at her bedside. He’s just there just as Rocky’s emotional support. Sometimes, that’s all you need. Just being there means a lot to him. No words are needed. On the other hand, it’s hard to say how many days this actually takes in the story’s timeline because Rocky is wearing the same shirt the whole time. So, either it was only a few days, or he went full Italian. It’s hard to say. We know that the full timespan in Rocky II is 10 months, but the coma part of the movie is unclear. Even so, the love he has for her and to be there for every waking second equals the dedication he has in the gym. That’s saying something. Sadly, part of it is guilt, as Rocky knows Adrian shouldn’t have been working in the first place. She only took the part time job at the pet store again because they needed the money and he couldn’t find any work that wasn’t manual labor. When he’s told of the news of Adrian having this premature delivery due to straining or overwork, which subsequently led to her hemorrhaging and eventual coma, it destroys him because it never would have happened if Rocky found a job. He can’t help but blame himself and it kills him.

If you remember, she was struggling to pick up a bucket with pet food in it. She should have been nowhere near a job at that point, but they had no choice because Rocky was struggling. In these scenes, Stallone is just as good as he was in the first movie. His emotional response of telling her to sleep as long as she wants because she’s probably just tired breaks your heart. So as great as the workout scenes are and an equally adrenaline-fueled training montage, this insertion of Rocky’s newfound wrinkles in family life strengthens the narrative more than we may remember. At first, the idea of Adrian going into a coma following the birth of their son makes the viewer question if things are going to get a little too far-fetched or melodramatic, but they balance it better than anyone would expect for a Stallone-led film. Instead of rolling your eyes at the soap opera-like subplot, you’re invested because of how much you love Rocky, his relationship with Adrian, and how they bring the best out of each other. Your heart just drops when Rocky gets the news. After already going against her wishes with accepting this fight, Rocky doesn’t know what to do. It’s the one thing she asked from him and he went against it. Now, he’s not even sure if she will awake for him to apologize. Though we will ultimately remember stuff like Rocky yelling, “Yo, Adrian! I did it!”, it means the world when the viewer sees it all in context with what happens in Rocky II. Surprisingly, it wouldn’t have felt nearly as strong without the coma subplot.

As stated in the review for Rocky, Paulie continues to be a detestable alcoholic fuck. Though it’s nice that he cares about Rocky and is worried for him seeing him struggling in his training because Adrian doesn’t want Rocky fighting and it’s weighing on him, his decision to confront the pregnant Adrian at her place of work to lambast her for getting in Rocky’s head and telling her that Rocky is going to get hurt because of her, even though she just wants her husband safe, is unforgivable. She gets emotional and tells him not to say it, but he doubles down, prompting her to finally reveal her biggest concerns and rightfully so, “It’s not alright Paulie. If he goes blind, you walk away. I can’t. I love him. You don’t!”. It’s only when she falls to the floor and goes into labor that Paulie gets somewhat concerned. Even that is a stretch though because he comments rudely that he didn’t know Adrian could do it when they find out that Rocky’s son was born a month premature and how he “cant do anymore of this watching stuff” when he waits with Rocky in the room. This motherfucker caused everything with his stress, and it’s like he doesn’t even care! Then, he has the audacity to suggest they name their son after him? Fuck you, dude.

In any event, Rocky’s gold and black robe was a great upgrade to signify the change in fighter and intensity level he’s at for this rematch. Also, I don’t know. There was just something special when Rocky gets in his signature prayer at the sink before leaving the locker room and Mickey takes off his hat to tell him, “It’s time, kid”. Something about it just raises the hairs on the back of your neck, especially because we know how strong their bond is at this point. To see Rocky make Mickey a priority during his entrance by making sure Mickey knows how hard he’s going to try for him was heartfelt. On a side note, I love the little side comments Rocky and Mickey make in the ring while watching Apollo make his entrance. They did it in the first movie, but their comments to each other in Rocky II are probably at their funniest (“It’s Apollo” -“Who’d you expect?” – “I was hoping he wouldn’t show”). The best was Mickey telling Rocky to not let Apollo’s comments bother him and Rocky asks, “Would it bother you?”, to which Mickey admits “Yeah”.

The commentators roasting Rocky and referencing the meatpacking company sponsorship from the previous fight saying, “Some said that was from the high school that he never graduated from” was crazy work though.

It all comes down to the iconic “SuperFight II” title match, and it’s better than the action of the first movie. The first one had that heart that made you want to cheer, but Rocky II succeeds in emulating this but maximizing the drama in the most climactic way possible. It’s just two warriors having the battle of a lifetime, and the exhilaration from the crowd knowing they’re in for World War 3 can be felt through the screen. Magnified tenfold by Bill Conti’s score once again, along with the incredible back and forth Rocky and Apollo have to determine the true world champion, it’s everything you want in a sequel to such a legendary predecessor. It’s the cost of the ego taking on the heart, and you will find yourself nearly out of your seat practicing the punches thrown, much like Adonis Creed does in Creed so many years later. All of it leads to the teary-eyed jubilation felt in the final minutes that makes you realize that you watched something special once more.

How Sylvester Stallone managed to recapture the magic for this sequel is probably his most impressive feat as a filmmaker to this very day. Just as Mickey told Rocky to “Show him who you are” before the fight commences, it’s as if Stallone told himself these words when beginning production for Rocky II. Show the people you aren’t a fluke. Show them who you are. Thankfully for us, Stallone proved that he belongs here and is every bit the storyteller he said he was. Rocky II continues the story of our favorite underdog and not only preserves the legacy of the first film, but it strengthens it and adds to it so well, that audiences around the world will find themselves hanging on to every word just like they did to the original Best Picture winner. It might be the forgotten sequel of the Rocky universe, but a reappraisal is needed because this sequel deserves consideration among the greats.

Fun Fact: Sylvester Stallone wanted Chuck Wepner to play Rocky’s sparring partner, but the audition didn’t go well.