I've always loved this installment in the Rocky series. It was actually the first one that I saw when I was a kid and at the time thought it was the best one. However, in retrospect it was really more about money, commercialism and excess in the 80's. I would say Vince Mcmahon of the WWE has Stallone to thank, because of the great exposure he brought to Hulk Hogan, Mr. T for that matter, and professional wrestling. The pacing of the movie is faster and more intense than the first two movies, however Rocky sort of became what you didn't like. He's got loads of money, and he not the down and out paluka that he used to be, although at one point of the movie he is. It's definitely not the worst of the series but slightly lacks the heart of the first two movies, partially because of the death of Burgess Meredith's character Mickey. Still an exciting sequel

Our protagonist(Sly, charmingly everyman as ever, in spite of greater fame and wealth than before) is challenged by the up-and-comer, Clubber Lang(Mr. T, his tough image not yet tempered with a fear of flying. He's fortunate assault laws clearly don't exist for those who take the ring in this). Will he return to his underdog status? Mickey's(still intense Meredith) health is failing. Might he return to the great big cold continent in the sky? And Adrian(Shire, sweet, smart and shy) is still here. They just don't know what to do with her this time. It's too bad, the love between the two is one of the elements that work best, especially for those of us who don't care about the macho crap. What? I recognize the original as amazing, and the first five were on sale. Well, they have her support him, because that's what they default her to. Paulie's(Young, still gritty) racism comes to the forefront, as Creed(Weathers, less showy) and Duke(Burton, determined) become unlikely allies.It was a matter of time before they'd cast at least one actual fighter, not an actor and/or former football player. And here we get two. Wrong sport, of course, but at least it's the right direction. A little in the fights does legitimately play out as wrestling. At the time of writing this, I've only watched up to this point in the franchise. This didn't change my mind on what I thought watching the second installment: there never shoulda been more than one movie here. And apparently I still have the worst ahead of me. Part of the point of 1 was that he couldn't possibly keep doing this, it was his last chance! The problem with a series in this genre is that we know it has to have a climactic showdown. Action flicks, thrillers, dramas... it doesn't have to be public, planned, the consequences can be purely personal. Meanwhile, here... one way or another, it needs to be set up and have emotional, not only physical, stakes. We know where it's going, and are seeing the signs. Anything that happens that isn't related to that, we know it won't prevent that from happening. You can also only go so far, intending to top what came before, without getting unrealistic: "that wouldn't be allowed, it's against the rules". And this does get into that territory. This runs 92 and a half minutes without credits, and 95 and a half with.There is a lot of brutal boxing and some strong language in this. I recommend it to completionists. 6/10

In this film, Rocky has many problems. The loss of his coach, the loss of his long-held title, makes him deeply shaken. These problems are expressed in the film very well. When we look at the players we see Sylvester Stallone in the role of Rocky, Talia Shire in the role of Adrian, Burt Young in the role of Paulie, Burgess Meredith in the role of Mickey, Carl Weathers in the role of Apollo, Mr.T in the role of Clubber Lang really did a very good job. Especially, Mr.T plays very well. It's a film that should be watched except for a few bugs to look at in general. The biggest mistake in the film is that in the first film of the Rocky series Mickey says 'I am 76 years old' but Micky seems to have died at the age of 76. It was a really big mistake. But overall it's a pretty good movie.

Another excellent feel-good film in the ROCKY saga that had showed no signs of slowing down by this stage. In fact, I enjoyed it more than the first film and feel that it comes only just behind the second in terms of pure entertainment. Once again, the story takes a new angle, showing how Rocky's fame has changed his life and also put him out of touch with reality. During the course of the film he loses nearly everything, and is then forced to go on a journey of discovery to try and capture what he's lost. The fight at the climax has an inevitable outcome, but perhaps that's why I was looking forward to it so much.The actors are wonderful again. Stallone directs himself with aplomb, focusing on another side of his hero this time around: for the first time ever, Rocky finds himself afraid, and must battle to dispel that fear. Talia Shire and Burt Young don't have much to do, but they provide the stable backbone that Rocky himself requires. Burgess Meredith is excellent once again as the sympathetic Mickey, and Carl Weathers' Apollo Creed undergoes a significant and appealing character shift that sees him switch sides from enemy to ally. Mr. T is so tough as the bad guy Clubber Lang that he's almost a caricature of himself, but that doesn't stop him being thoroughly entertaining, and he's matched by a hulking Hulk Hogan in a brief, crazed turn as an over the top wrestler.The film is well made, has great music – the old favourites as well as new hit Eye of the Tiger – and the training sequences are as fun as ever. The boxing matches are slicker and more stylised than before, but no less enthralling, while Stallone's careful to keep the human drama as his first priority as always. As a result, this is another great film in the series.