rocky 3 movie review

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Boxing saga begins to go lightweight; violence, racism.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Rocky Balboa remains a hero here, literally star-s

This sequel follows established formula of previou

A lot of boxing violence. As in the previous Rocky

Both the villainous Clubber Lang and a pro wrestle

Infrequent profanity: "hell," "crap," ass," "basta

Rocky is shown doing ads for American Express, Mas

Paulie gets very drunk in a bar, stumbles into a n

Parents need to know that Rocky III is the 1982 sequel in which Rocky takes on a vicious boxer (played by Mr. T) determined to take his World Championship belt. There's a lot of boxing violence; like the other movies in the Rocky franchise, Rocky and the boxers he fights are shown beaten to a pulp…

Positive Messages

Rocky Balboa remains a hero here, literally star-spangled, and Apollo Creed has also turned into a good sport. In fact, they're pretty much too good to be true, with the nemesis Clubber Lang such a figure of pure evil he may as well breathe fire.

Positive Role Models

This sequel follows established formula of previous Rocky movies: Rocky must learn self-discipline to build strength, stamina required to last in the ring against opponent who should, at least on paper, easily defeat him. Rocky's heart -- his drive and determination -- continues to take him far, despite lack of formal education and not as much natural boxing ability as many others. Apollo helps Rocky regain the "eye of the tiger," the look of one who is hungry for success and willing to undergo whatever grueling training is required in order to win in the ring.

Violence & Scariness

A lot of boxing violence. As in the previous Rocky movies, Rocky is beaten and bloodied. Rocky gets tossed around by a wrestler. Still, it's more cartoony and WWE-like than bloody. While drunk, Paulie vandalizes a "Rocky" pinball machine by throwing a bottle and shattering the glass.

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Sex, Romance & Nudity

Both the villainous Clubber Lang and a pro wrestler named Thunderlips boast of their sexual prowess. Scantily clad girls are ringside.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Infrequent profanity: "hell," "crap," ass," "bastard." Paulie makes racist comments while in a predominantly African American boxing gym: He makes disparaging asides of how Rocky is being trained to box like a "colored fighter," expresses distaste for the "jungle" music playing in the gym, and says, "I don't like these people."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Rocky is shown doing ads for American Express, Maserati, Nikon, and Gatorade.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Paulie gets very drunk in a bar, stumbles into a nearby arcade, and throws a bottle at a "Rocky" pinball machine; he's arrested. Scenes of homeless men drinking wine in alleys and on the sidewalks of Skid Row. Cigar smoking.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Rocky III is the 1982 sequel in which Rocky takes on a vicious boxer (played by Mr. T) determined to take his World Championship belt. There's a lot of boxing violence; like the other movies in the Rocky franchise, Rocky and the boxers he fights are shown beaten to a pulp and bloodied. While previous films in the Rocky series talked up the long-term physical damage associated with fighting, this one shows the two-fisted violence with no consequences. In another scene, Rocky fights in a charity match against a pro wrestler (played by Hulk Hogan); the two fight in and out of the ring, with Hogan throwing around Rocky, the refs, and anyone who stands in his way. While extremely drunk, Paulie leaves a bar, stumbles into a video game arcade, and vandalizes a "Rocky" pinball machine by throwing a whiskey bottle into it and shattering the glass. While Rocky trains with Apollo Creed in a predominantly African American boxing gym, Paulie mutters assorted racist comments: He complains about the "jungle" music, laments that Rocky is being taught how to box like a "colored fighter," and says, "I don't like these people." While Paulie later compliments Creed on how well he trained Rocky, there isn't a sense that he's no longer someone who would make comments like those. Cigar smoking is shown, as are homeless men drinking wine in the alleys and sidewalks of Skid Row. Rocky is shown gracing the advertisements of products like American Express, Maserati, Nikon, and Gatorade. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Based on 5 parent reviews

Rocky 3 cheesy and a far cry from the previous classics

I agree with isaac, what's the story.

Conveniently forgetting the health problems that threatened him in Rocky II , Rocky Balboa ( Sylvester Stallone , who also wrote and directed) reigns in ROCKY III as superstar World Heavyweight Champion prizefighter. He's on the verge of retiring undefeated when he's taunted by a contender, a ferocious Chicago brawler called Clubber Lang ( Mr. T ). Lang demands a showdown with Rocky. Rocky is shocked to find that his longtime trainer Mickey ( Burgess Meredith ) has been lining up easy opponents all along. Mickey thinks that the wealthy, comfortable Rocky has gone soft (never mind that Stallone never looked so muscular), that the good life has taken away the "eye of the tiger" needed to defeat a raw scrapper like Clubber. Rocky goes through with the fight, but Mickey suffers a seizure backstage. Rocky is knocked out, losing his title to the gloating Lang. Then a new mentor appears -- none other than Rocky's old foe, former champ Apollo Creed ( Carl Weathers ), who takes Rocky to a seedy slum gym to try to restore the "eye of the tiger."

Is It Any Good?

Rocky III allocates no human qualities of athletic competition to the Clubber Lang character; he's a one-dimensional bully with no backstory or redeeming features. Which is too bad, because Mr. T -- with no major alteration to his persona or look or catchphrase "I pity the fool!" -- went on to be a kids' action hero on TV's The A-Team and even his own Saturday morning TV cartoon. The original 1976 Rocky was more than just a sports action flick; it had a solid character-building message in its tale of the lowly Philadelphia boxer's underdog shot at the championship: It doesn't matter if you win or lose, as long as you try your best, or "go the distance" in Rocky-speak. By the time ROCKY III came around, that message was knocked right out of the ring.

