ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

John austin If Rocky and Rocky II are the crown jewels of this franchise, then Rocky III has to be its gold plated pinky ring, complementing a faux Gucci wardrobe spritzed with bad cologne.Rocky goes Hollywood in the third installment of the series as he tries to find himself while training in LA to battle Mr. T, who at least looks good as a sports movie villain. It's not a terrible movie. You get what you've already come to expect from Rocky movies- good action, Rocky's ongoing conflicts and also a little more insight into Apollo Creed who was always one of the most interesting characters in the series. The only problem here is that Rocky III just screams "80s movie" louder than anything you've ever seen- with juiced up bodies, oily training montages and Eye of the Tiger kicking in all over the place. You could be forgiven if you thought you tuned into Miami Vice by mistake. So, it's a little tackier than the first two but probably the last one that was really any good.

PhoKingNick Easily the most shallow of the first three. The length of this film does hurt it a bit in that sense, seeing that it's 30 minutes shorter than the first two. A lot of the drama in this one lacks any emotional weight, so I just take this one as some light entertainment for an hour and a half. The main antagonist is very one dimensional, but he is entertaining to watch, even if he is a giant cartoon. Unfortunately, it feels as though this movie just kind of exists when it doesn't need to, but there's still a bit of fun to be had with it. The matches are entertaining, but again, there's hardly any emotional weight behind them, so they are much less thrilling than the final match at the end of the first film. All in all, if you enjoy the other Rocky movies and what to be mildly entertained for a solid hour and a half and not really care about any good drama, then by all means pop this baby in.

leplatypus Here in France we consider Sly as a gentle dumb but watching this 3rd round I think he is really underrated ! I discovered Rocky as a teen so at the start of the 90s and the movies really punched me then ! But now i realize that those movies were much older and if we watch them with contemporary eyes, we see that they are really forerunner of the modern American movies ! First of all, if Sly hasn't invented sequels, he is among the first authors to believe in it : back then, we had only Coppola (Godfather), Lucas (Star Wars) and a few others… Next, he is also the first author to illustrate scenes with just a song and no dialogues, and what a song : « eye of the tiger ». Still today, it's a rock classic and this song editing is used by everyone now ! Next, as a director, i found Sly has great inspirations with striking angles, close-up, news editing, all things that we see everyday now but back then were original. As an author, we can say whatever but Rocky has a special place in our heart as the movies are true to deep values : efforts, getting up after a blow, friendship, marital life, education, citizenship… Here, Rocky is still bound to Philly, he spends some nice time with his son, he has to deal even more with celebrities and fame, and for sure, the punching winner is also a crying man ! But we got also minorities friendship and one more time, there is not a lot movies with that question ! As for acting, all the cast is wonderful as they are totally into their characters and if they don't have much to do, they always achieve to be real ! Talia is fantastic as a supportive wife and newcomer Mr. T spills fury forever ! Finally, i didn't write about the fights and that's why Rocky movies are important and true classic because they tell us so much in addition to boxing !

mmallon4 After the recap of the fight from the previous movie, Rocky III opens with a montage which begins with fireworks and giant light up sign of Rocky as if to say "Welcome to the 80's!"; a decade when everything was larger than life. The song of choice is Eye of Tiger, the montage is edited like an MTV music video and Rocky even appears on The Muppet Show; and all that merchandise, me want!Rocky III is ridiculously entertaining while still managing to have thematic substance. Rocky is no longer struggling with fame. A man who couldn't film a simple commercial in Rocky II is now making all sorts of endorsements. He could barely drive a car in Rocky II, now he can now drive with ease. Rocky has also become a more intelligent man instead of the dumb dumb he was in first two movies. Not to mention does he looks different, very handsome I might add and in such physical shape. I think Stallone looks like Al Pacino here, especially when wearing a suit. Rocky III brought the series in a different direction, distant from the first two movies. But despite Rocky's wealth and fame, Rocky III is not a movie which cheapens out. The primary theme of the movie is about Rocky's fame making him soft or as Mickey puts it, "You got civilised". Once Rocky discovers Mickey has been hand picking fighters his seemingly perfect bubble of a life is burst; "You wake up after a few years, thinking you're a winner, but you're not, you're really a loser". This continues the series theme of being semi autobiographical of Stallone's own life as the movie examines what fame and fortune can do to a person. Adrian's role is smaller is time round although her character still sees an evolution as the famous lifestyle has taken away her shyness and made her more outspoken and pretty hot too I might add. Just listen to the words of motivation she gives Rocky on the beach; a far cry from the Adrian in the first movie.Even when Rocky discovers Mickey has been hand picking fighters prior to his fist fight with Clubber Lang, Rocky is training in the most superficial gym. It's full of photographers and visitors, musicians are playing and merchandise is being sold. Unsurprisingly he gets the worst beating of his life at the hands of Clubber Lang. The solution to Rocky getting his so called "eye of the tiger" back; get away from the superficiality of his wealthy lifestyle and back to the nitty gritty. As Apollo Creed puts it, "Man, when we fought, you had that eye of the tiger man, the edge! And the only way to get it back is to go back to the beginning; you know what I'm saying?". I stick by these words as some of the wisest words I've heard uttered in a motion picture. Whenever you lose your mindset of determination weather physically or mentality, go back to where you first started in order to reclaim it. Rocky III humanises Apollo Creed with Rocky and Apollo becoming friends being a great spin on the story. I always think of his intense shouting of "There is no tomorrow!" whenever I need some motivation.The hypnotic, uneasy music which plays when Rocky is training poorly under Apollo and stuck with the threat of living with failure reminds me of Bernard Herman's score to Vertigo in possibly the most uneasy scenes in the series. Likewise the scene of Paulie in the arcade has to be the most surreal scene in the entire series in which he throws a bottle pinball machine in slow motion complete with odd sound effects; it's an image which doesn't leave your head.Mr. T as Clubber Lang, oh man! What a beast! A true larger than life villain with outbursts of immensely entertaining lightening fast dialogue; he sure has a way with words with such a violent temper and high levels of anger. You do not want to be stuck in an elevator with this guy. Which raises the question; is Clubber responsible for the death of Mickey by pushing him to the side? Yet even close to death Mickey can still inspire with scenery chewing words of motivation; his death being one of the series most emotional moments. The boxer vs. wrestler charity fight on the other hand between Rocky and Thunderlips (Hulk Hogan) has nothing to do with the rest of the movie but dam is it entertaining. It's so over the top with such intense pain on display. The referee and police officers are thrown to the side, the audience is assaulted and even Paulie gets in on the action (I do love those bits of humour Paulie provides).The final fight in Rocky III is the only in ring fight in the series which takes place in real time until Creed. Meanwhile the final scene of the movie is such fun, with Rocky and Apollo playing off each other which along with the training montage gives off some homoerotic vibes along the way with sweaty, shirtless, muscular men in tank tops as well as men hugging and jumping in the sea.Also the film's trailer refers to Rocky III as an "American tradition". What's the tradition? Hollywood sequels?