Review of Rocky II (1979) by Dougal S — 12 Oct 2012

Picking up at the exact point where the first outing left off this sequel sees the eponymous hero struggling to cope with life after boxing (having quit on medical advice) and his lack of sophistication and 'smarts' see him fail to make the most of his fifteen minutes of fame whilst squandering the money his big fight had brought in. As Rocky and his wife Adrian struggle to survive the champ Apollo Creed decides to goad him into a high-profile rematch to prove that Rocky was simply a bum-got-lucky.

The film treads a pretty similar path to it's predecessor with the majority of the screen time given over to the character development rather than any boxing action. The hapless Rocky drifts from one disaster to another whilst being driven ever closer to the inevitable conclusion. Stallone perfectly portrays the slow witted pugilist who suffers at the hand of circumstance, but Talia Shire and the script conspire to create one of the most annoying screen characters ever in the form of his ever complaining wife. The unsung star however is Carl Weathers who is on fine form portraying the brooding champ Apollo Creed, wracked with self doubt and insecurities.

But all that is just foreplay before the real action - at the end of the day if you watch a Rocky film you want to see the blood and guts action in the boxing ring and this doesn't disappoint. The tension and drama are turned up to breaking point as the slug fest unfolds on screen and the schmaltzy cliches are laid on thick and fast. But it delivers what you came for a pumped up training sequence, a war in the ring and an uplifting conclusion - which is all it needs to.