The racial aspect of the movie is worth discussing with older kids. This was right before the rap and hip-hop explosion that combined urban black anger with pride and empowerment in music and movie characterizations. Mr. T, in his African-warrior hairstyle and gold chains, could well be a gangsta rapper hero -- except he's just a few years too early. Would Rocky III have been a popular hit if Clubber Lang were better drawn, not just white America's worst nightmare of a hostile inner-city thug? In addition to Mr. T, Rocky III was a breakthrough for another star, the WWE idol Terry "Hulk" Hogan , playing a menacing but -- unlike Clubber -- secretly friendly wrestler with whom Rocky grapples in a silly charity match. This helped bring pro wrestling into the mainstream, which should indicate right there the overall level of the material.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how the lesson in the original Rocky -- that it doesn't matter if you win or lose, as long as you "go the distance" -- compares with the more success-oriented mania in this sequel. You could also talk about the transformation of Apollo Creed from Rocky's nemesis to his friend and ally, and how that plays out in the final scene.

How does Rocky III settle into a story formula clearly established by Rocky II ?

How does this movie continue the recurring themes of the Rocky movies: the value of working hard and of grit and determination, and how perseverance can lead to overcoming the obstacles in one's path?

Movie Details

• In theaters : May 28, 1982
• On DVD or streaming : February 10, 2005
• Cast : Mr. T , Sylvester Stallone , Talia Shire
• Director : Sylvester Stallone
• Inclusion Information : Black actors, Female actors
• Studio : MGM/UA
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : Sports and Martial Arts
• Run time : 99 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG
• MPAA explanation : sports violence, trash talk
• Last updated : April 1, 2023

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Metacritic reviews

• 75 Miami Herald Bill Cosford Miami Herald Bill Cosford Rocky III looks good -- a lean film with a bit of muscle. Stallone makes it eminently watchable. And that's probably more than we should have expected. [28 May 1982, p.C1]
• 75 Washington Post Rita Kempley Washington Post Rita Kempley It's as much fun as ever, a ground-meat-and-potatoes movie, with guys beating hell out of each other to a disco beat. Stallone pulls no punches; the familiar refrain features the Rocky I score, along with its characters and moral simplicity.
• 70 Time Out London Time Out London As audience movie-making in its purest form, the film is a delight, but it's also so obviously based on Stallone's own personal struggle with success that the mind boggles as to what Rocky can possibly do next.
• 70 Newsweek David Ansen Newsweek David Ansen As tempting as it is to ridicule Rocky III, the disarming fact remains that Stallone has created a very potent populist myth. It worked for him before, and it works for him again. Just as Sinatra can endlessly reprise My Way and still raise goosebumps, so Stallone can turn out shameless variations on his Believe-in-Yourself miracle play and still get the old adrenaline pumping. [31 May 1982, p.70]
• 63 Washington Post Gary Arnold Washington Post Gary Arnold An engaging exercise in discreet, incisive and good-humored hokum. Although Rocky III is a vivid piece of popular filmmaking and a considerable bit of harmless fun, the star doesn't seem to derive as much pleasure from the experience as he should.
• 60 TV Guide Magazine TV Guide Magazine Rocky III crawls along without dramatic impetus, failing to convey the big emotions and missing the humor of the first two films.
• 60 Variety Variety The real question with Rocky III was how Sylvester Stallone could twist the plot to make an interesting difference. He manages. As usual, Stallone the writer-director is less successful in handling all the dramatic interims than staging the battles.
• 50 The New York Times Vincent Canby The New York Times Vincent Canby It's not giving away state secrets to report that Rocky finds that success has made him fat and that to triumph again, he has to learn to be ''hungry.'' Rocky's problem is thus not that of America in the 80's but more like America in the affluent 60's and early 70's.
• 50 The New Yorker Pauline Kael The New Yorker Pauline Kael Whatever oddball charm and silliness the first Rocky had is long gone. Rocky III starts with the hyped climax of II and then just keeps going on that level; it's packaged hysteria. This picture is primitive, but it's also shrewd and empty and inept.
• 38 The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jay Scott The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jay Scott Rocky III, unlike its twin predecessors, is a charmlessly manipulative movie. The magic is kaput. [28 May 1982]
• See all 10 reviews on Metacritic.com
• See all external reviews for Rocky III

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Wednesday, november 18, 2015, movie review: "rocky iii" (1982), no comments:, post a comment.

Rocky III Ending Explained: Finding New Ways To Pity The Fool

What do you do when your underdog is no longer the underdog? That was the challenge Sylvester Stallone faced when it came to writing " Rocky III "; now his loveable slugger from Philadelphia was heavyweight champion after defeating Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) in the previous film. Stallone's solution, at least at first, was to go out with a massive bang.

"Rocky III" marks the point when the franchise crosses over into cartoonish excess, although Stallone's original concept for the film makes what we got look like a slice of kitchen sink realism. In a couple of interviews with Roger Ebert after "Rocky II," Stallone talked about his plan to end the Rocky Balboa saga with the third film, taking the "half-blind" champ to Europe to face his latest rival in the greatest gladiatorial arena in the world, the Roman Colosseum. Not only that, he'd get to train on the Spanish Steps and maybe even visit the Pope. If the current Pope didn't want to be in the film, no worries: " We get another Pope ." Stallone had all the angles figured out and, if he had the courage, he even planned to kill off Rocky at the end.

