curse of the sequels

Rating: Null/10 (2 February 2004)

I wanted to see Rocky beat Apollo Creed.
I also did not want to see Rocky beat Apollo Creed.
Like so many sequels, "Rocky II" undermines its predecessor. It's rather like a two hour epilogue to the first film, a tacked-on "happy ending" to a movie that was supposed to be more realistic and downbeat.
That said, it's wildly entertaining. It's more footage of Rocky, one of the most compelling characters in cinema history. And it's got some great "rage" scenes featuring Apollo Creed, Rocky's worthiest opponent.
So, as sequels go, this isn't too bad. It does damage, but it's also got worthwhile parts (a great training segment and a spectacular climatic battle, to name two). It pales compared to the original, since it drags in certain parts (Rocky is training lazily...blah blah...Adrian is still sick...blah). But when it works, you can still see flashes of the "Rocky" genius.
I guess they had to make it. Hey, at least it was pretty good, right?