Do I get to win this time?

Rating: 8/10 (3 September 2019)

Having gone the distance but narrowly lost his fight against heavyweight champ Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) in the first film, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) takes another crack at the world title, but not until after lots of soul-searching, melodrama, and the obligatory training montage.
The film starts with Rocky, in danger of losing his sight, promising to hang up his gloves to please his concerned girlfriend/soon-to-be wife Adrian (Talia Shire). But when the money starts to run out, and as Apollo continues to goad him into a rematch (so that he can prove to himself and fans that the previous fight was a fluke), Balboa agrees to step into the ring once more, with old pal and trainer Mickey (Burgess Meredith) by his side.
Basically a retread of the first movie, only with a different outcome, Rocky II is not as fresh as its predecessor, and suffers from some sluggish scenes: Rocky holding back on his training (his heart not in it because he doesn't have Adrian's blessing), and the boxer's anguish as his wife slips into a coma after giving birth to their son. Fortunately, solid performances from the excellent cast help carry the viewer through these slower moments, the film picking up momentum for the expected crowd-pleasing showdown against Creed.
After Adrian comes out of her long sleep and gives Rocky the go-ahead, the Italian Stallion finally gets his mojo back and delivers a final act guaranteed to get the pulse pounding (helped not inconsiderably by Bill Conti's rousing score). The aforementioned training montage is a blast, the boxer turning into the pied piper of Philadelphia as hundreds of children follow him on his run through the streets, but it is the long-awaited battle with Apollo that really delivers the goods: it's pure Hollywood baloney, of course, with almost every punch hitting its target, but it's hugely entertaining and brilliantly staged, Balboa and Creed pushing each other to the limits of endurance. It'll come as no surprise that Rocky wins this time, but somehow writer/director/star Stallone still manages to make the fifteenth round edge-of-the-seat stuff, right up to the final bell.
7.5/10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.