Those interviews were in 1979 and by the time "Rocky III" hit theaters three years later, Stallone had scaled his back ambitions somewhat. But only a little: It is still the most incident-packed and outright entertaining installment of the whole franchise, featuring one of Rocky's most menacing villains. He also worked out a way to make Rocky the underdog again, although he didn't have the nerve to snuff the character who made him a superstar. No spoiler alert is required there, as you've probably noticed he's appeared in another three sequels plus the "Creed" movies. Let's take a closer look.

So what happens in Rocky III again?

Three years after Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) shocked the world by claiming the heavyweight title in " Rocky II ," the Italian Stallion is on a high. He has easily defended his title against ten challengers and he's raking in plenty of extra cash from side gigs and making guest appearances on "The Muppet Show." It's good old Rocky, though, so he also does a lot for charity too, like taking on Thunderlips (Hulk Hogan), the world wrestling champion, in a fundraising event that gets out of control.

Watching on with a look of ferocious intent is James "Clubber" Lang (Mr. T), a fearsome independent fighter battering his way through the ranks. Once he is ranked number one, Lang challenges the champ at the unveiling of a statue in his honor, just as Rocky is announcing his retirement.

Lang goads Rocky into accepting the fight, but his manager Mickey (Burgess Meredith) wants no part of it. He thinks Rocky's fame and fortune have made him soft and reveals that he hand-picked the title challengers to prevent his fighter from taking any serious punishment. Balboa is devastated that his title defense has been a sham, but he talks Mickey into sticking around for one last fight. Balboa's training is half-hearted, and he is further distracted on the night of the fight when Mickey suffers a heart attack. The bout is over in two brutal rounds and Mickey dies in the dressing room. 

Where now for Rocky? He's lost his title and his manager, and he also lacks self-confidence now he knows he isn't the fighter he thought he was. Enter his old foe Apollo Creed, who can show Balboa a thing or two about boxing. But can he help the crestfallen Rocky regain the "Eye of the Tiger" before the rematch?

What happened to Rocky's eye injury?

One notable absence from " Rocky III " is something that drove a huge part of the plot of its predecessor: Rocky's eye injury. As you may recall, he took such a battering from Apollo Creed in their first fight that he suffered a detached retina and could lose his eyesight if he fought again. That was why, when Rocky accepted Apollo's offer to a rematch, Mickey made his fighter switch from his southpaw stance to orthodox to protect his vulnerable eye.

For such a potentially life-changing injury, it is never mentioned in "Rocky III." Early in the film, Rocky's jealous brother-in-law Paulie (Burt Young) says "You got your face all fixed up," which might be a vague suggestion that Rocky got his eye sorted out through surgery. I think it is more likely a nod to Stallone's appearance; he looks less like himself in the previous two movies than his statue that is unveiled later in the movie.

Stallone's striking new look is partly down to the ridiculous training regime he put himself through to get shredded for the part. In an Instagram post , the actor revealed that he reduced himself to his lowest-ever weight of 166 pounds with just 2.8% body fat. To achieve this, he took a punishing diet that consisted of "very small portions of oatmeal cookies made with brown rice and up to 25 cups of coffee a day with honey and a couple of scoops of tuna fish." He also acknowledged it was a dangerous approach, resorting to doing handstands between takes in the fight scenes to get some blood flowing to his head. Compared to his more fleshy build in the first two films, it is no wonder he looks different after all that.

Success makes Rocky lose his edge

Some critics at the time questioned the necessity for "Rocky III," but Sylvester Stallone managed to find an interesting and believable arc for the champ just as his own career was hitting its peak. The film was released just a few months after " First Blood ," where Sly first portrayed his next iconic movie character, John Rambo.

It makes sense that Rocky would find himself distracted by wealth and celebrity, going from his previous life scratching a living in a poor Philadelphia neighborhood to living in an ostentatious mansion within a few years. Rocky and his wife Adrian (Talia Shire) are clearly enjoying the good life, as we notice from their increasingly fine clothing in the opening montage sequence, and very comfortable living makes him lose his focus.

As the champion, he attains all the wealth that Apollo Creed has enjoyed for so long, although Apollo appeared to have the intellect and upbringing to handle it better. He came from a middle-class background so perhaps the step up wasn't so jarring for him when he achieved success.

Of course, Rocky going soft would provide enough of a threat in the face of a fighter as mean and hungry as Clubber Lang, so Stallone needed an extra few plot points to bring Balboa low and make him an underdog again. The revelation that Mickey picked weak challengers to protect him is neat, acknowledging that Rocky was never a particularly good fighter in the first place; like his real-life inspiration, Chuck "The Bayonne Bleeder" Wepner, he's a journeyman slugger who succeeded through blood-and-guts determination rather than skill.

Mickey's death

Balboa's relationship with his manager Mickey wasn't always a loving one. In " Rocky ," he initially refused the grizzled gym owner's offer to train him because the old man treated him like a bum in the past. After a heartfelt speech, however, he agreed to take Mickey on board and the classic partnership was struck, and Mickey proceeded to teach Rocky how to "eat lightning" and "crap thunder." Burgess Meredith's performance earned the veteran actor, whose career began back in the '30s, an Oscar nomination, his second back-to-back after also receiving a nod for his turn in "The Day of the Locust" the year before.

