Rocky III

This was the film that made me a Rocky fan. I had seen the first film when I was very young but when I was a little older; my dad taped “Rocky III” when it was on TV. I loved the action and drama. As an adult, I still love it despite the flamboyant style that was popular back in the 80's. We see new conflicts, both internal and external, come into Rocky’s life as well as help from some surprising sources. The film introduced Mr. T. to the world as Clubber Land who, in my opinion, is Rocky's greatest challenge in the whole saga.

This one of the best beginnings to a sequel I have ever since. Before we see any titles, the sounds of the fight from the preceding film fade up. During the final image of the second film, the Oscar nominated song “Eye of the Tiger” starts up. Then we get fireworks and Rocky’s image & name appears written in lights. Those images and the song are perfectly designed to get you pumped up for the opening montage, which is very well done. This is a great example of how the Rocky saga changed the sports montage and, I dare say, re-invented it once again in this movie. Rocky’s wishlist from the second movie becomes a reality in ways that he never imagined. He gets a motorcycle and he gets to be on the Muppet Show. He is doing reputable commercials also. The story of Rocky in the third film is meant to mirror what happened to creator of the film series. After the success of the first two films, Stallone himself went from rags-to-riches. This however changed him in ways that he didn't like. He as a filmmaker wanted to regain the "eye of the tiger". Rocky by 1982 had become a household name in society and usually fans of this genre like to imagine fantasy matchups. Some examples today include Bond vs. Borne (I am for Bond) and Kirk vs. Picard (I am for Picard). Stallone writes a sequence for this movie that is basically a fantasy matchup: Rocky vs. Hulk Hogan. The funny thing however is that before “Rocky III”, Hogan was known only by those who followed wrestling. This is probably one of the best cameos in a sports film because of how funny the scene is. It is full of so many hilarious lines but I love “Seems like lately everybody wants to beat me up ” and “I get nervous every time he does that.” I love when Rocky and Thunderlips get their instructions from the ref because of the camera angles. Rocky is staring into the chest of his opponent and you can’t even see Hogan’s face. Even though the scene is hilarious, it does further the story because Mickey’s has a short heart problem during the fight. I like how Paulie, after doing some venting at the start of the movie, is finally able to ask for a job. It seems like for three years Paulie has been bitter of Rocky’s success. Now it looks like Paulie has gotten over that and can be a part of Rocky’s success. I enjoy Paulie’s version of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears” because according to him, Goldilocks was “busted for trespassing and got 30 days in the cooler.” Mickey also provides laughs in this movie and not only during the Thunderlips fight. I love when Mickey tells the band to shut up during Rocky’s training.

During the opening montage however, Mickey is watching the new threat closely: Clubber Lang. I love Clubber’s taunting lines to Mickey at the end of the montage. It is a scary moment. Apollo was a guy with something to prove at Rocky’s expense but Clubber is out to destroy Rocky. Apollo was an athlete but Clubber is a killer with boxing gloves. The man has no heart and sportsmanship. Also Rocky finds out the truth about his boxing career as champion and it hurts. In the scene where Rocky and Mickey talk it out, it becomes obvious to us that they have developed a father/son relationship over the course of three years. I would like to make the argument that Mickey has been carrying Rocky but at the same time, it was for all the right reasons. Mickey has been protecting Rocky from the bad part of the business. Rocky’s 10 title defences were legitimate fights but they were opponents that Mickey chose. They were good fighters as he says that would entertain people. Mickey loves Rocky in that he makes him money and builds for him an amazing reputation. Rocky’s fights with Apollo were too much for Mickey to watch and he wanted to see Rocky succeed & be safe for the rest of his career. Also over three years of high living, Rocky has lost “the eye of the tiger” and Mickey knows that. Mickey is going to quit because it seems to be the only way to keep Rocky from fighting Clubber. As previously mentioned, Clubber has no heart like Rocky or even like Apollo and it can only mean bad news. Even if Rocky wins over Clubber, it will still be a bad fight. He wants Rocky to retire while he is on top. Rocky reacts realistically in that he wants to know if he is really the champion that everyone thinks he is. Because Mickey has been controlling who Rocky fights, Rocky doesn’t know if he is worthy to be champion and he sees the fight with Clubber as a way to know if he is a true champion or a just a lucky athlete. Can he win against a killer with boxing gloves? Afterall, his two fights against Apollo were back-to-back and he faced no other real contenders in between. He can’t live the rest of his life knowing that he could be a fraud champion. When Rocky is dealing with the fact that Mickey is hurt before the fight, I love how you can barely hear the chanting of Rocky’s name out in the arena. It is a little ominous. After Rocky loses, he has more guilt than he ever did in the second film because Mickey can’t come back like Adrian did. It was Rocky that pushed Mickey into one last fight. Both of them came out of it with losses, Mickey having paid the ultimate price. Rocky also lied to Mickey just before he died by not telling him the whole truth about the fight and that kind of torment is more than anyone could deal with. It is hard to say whether Rocky would have still lost if Mickey had been ringside but there is no point to try and figure that out because it is unimportant. Rocky may have lost a father figure but he gains a brother in the process.

