Rocky II
Rocky II
PG | 15 June 1979 (USA)
Rocky II Trailers

After Rocky goes the distance with champ Apollo Creed, both try to put the fight behind them and move on. Rocky settles down with Adrian but can't put his life together outside the ring, while Creed seeks a rematch to restore his reputation. Soon enough, the "Master of Disaster" and the "Italian Stallion" are set on a collision course for a climactic battle that is brutal and unforgettable.

Reviews
Softwing

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

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Curapedi

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

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Livestonth

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

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Janae Milner

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

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lcbluize-66758

Who is the actress that gets Rocky's autograph for her son? Nurse Flynn...she requests an autograph for my good friend Charlie Flynn...She is uncredited. I recognize her and it is NOT Fran Ryan, she plays Adrian's nurse. This is driving me crazy! Please help!

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Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)

Here we have "Rocky II", an American 2-hour film from 1979, so this one will have its 40th anniversary soon. The first Rocky won big at the Oscars and this one here is the sequel, the first of many in fact. It is once again about Sylvester Stallone, who not only wrote the script and played the title character like in the first, but even took over from the recently deceased Avildsen as director. The story continues right after the first ended, even the very same night as the two fighters are rolled out of the ring. And once more, Weathers' Apollo Creed is the main antagonist here as this film is all about a rematch from film 1. Never change a winning script may have been their idea here as you will find more parallels. Rocky is more than ever the hero for the simple, maybe underprivileged and they badly want him to win this time. But Creed will take his opponent seriously now for sure. The Oscar-nominated supporting actors are back to, even if Young's impact was really minimal. Meredith had slightly better material. And shire is back too, not just in a stable relationship with Rocky now, but even married and becoming a mother. Other than that, I had the impression they did not really know what to do with her character anymore as some of the film's weakest moments were about her like the proposal to call the kid Rocky Jr. or the rushed in coma drama honestly did not help at all. But on a more positive approach, the quote about a woman staying a woman and a man staying a man was maybe the most memorable moment of the entire film.But the film's biggest weakness, like for the first already, was the fight in the last half hour. It really is close to a negative deal breaker because it has absolutely nothing to do with real boxing. Cover (is that the word? we say "Deckung" here in Germany) and defense were completely nonexistent and honestly from the beating Rocky gets in rounds 1 and 2, it would have been over right away in reality. But here, of course the comeback happens. And don't even get me started on the synchronous falling down in round 15 (ofc!). It is highly cringeworthy and very obvious that this was actors performing a scripted confrontation. Such a pity as everything before was solid, even strong at times. The eventually positive verdict I give this movie is really only because the horrible execution in the last half hour still did not manage to destroy my curiosity who would triumph in the end. The film ends as abrupt as the first with the announcement of the winner. As for the first Rocky, that one also really struggled with the fight sequence, but had several other weaknesses too why I believe that this one we got here is certainly better than the 1976 film, which is perhaps the worst Best Picture Academy Award winner I have seen. This one here has better potential and I think if Rocky had decided not to fight in the face of the birth and his wife's critical condition (oh wait look at her miracle recovery), this film would have been even way better, a crucial character study. But I can see why they wanted the fight to happen again because many of the more simple audience members would have been disappointed with the build-up and then nothing. But these are probably also the ones who thought the fight was the best thing about the film and still think they know their stuff about boxing. Okay, drifting away now a bit. Overall, I give this first Rocky sequel a thumbs-up and recommend checking it out, even if turning it off after 90 minutes may be a wise decision and just read what happened in the final quarter.

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KingBrian1

Following on from the success of the first film in the series Rocky 2 continues the story and focuses on the theme of handling life after greatness. As Apollo's ego gets the best of him and forces him to pursue Rocky outside the ring to get him back into the ring we see an aimless Rocky looking for work and dealing with the fallout of being a celebrity. This movie improves upon the first with Rocky's trainer Mickey given a greater role in preparing Rocky for the ultimate rematch awaiting. Once again the soundtrack, the emotion and the fight this time bigger and more dangerous combines to create a master class film.

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feakes

ROCKY II is that rare sequel that not only continues from the ending of the first. But improves on the story as it goes along. Stallone not only writes but directs and he does a stellar job. After the first fight The fighters are rushed to the hospital. Tha fans cheer Rocky and the press hound both of them. Apollo realizes that Rocky had done the impossible and gone the distance with him. This angers him and prompts him to challenge Rocky to a rematch in the hospital. Rocky refuses saying he's retired. After leaving the hospital rocky and Adrian are married. and Rocky is asked to do commercials. except Rocky has a bad eye. and can't read properly which leads to him getting fired. After having a spending frenzy The fight money is all gone. Leaving Rocky and Adrian to get Jobs. Adrian is back at the pet shop and Rocky now works for mickey. times are tough. But Love gets them thru. Adrian is expecting a baby and for Rocky life seems good. he gets a job at Shamrock meats only to be laid off. As for Apollo. he can't let go. He gets hate mail from irate fans thinking he carried Rocky or he was paid off to let Rocky go the distance. Apollo Has a burning need to prove to the world that Rocky had been a freak accident a lucky bum. and that not only can he destroy him he will. Apollo begins a war of words designed to bring Rocky back into the ring. And it has the desired effect. Rocky broke and hungry agrees to go back one more time. except Adrian isn't happy. She doesn't want him fighting. and because of this Rocky's mind isn't on his training. and he's not focused. Unhappy that Adrian is unhappy and that he let down the most important person in the world to him. When Adrian has the baby a month prematurely and is in a coma Rocky is in despair. He doubts himself and is full of worry for Adrian. until she comes out of the coma and tells him to win. Rocky trains hard and this time stuns the world by beating Apollo and becoming the NEW Heavyweight Champion.The writing is top notch. Stallone has infused these characters with so much personality they actually feel like real people. the writing is top notch and it was done before it became a clichéd genre all by itself. The Story is typical Hollywood magic. And Stallone makes it feel special. And it is. ROCKY II is the last really pure Rocky picture in the series because after this Rocky moves further away from what really made him and his friends truly special. ROCKY II is like a little slice of life with some really good friends. and a great time is had by all.

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