By the third film, Mickey had become a member of the Balboa family, a father figure as well as a mentor to the Italian Stallion, so his heart attack just before the first fight against Clubber Lang understandably throws Rocky off his stride. It is foreshadowed when Mickey suffers chest pains during the charity match against Thunderlips, and Lang gets extra villain points for triggering the heart attack by shoving the old man when a brawl between the two fighters almost breaks out backstage.

Mickey's death in the changing room after the fight is the most emotional scene in the whole franchise, although some might argue Apollo's demise at the hands of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) in "Rocky IV" trumps it. It is a fitting way for the curmudgeonly old trainer to bow out of the series, and after that, we just can't wait to see Rocky take Clubber down. You'd think it would provide him with all the motivation he needed, but it looks like a lost cause for a while, even with Apollo's help.

The eventful rise of Mr. T

These days, Mr. T cuts a rather eccentric figure, but it's hard to overstate just how big he was in the '80s. After making his striking debut as Clubber Lang in "Rocky III," he became a sensation in "The A-Team" where he played B.A. Baracus, the hulking mechanic with a fear of flying. He quickly became the show's most popular character, much to the disgruntlement of its supposed main star, George Peppard. His trademark mohawk haircut, feather earrings, and copious amounts of gold jewelry made him one of the '80s most recognizable celebrities, but all those things were already in place before he found stardom.

Born Laurence Tureaud, he changed his name to Mr. T in response to the disrespect he saw his family suffer. He told Playboy (via Festival Reviews ):

"I think about my father being called 'boy,' my uncle being called 'boy,' my brother, coming back from Vietnam and being called 'boy.' So I questioned myself: 'What does a black man have to do before he's given the respect as a man?' So when I was 18 years old ... I self-ordained myself Mr. T so the first word out of everybody's mouth is 'Mr.' That's a sign of respect that my father didn't get, that my brother didn't get, that my mother didn't get."

After a series of menial jobs, his imposing physique helped him find work as a bouncer and a bodyguard, minding high-profile stars like Michael Jackson, Steve McQueen, and even boxers such as Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. His striking appearance made him stand out among the contenders on a show called "America's Toughest Bouncer," which is where Sylvester Stallone 's Casting Director, Rhonda Young, spotted him. He was a perfect fit for the role of Lang, which also gave him his catchphrase, "I pity the fool."

Adrian, as always, gives Rocky the motivation

After Lang demolishes him in the first fight, Rocky faces a problem. He is up against a brutal hitter who is faster, stronger, and far hungrier than he is. Thankfully, Apollo Creed steps in. His motives remain vague other than wanting a favor from Rocky, but the table for one of the great macho bromances of the '80s. 

Apollo takes Rocky, Adrian, and Paulie out to Los Angeles to train, using the flea-bitten gym where he started out as a base. He wants to improve Rocky's footwork, speed, and technique, but most of all, he wants to give him back the eye of the tiger, that hungry look Rocky had when he faced Apollo in their two epic fights. Creed drops the title of the Survivor song that would become synonymous with the franchise a whole bunch in these scenes. Despite all the expert advice, Rocky still can't get over Mickey's death and the eye-opener that, as a boxer, he's just a bit s**t. He's lost his edge and he knows it, and the prospect of facing Clubber again scares him.

It looks like it's all over, but Adrian steps in to give Rocky a pep talk. He might have had Mickey in his corner before, but it was always Adrian who gave him the courage and drive to actually go out and achieve his dreams. In " Rocky II ," his heart really isn't into his second fight against Creed until Adrian awakes from her coma just in time to give him her blessing, and she comes up with the goods again here. Buoyed by her words, it's time for the cheesiest training montage of the entire series which culminates in Rocky and Apollo cavorting in the sea together.

The final showdown

Before the fight, Apollo gives Rocky the stars-and-stripes shorts that he wore in their first fight, while Clubber gives his prediction for the bout ahead: "Pain." The symbolism couldn't be more clear; the shorts reiterate his status as America's true champion over a surly and undignified opponent. The bell rings and Rocky flies out of his corner looking far faster, sharper, and more skillful than ever before. Lang hardly lands a shot because Rocky is too quick for him. It's a great round for the challenger and Lang is enraged.

The second round starts with Rocky again on top, but the tide turns when Clubber hurls him into a corner and brutally hammers away. Rocky suddenly can't escape and he takes a brutal beating, knocked down twice. Somehow he gets up and antagonizes Clubber after the bell rings. In the corner, he reassures Apollo he has a plan. In the third round, Rocky takes even more punishment while still goading Lang. Rocky's strategy becomes clear; he's using Clubber's fury against him, making him swing wild punches while using his newfound ability to avoid blows. It's a risky tactic, but Rocky waits for his chance and then counter-attacks, knocking Lang down. 

For once, Rocky Balboa is using his experience and cunning to his advantage, assessing the fight as it unfolds. It's a big development and it helps him regain his title against the odds. 

Some while after the fight, we finally find out what favor Apollo wants from Rocky: an unofficial rematch in the gym away from the cameras. They get into the ring together, trade a little banter, then both throw a big punch. Freeze frame, and fans of the series would have to wait 33 years until " Creed " to find out who won. But I'm not going to spoil that here.

