Review of Rocky II (1979) by Quinta G — 22 Dec 2009

We all know that "Rocky" was undoubtedly one of the best sports films ever created. It was simply a masterpiece. But can it's sequel be as good? Unfortunately no, but "Rocky II" has that awesome feeling where you KNOW it's a classic Rocky movie.

This film takes place literally five minutes after the first one. During the opening credits we see an ambulance driving, and we are guessing that that is where Rocky is. The film wastes no time showing us Apollo Creed, who comes in about three minutes after. Immediately Apollo demands a rematch from Rocky, because even though he won the fight, he still lost his pride. Rocky turns it down at first, but over time, he accepts.

Unlike the first movie, this film really doesn't take any time on character development or emotion. Sure it's got some romantic scenes and some dialogue scenes, but this film lacks certain kinds of qualities that the first movie had, and that's sort of disappointing.

What "Rocky II" really focuses on, is the training and the fighting. The training montages in this film can get a little corny (the scene where all the kids are running with Rocky), but overall it's pretty entertaining to watch. The fight scene is pretty epic, although there are a few particular shots where I can tell that Stallone is punching the air, and not Carl Weathers, but you have to look closely to find this, and it doesn't take anything away from the overall quality of the fight.

Sure this film isn't oscar worthy like the first one, but this movie has a lot of great things about it. The movie is more about the intensity than the first one was, and depending on your taste, you might prefer it. I prefer the first movie, but this film is awesome as well.

"Rocky II" is definitely not as good as the first installment, but it was an all around awesome sequel, and a very decent film. Classic Rocky.