Lacks The Rocky Feel

Rating: 6/10 (17 December 2006)

The original ROCKY and, to a lesser extent, ROCKY II, had a certain feel. You knew you were watching something special as the underdog of underdogs endeavored to bleed, sweat and punch his way to the impossible. You could relate to Rocky and da tings he was go-in chrew. He made you feel part of his experience.
That sort of magic is absent in ROCKY III. It's not so much that Rocky has changed, though he has. When we first met him he was a nobody with nothing. In ROCKY II he was struggling to deal with being a somebody with lots of things. Though he tries to again make us believe he's a longshot, Stallone just can't pull it off this time because we know better. And it's not so much that the formula has changed, though it has. The first two films were not really boxing films at all, but human dramas we could all relate to whether we'd ever seen a punching bag or not. ROCKY III makes the mistake of being a boxing movie, largely pushing aside the human elements that made this character an icon.
Well, actually, those factors probably do have something to do with it. As do the disappointing opening and closing matches. In the first, Rocky squares off against loud-mouthed wrestler Thunderlips (Hulk Hogan) in a charity bout. It ranks as the most embarrassing and bizarre occurrence of any ROCKY film as the Hulkster tosses Rock around and goes berserk. In the second, Rocky tries a new strategy of getting his opponent all worked up before delivering the finishing blows. The wonderful suspense of his first big fights are absent. Instead of standing up and cheering, we merely nod at the emergence of the obvious.
Not that ROCKY III is an awful film. When critiqued on its own, forgetting thrills of the past, it certainly has worthwhile qualities. Stallone is good and honest as the hero, and Mr. T (in his film debut) is a treat as the over-the-top yet serious Clubber Lang. Rocky's use of his former rival, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), as his post-Mickey trainer is interesting, though of course the chemistry just isn't the same. And once again, the training sequences are inspiring.