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Powered by Sylvester Stallone as the iconic pugilist, the Rocky franchise has endured its own underdog trajectory, successfully recapturing some of its former glory in 2006's Rocky Balboa and paving the way for a new champ.

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She sits, tearful and crumpled, in a corner of her little bedroom. Her brother has torn apart the living room with a baseball bat. Rocky, the guy she has fallen in love with, comes into the room.

"Do you want a roommate?" she asks shyly, almost whispering.

"Absolutely," says Rocky.

Which is exactly what he should say, and how he should say it, and why "Rocky" is such an immensely involving movie. Its story, about a punk club fighter from the back streets of Philly who gets a crack at the world championship, has been told a hundred times before. A description of it would sound like a cliche from beginning to end. But "Rocky" isn't about a story, it's about a hero. And it's inhabited with supreme confidence by a star.

His name is Sylvester Stallone , and, yes, in 1976 he did remind me of the young Marlon Brando . How many actors have come and gone and been forgotten who were supposed to be the "new Brando," while Brando endured? And yet in "Rocky" he provides shivers of recognition reaching back to " A Streetcar Named Desire ." He's tough, he's tender, he talks in a growl, and hides behind cruelty and is a champion at heart. "I coulda been a contender," Brando says in " On the Waterfront ." This movie takes up from there.

It inhabits a curiously deserted Philadelphia: There aren't any cars parked on the slum street where Rocky lives or the slightest sign that anyone else lives there. His world is a small one. By day, he works as an enforcer for a small-time juice man, offering to break a man's thumbs over a matter of $70 ("I'll bandage it!" cries the guy. "It'll look broke"). In his spare time, he works out at Mickey's gym. He coulda been good, but he smokes and drinks beer and screws around. And yet there's a secret life behind his facade. He is awkwardly in love with a painfully shy girl ( Talia Shire ) who works in the corner pet shop. He has a couple of turtles at home, named Cuff and Link, and a goldfish named Moby Dick. After he wins forty bucks one night for taking a terrible battering in the ring, he comes home and tells the turtles: "If you guys could sing and dance, I wouldn't have to go through this crap." When the girl asks him why he boxes, he explains: "Because I can't sing and dance."

The movie ventures into fantasy when the world heavyweight champion ( Carl Weathers , as a character with a certain similarity to Muhammad Ali) decides to schedule a New Year's Eve bout with a total unknown -- to prove that America is still a land of opportunity. Rocky gets picked because of his nickname, the Italian Stallion; the champ likes the racial contrast. And even here the movie looks like a genre fight picture from the 1940s, right down to the plucky little gymnasium manager ( Burgess Meredith ) who puts Rocky through training, and right down to the lonely morning ritual of rising at four, drinking six raw eggs, and going out to do roadwork. What makes the movie extraordinary is that it doesn't try to surprise us with an original plot, with twists and complications; it wants to involve us on an elemental, a sometimes savage, level. It's about heroism and realizing your potential, about taking your best shot and sticking by your girl. It sounds not only clichéd but corny -- and yet it's not, not a bit, because it really does work on those levels. It involves us emotionally, it makes us commit ourselves: We find, maybe to our surprise after remaining detached during so many movies, that this time we care.

The credit for that has to be passed around. A lot of it goes to Stallone when he wrote this story and then peddled it around Hollywood for years before he could sell it. He must have known it would work because he could see himself in the role, could imagine the conviction he's bringing to it, and I can't think of another actor who could quite have pulled off this performance. There's that exhilarating moment when Stallone, in training, runs up the steps of Philadelphia's art museum, leaps into the air, shakes his fist at the city, and you know he's sending a message to the whole movie industry.

The director is John Avildsen , who made "Joe" and then another movie about a loser who tried to find the resources to start again, " Save the Tiger ." Avildsen correctly isolates Rocky in his urban environment, because this movie shouldn't have a documentary feel, with people hanging out of every window: It's a legend, it's about little people, but it's bigger than life, and you have to set them apart visually so you can isolate them morally.

And then there's Talia Shire, as the girl (she was the hapless sister of the Corleone boys in " The Godfather "). When she hesitates before kissing Rocky for the first time, it's a moment so poignant it's like no other. And Burt Young as her brother -- defeated and resentful, loyal and bitter, caring about people enough to hurt them just to draw attention to his grief. There's all that, and then there's the fight that ends the film. By now, everyone knows who wins, but the scenes before the fight set us up for it so completely, so emotionally, that when it's over we've had it. We're drained.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

Rocky (1976)

119 minutes

Sylvester Stallone as Rocky

Talia Shire as Adrian

Burt Young as Paulie

Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed

Burgess Meredith as Mickey

Frank Stallone as Timekeeper

Directed by

• John Avildsen

Produced by

• Robert Chartoff
• Irwin Winkler

Screenplay by

• Sylvester Stallone

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‘This Is the Night’: Homage to ‘Rocky III’ doesn’t go the distance

Opening day of the stallone sequel brings life-changing events for a staten island family in the contrived ’80s period piece..

A Staten Island teenager (Lucius Hoyos) is counting the minutes until the premiere of “Rocky III” in “This Is the Night.”

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

Every now and then, a filmmaker will release something that’s such a radical departure from their established canon of work we’re tempted to double-check to make sure it’s the same person, e.g., “Porky’s” director Bob Clark delivering the perennial holiday classic “A Christmas Story,” or Peter Farrelly of “Dumb and Dumber” and “There’s Something About Mary” writing/directing/producing the multiple Oscar-winning “The Green Book.”

