The Perfect Tie-In!

Rating: 10/10 (23 January 2015)

It is rare that sequels surpass the original, and Rocky II is no different. It is a continuation from the first, finishing one adventure. This is the left-over movie. Does that mean it sucks? No! Despite this not measuring up to Rocky in 1976, Rocky II is where the inspiration just begins.
It picks up right where the first one left off at with the press following Rocky and Apollo into the hospital with both men drastically injured. Rocky successfully went the distance with neither men winning. Having to spend some time rehabilitating, Rocky quits boxing and tries to work with brother-in-law, Paulie (Young) at a meat factory. It doesn't last and Rocky realizes his true calling. With an angry Apollo taunting a vengeful rematch, Rocky must not only fight for himself, but for his new wife (Shire) and child.
Rocky II tends to deal more with Rocky's family and married life. He marries Adrian, they have a kid and there's lots of homie stuff. This is meant to to show what Rocky is fighting to keep, whereas the first one showed what Rocky is fighting to get. There is more chemistry that happens across the board int he first, but Rocky II is dragged in various sections. There's too much time focusing on Rocky's downtime from boxing. When the movie shifts to the boxing portion, it becomes more inspiring than the first and very exciting to see. He trains harder for a more gruelling match. The actual fight in this is a big step up from the first since the first showed only about 1/4 of the fight. This shows about 90% of the fight and is great to see this nobody from Philadelphia finally come out Heavyweight Champion of the World.
3.5/4