Review of Rocky III (1982) by Brett H — 01 Jun 2016

Rocky 3 is the best and easily the most entertaining entry in the Rocky franchise with an animalistic villain, some heavy drama, and the surprising team-up of Rocky and Apollo which added the perfect amount of heart to this film.

Since his championship win, Rocky has been coasting on fame, fighting lesser opponents to keep his title, until a tougher and meaner boxer named, Clubber Lang challenges, the Italian Stallion, to a fight which Rocky reluctantly accepts.

However, before the fight can take place, a tragedy occurs which distracts, Rocky, in the ring and causes him to lose his championship status and his personal trainer. Broken, and unsure of how to defeat, Lang, Rocky joins forces with Apollo Creed who teaches him how to move swifter and adopt new styles of fighting.

I absolutely loved this entry in the Rocky series and it put a HUGE smile on my face seeing Balboa and Creed setting aside their differences to work together and neutralize the savage, Lang. This is also the first film in the franchise to use the now iconic, Eye of the Tiger song and hearing it played during one of the infamous montage sequences was a real treat for the eyes and ears! There is also a RIDICULOUS wrestling match between Stallone and Hulk Hogan, in his prime, that goes so over the top it becomes hilarious.

It's more of an action/fighting film, than a humble drama, but it has just enough of that Rocky charm and it is definitely my favourite in the series.