The latest example would be James DeMonaco, who is best known for the dystopian horror “The Purge” franchise but now shifts gears in a major way for “This Is the Night,” a period-piece, coming-of-age film set on Staten Island in 1982, on the premiere date of “Rocky III.” Alas, while there’s no doubting the sincerity and passion behind DeMonaco’s love letter to the movies in general, to the “Rocky” franchise, and to the “American Graffiti”-esque device of having a series of life-changing events transpiring over the course of a single day/night, this is an unconvincing, contrived and rarely relatable misfire.

In the world of “This is the Night,” May 28, 1982, is a bigger date than Christmas and the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving all rolled into one because this is the day “Rocky III” hits theaters, and EVERYONE is dying to see it and can talk of nothing else and look at those lines snaking around the block at the local movie house! There’s even a gang of toughs who have beat each other to a pulp in order to look like Rocky after one of his bouts against Apollo Creed. Okaaaaaay…

Lucius Hoyos is Tony, a sweet, soft-spoken teenager who is so obsessed with all things “Rocky” he gets upset if anyone even mentions the rumors a main character in “Rocky III” might die. He has plans to see the film with his older brother Christian (Jonah Hauer-King), his mother Marie (Naomi Watts) and his father Vincent (Frank Grillo), a chef whose business is struggling. If dad can’t get the obligatory Loan from the Unsympathetic Bank Officer, he’ll have to hand his business over to the local crime kingpin Frank Larocca (Bobby Cannavale), a flashy, violent meathead who has a beef with Vincent dating back to their high school days. As plot would have it, Tony is in love with Frank’s sweet daughter Sophia (Madelyn Cline), who is dating an insensitive bully — but today might be the day when Tony finally declares his feelings for Sophia. Oh, and there’s also the matter of big brother Christian harboring a major secret: He likes to cross dress, something his mother has just discovered.

Even with all that (and more) going on, Tony and his family make it to an afternoon showing of “Rocky III,” which leads to an extended sequence where we don’t actually see any clips from the film as the camera focuses on the audience reacting to the unfolding story in wildly over-the-top fashion. As everyone is filing out of the theater, Sophia’s jerky boyfriend falsely accuses Tony of calling Rocky Balboa a sissy (a harsher term is used), and now Tony and his pals are on the run like “The Warriors,” trying to avoid getting pummeled by various gangs and random tough guys. It’s more exhausting than entertaining, and the multiple conclusions to the interconnecting storylines are more on the level of the dud that was “Rocky V” than the thrills of “Rocky III.”

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The best rocky movie of all-time is a 95% hit according to rotten tomatoes.

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All 11 Rocky & Creed Training Montages, Ranked

Sylvester stallone's creed 4 return status reveals the harsh reality about rocky's future, 10 complicated movies that people pretend to understand (but really don't).

• Creed is hailed as the best Rocky movie by Rotten Tomatoes, with a 95% critic score and ranking 168th best movie of all time.
• Stallone's iconic work as Rocky is commendable, but Creed's direction under Ryan Coogler created the best overall movie in the franchise.
• Creed takes the original concept, expands the backstory, and delivers a more impactful punch than Rocky did, establishing itself as the best installment.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, the best Rocky movie of all time isn't even a Rocky movie. Since Sylvester Stallone defied the odds by writing and starring in his feature film debut Rocky (1976), which went on to win the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Directing, and Best Editing , Rocky has become one of the biggest and most longstanding sports franchises in Hollywood history. Rocky expanded to four sequels, a reboot movie, and a spinoff trilogy Creed, which has become the modern-day standard for boxing movies.

Stallone has appeared in all of the Rocky movies in order except for the most recent installment, Creed III . After the monumental success of the original Rocky , Stallone took over as the director of the franchise from 1979 until 2006 with the exception of 1990's Rocky V , which was directed by the original film's director John G. Avildsen. Stallone has since starred in major franchises such as The Expendables , Rambo , and Creed starring Michael B. Jordan as the son of Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), who played both a protagonist and antagonist in the Rocky films.

The training montage is an integral part of the Rocky and Creed series as they build anticipation, burst with inspiration, and represent motivation.

Creed Is The Best Rocky Movie According To Rotten Tomatoes

Creed ranked as the 168th best movie of all time with a 95% critic score.

As a whole, the Creed franchise rates higher than any other Rocky movie, with the Creed sequels earning critic scores of 83% and 88%, respectively.

Creed is the best movie of the Rocky extended universe, according to Rotten Tomatoes. Although Creed only received one Academy Award nomination for Stallone's supporting role as Rocky, it is still rated more highly than the original Rocky film, which some viewers would argue cannot be beaten. Interestingly, Creed is the only Rocky movie that was placed on Rotten Tomatoes' list of the 300 greatest movies of all time, which was determined by each film's combined critic and audience score.

The list placed L.A. Confidential (1997) in the top spot as the best movie ever made, ahead of The Godfather , Seven Samurai , and Casablanca . Creed ranked as the 168th best movie of all time with an impressive 95% critic score and an 89% audience score. Rocky received a 92% critic score but just a 69% audience score , which likely played a major factor in why it was left off the list. As a whole, the Creed franchise rates higher than any other Rocky movie, with the Creed sequels earning critic scores of 83% and 88%, respectively.