The greatest story idea that Sylvester Stallone came up with in the whole film series is Rocky and Apollo falling down at the same time in their second fight. Stallone's second best idea was to have Apollo come to the rescue in "Rocky III". When we first see Apollo in this sequel, he has no hard feelings towards Rocky. He has come to respect Rocky just as Rocky respects him. Apollo still has a little pride inside him and once again, Rocky benefits from Apollo’s flaw. This time though, it is not at Apollo's expense. Clubber insults Apollo when he goes to shake hands with him and Apollo calmly figures that Rocky is in the better position at that moment to teach Clubber a lesson. When Rocky looses, Apollo won’t let that be. He has personal reasons for training Rocky. He won’t let someone like Clubber be champion. Despite Apollo’s pride however, he has learned some humility thanks to Rocky. If Apollo were completely prideful, he wouldn't want to help Rocky. Apollo knows that Rocky lost the fight partially because of Mickey dying and he acknowledges that. Apollo is quick to say however that the biggest reason why Rocky lost is because he wasn't hungry. It was what Mickey was trying to say earlier: Rocky has lost his edge in the three years as champion. Rocky not only needs his edge back but a new style so that Clubber will have his work cut out for him. Clubber is not going to take the fight lightly because as the type of villain that he is, he loves punishing others for the audacity to fight him. He says he doesn’t hate but I don’t believe that. I like the jokes about how Paulie hates LA. Another great line from Stallone’s pen is that it takes about six years to get to know Paulie. I love it because six years separate the third film from the first. Many of my friends who aren’t huge fans of the saga don’t like Paulie. For Rocky fans, we started to like Paulie by the third film. Rocky is once again not able to train because something is wrong inside. We think it is guilt just like the last time but his talk with Adrian reveals the truth. Anyways, Rocky wouldn’t be in L.A. with Apollo if his guilt was completely keeping him from fighting. There is something else stopping Rocky from working hard and it is fear. He is afraid of losing because Clubber is nothing like he imagined. Also because he lost the first time, he believes he is a “paper champion”. He feels that he can’t win. Adrian’s talk with him inspires him. She teaches him that he has nothing to lose this time. If he does lose the fight, he will know for certainty the truth about his nature as a champion and that is all that matters. He will still have his family and friends with no excuses as to why he lost unlike after his first fight with Clubber. The training montage is once again a lot of fun thanks to Rocky’s theme song.

Another piece of evidence that tells us that Apollo has learned a little humility is when he gives Rocky his American trunks to wear. It is a great gesture of friendship and allows a memorable part of the first film to make a reprise. I like how the event announcer from the second film announces this final fight. He is my favorite one in the whole saga and the same goes for referee Lou Filippo. We get the traditional joke before a Rocky fight having to do with the line “Let’s be cool.” Rocky may have a new style but he still crosses himself and prays before the fight. This makes him his own fighter, reborn from the ashes of defeat as a combination of himself and Apollo. The first round is Rocky’s hands down. We can see that Rocky does have a big chance. The second round reminds us however of what happens once Clubber gets going. Then Rocky sees a chance here to uses Clubber’s energy against him. Apollo can’t see that but Rocky can feel it being in the ring. As mentioned, Rocky is being his own fighter. At the end of the film, Apollo reveals that he may have come to grips with his loss to Rocky but not completely. Now that Rocky has reclaimed his title and has Apollo to thank, Apollo wants that favor they talked about. Apollo wants another rematch but only to prove to himself alone that he is better than Rocky. He has learned some humility in that he doesn’t need to show the world he is the better fighter but Apollo still has to know. It is a great & fun way to end the movie and even though it took decades to find out who won the fight, at least we have an answer.

“Rocky III” was my introduction to Mr. T. I can see today that Mr. T. is a tough but sweet guy. Growing up however, I thought that he was only tough as nails. Mt. T’s catchphrase “I pity the fool” appears to have been created by Stallone and that is a cool thing. Clubber is the greatest opponent of Rocky’s in the whole saga. Apollo and Mason Dixon are antagonists more than they are villains, Tommy Gunn is puppet & lost soul while Ivan Drago has few spoken lines & only his height as a main advantage. Clubber is loud, strong, furious and scary. Stallone is still the boxing choreographer on the film, which is cool and I am glad that Tony Burton returns as Apollo’s former trainer, Tony. "Rocky III" has more boxing and more fun that the previous two films but it also has powerful drama. It is such a great film. This film is the peak of the original Rocky sequels because IV and V are not as powerful action and drama-wise.

5 Stars out of 5