No Match To Its Groundbreaking Predecessor But It's Still Fun & Entertaining

Rating: Null/10 (24 September 2015)

The second instalment in the Rocky series, Rocky II follows the aftermath of the events that transpired in the first picture and follows Rocky Balboa who, after his loss to Creed, retires from boxing and gets busy enjoying his new found fame but after failing in multiple facets of life, he returns to the boxing arena to face Creed, who's been consistently goading Balboa for a rematch.
Written & directed by Sylvester Stallone, Rocky II stays faithful to the spirit of the original but is highly erratic with its theme & characters. Rocky's inability to handle his sudden fame & money in an effective manner is the story's core element but it's not well executed. Much of the picture feels like plodding for we already know what awaits in the end and can't wait for that final battle, which fortunately is as impressive as it was in the previous chapter.
The set pieces do benefit from a bigger budget, Stallone's direction isn't very good but it's still passable for the most part, Camera-work is best during the training & boxing segments, Its 119 minutes of runtime is excessive for the story it packs in, Bill Conti delivers another sensational soundtrack that's in tune with the last feature while the performances from its entire cast is a step down when compared to their input in Rocky, although it isn't a major departure.
On an overall scale, Rocky II heads into the right direction and tackles the right themes but due to Stallone's inexperience as a director, it isn't able to address & execute them properly and is certainly no match to its groundbreaking predecessor. The final act is pretty much its saving grace for without it, this would've been a highly frustrating experience. Predictable but also true to its origins, Rocky II may not deliver the same high thrills but it manages to be fun & entertaining in bits n pieces, and is worth a shot.