Sylvester Stallone's work as Rocky is iconic, but the direction the Creed movies are heading in proves a harsh truth about the Rocky franchise.

Why Creed Is The Best Rocky Movie Of All-Time

Writer/director ryan coogler made creed a bonafide success.

Rocky is more of an achievement in and of itself that walked so Creed could run.

While Rocky deserves some bonus points for establishing the foundations of a legendary franchise, Creed took the original concept, expanded on its backstory in thoughtful ways, and ultimately delivered more of an impactful punch than Rocky did. There are nearly four decades that separate the release of Rocky and Creed, so it's important to keep in mind the myriad differences in resources, culture, and various other factors between the movies. Rocky is more of an achievement in and of itself that walked so Creed could run. The creative vision of writer and director Ryan Coogler also greatly enhanced Creed and made it the best installment of the Rocky franchise.

Creed is a spin-off/continuation of the boxing drama franchise Rocky. Set years after the original Rocky series, Creed follows Adonis Johnson, the estranged son of Apollo Creed, on a journey to Philadelphia to find his father's friend/rival, Rocky Balboa. Now training to follow in his father's footsteps, Creed fights to become the best boxer in the world.

A new movie about the making of Rocky is in the works, featuring a character inspired by young Sylvester Stallone

I Play Rocky will be directed by Green Book helmer Peter Farrelly

I Play Rocky, a new movie inspired by Sylvester Stallone and the making of the 1976 boxing film, is in the works.  

Per the movie's official logline, it "follows a struggling actor with a partially paralyzed face and a speech impediment who writes a script that a big movie studio wants to buy, but he refuses to sell it unless he gets to play the lead. Turning down an offer of life-changing money, he instead works for pennies to get the movie made with himself in the starring role." 

Peter Farrelly will helm the movie and Peter Gamble is writing the script. Farrelly also wrote and directed 2018's Green Book , which won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. More recently, he also directed The Greatest Beer Run Ever and Ricky Stanicky, both of which starred Zac Efron.

Following the underdog story of Stallone's Rocky Balboa from small-time club fighter to taking on the world heavyweight champion, Rocky was nominated for 10 Oscars when it was released in 1976 and won Best Picture. It spawned a franchise that includes six sequels and the Creed trilogy, which follows Apollo Creed's son Adonis. 

There's no mention of Stallone by name in this new movie's logline, so it seems it won't be a straightforward biopic. Casting is currently underway for the lead role. "Like the unknown Stallone starring in Rocky, [Farrelly] will be conducting a worldwide search to discover another actor who just needs one shot – in I Play Rocky – to show the world what he can do," Warner Bros. boss Toby Emmerich said in a statement.

While we wait for I Play Rocky to arrive on our screens, check out our guide to this year's biggest movie release dates . 

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Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

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Sly Stallone Admits The Gloves Rocky Balboa Used Aren't Allowed Anymore As New Movie About The Making Of Rocky Gets Announced

S ylvester Stallone has said he’s done playing Rocky , but that doesn’t mean that Rocky is entirely done with him. Stallone recently posted a video of himself with an original set of his Rocky boxing gloves, which coincidently came out alongside news that we’re actually going to be getting another Rocky movie of sorts, a film that focuses on the story of how the original film was made.

While many may know the story of how Rocky came to be, and how it came to make Sylvester Stallone a star, it's likely unknown to a lot of movie fans. It may be just as inspiring as the story that was told on screen.

Green Book’s Director Will Helm I Am Rocky 

The story of the making of Rocky is something of an underdog story, not unlike the plot of the film itself, which is likely why somebody thought it would make for a good movie. Variety reports that Peter Farrelly, the director of controversial Oscar-winner Green Book is set to helm the movie, as well as coproduce alongside Toby Emmerich. Peter Gamble has written the screenplay.

The film will focus on a young Stallone who, not finding the success he is looking for in Hollywood, decides to write his own movie in which to star. He pens Rocky , and the script is very well received, but studios are less interested in casting the unknown actor to star.

Stallone was famously offered a lot of money to simply sell the screenplay. Instead, Stallone agreed to take a far lesser sum in order to play the lead role. The rest is history. Rocky became a critical and commercial success, winning the Oscar for Best Picture and spawning a franchise that, thanks to the Michael B. Jordan Creed films, is still going today, even if the best Rocky movie is still the original. A Drago spinoff is reportedly also in development.

What Sylvester Stallone Said About The Rocky Boxing Gloves

The same day the news about I Am Rocky dropped, Sylvester Stallone talked about Rocky as well. In an Instagram post, he showed off a pair of boxing gloves that he wore as Rocky Balboa, a pair which are apparently no longer the design used by professional boxers because they’re not considered safe enough. Check out the post below.

Stallone has had a tumultuous relationship with the Rocky franchise to date. As part of the deal that he made to star in the original movie, he also signed away most of his rights to the franchise , so he hasn’t profited as much as some due to the success the series has seen. Stallone has indicated his decision not to return for Creed III had more to do with not being able to come to a deal on the rights, rather than any desire to hang up the gloves. It's unclear what if any, direct involvement Stallone will have with the new film.

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Doctor Who review: a promising era, but a rocky start

“The exciting potential of Doctor Who's latest incarnation is on full display in its new episodes, even as the show itself struggles to find its tonal and narrative footing again.”

• Ncuti Gatwa's charismatic take on the Doctor
• The Doctor and Ruby's infectious chemistry together
• A brighter, more polished look and style
• A shocking number of clunky exposition dumps
• Several moments of jarring tonal whiplash
• A disappointing reliance on big-budget spectacle

No show in the history of television has embraced reinvention more fearlessly or successfully than Doctor Who . Ever since the British sci-fi series’ first lead, William Hartnell, stepped away from it in 1966, Doctor Who has gotten into the habit of resetting itself. Every few years, a new actor comes in, takes over the titular role of the Doctor, and offers their own spin on the beloved time traveler for a handful of seasons before eventually making way for another performer to take a crack at it. Sometimes, one actor’s departure is accompanied by the exit and debut of a new showrunner. Sometimes not.

Now, Doctor Who is back with its first full season since 2021, and things are, in typical Who fashion, both a bit new and a bit old. This time, Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa is leading the series as the Fifteenth Doctor, and he’s joined by newcomer Millie Gibson as his first companion , Ruby Sunday. And Russell T Davies, who brought Doctor Who back after a 19-year hiatus and ran it throughout its Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant years , has returned as the series’ showrunner. With his return, Davies has put together one of the most promising Who eras in recent memory. If the first two episodes of its newest season are any indication, though, it may still take a bit of time for both Davies and Doctor Who to find their footing again.

Doctor Who ‘s new episodes begin immediately where its 2023 Christmas special, The Church on Ruby Road , left off — with Gibson’s Ruby stepping into the TARDIS for the first time. The first installment provided early to critics, titled Space Babies , follows Ruby and the Doctor as they embark on an adventure together to a futuristic “baby factory,” where they encounter — as longtime fans will be unsurprised to hear — a terrifying monster and a dizzying number of eccentric supporting characters. The episode is Davies-run Doctor Who through and through, which is to say that it is, above all else, playful and absurd. It’s so knowingly kooky, in fact, that it struggles to sell some of its more heartfelt moments.

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Like so many Who season premieres that have come before it, Space Babies delivers all the necessary bits of exposition and backstory that first-time viewers will need to know if they want to keep up with the show. As they make their way up the ramparts of the Doctor’s practically sparkling new TARDIS interior and the corridors of the episode’s central baby factory, Gatwa’s hero explains to his new companion that he’s a time traveler from the now-destroyed planet of Gallifrey who was raised by a race known as the “Time Lords,” and yes, his name really is just the Doctor. Every new Doctor Who era has to deal with delivering these exposition dumps, but Space Babies handles them in such a blunt fashion that the episode’s first act comes across as clunky.

While Gatwa repeatedly proves himself capable of balancing both the lighthearted, adventurous spirit of the Doctor and the character’s intense loneliness, Davies — who penned all but two installments of the show’s new eight-episode season — struggles to do the same. That’s particularly true throughout the climax of Space Babies , which revolves around a sudden surge of empathy that is certainly in keeping with the Doctor’s nature, but isn’t set up nearly enough to land with the weight that it should. Longtime Doctor Who fans have gotten used to the show’s unique blend of earnest sci-fi comedy, but newcomers may find it difficult to look far enough past the absurdity of the episode’s plot to accept how seriously the Doctor takes the events of its third act.

The season’s second episode, titled The Devil’s Chord , is an improvement on Space Babies  in many ways. With all of the necessary bits of backstory regarding the Doctor’s origins out of the way, the episode feels much lighter and zippier than its predecessor. Thanks to its villain, Maestro (a scenery-chewing Jinkx Monsoon), The Devil’s Chord is also able to pack in the kind of moments of genuine horror and spine-chilling danger that have long made Doctor Who a more interesting show to deal with than its kid-friendly sci-fi premise would suggest. From its use of music and sound to a few of its lighting flourishes, there’s a pleasingly experimental streak throughout The Devil’s Chord that makes it a whole lot more than just a standard time travel trip back to the early 1960s music scene.

While better than Space Babies , the episode isn’t a complete success. At times, it feels like the often form-breaking installment is throwing every idea that it can at the wall, whether it be fourth-wall breaks, choreographed dance numbers, or fights with musical instruments. It’s a startlingly loud episode — one that embraces Doctor Who ‘s new, higher budget by going so big for so long in its second half that the overall effect it has isn’t thrilling, but exhausting. Had Davies exercised a bit more restraint throughout its runtime, he might have come away with one of the most memorable Who episodes in years, but The Devil’s Chord falls frustratingly short of that mark.

Fortunately, Davies’ new Doctor Who season isn’t the first to get off to an imperfect start. Its opening two installments may be disappointingly flawed, but they also boast a go-for-broke energy that helps make Doctor Who feel truly alive and new again. In Gatwa and Gibson, Davies has also found an immensely likable, visibly enthusiastic Doctor and companion pairing. Gatwa, in particular, manages to do in an extremely short amount of time what all of the great Doctor Who leads in history have, which is make his Doctor feel both inextricably tied to his previous iterations and entirely his own. One can only imagine the places that he’ll get to take Who ‘s iconic protagonist moving forward, especially once the show surrounding him starts to come into sharper view.

The first two episodes of Doctor Who’ s latest season premiere at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, May 10 on Disney+. New episodes debut weekly on Fridays. Digital Trends was given early access to the season’s first two installments: Space Babies and The Devil’s Chord.

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