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Rocky going up against his most dangerous opponent yet, Mr. T.

“Rocky III” is when the franchise started to go off the rails (but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing)

Patrick Pugh Staff Reporter May 04, 2023

After Stallone proved to the world that he wasn’t just a flash in the pan, with “Rocky II” once again being a big hit with both general audiences and critics along with it being a financial success, Stallone’s career really began to take off. 

Akshay Rabadia/THUNDERWORD

However, his career wouldn’t skyrocket until 1982 when Stallone starred in the first Rambo movie, “First Blood” (directed by Ted Kotcheff), and “Rocky III” (which he once again wrote and directed).

Just like Stallone, Rocky is on the top of the world as he has a loving wife Adrian (once again played by Talia Shire), a cute kid in Rocky Jr., he is flushed with wealth, and he is still the reigning heavyweight champion of the world. However, his seemingly idyllic world is about to come crashing down, when an up and comer named Clubber Lang (Mr. T) starts making his way through the boxing scene, with the sole goal to crush Balboa. 

The first thing that should be obvious is that it’s no longer the ‘70s but the ‘80s. So disco is out and synthwave is on its way in, along with the melodrama about to be replaced with larger than life villains and stakes. 

Being the third film in a massively successful franchise, the risk of the film losing the soul of the previous films (with it being but a hollow product with no substance, coasting on name recognition alone) does start to seep in. Thankfully, the film manages to avoid that curse, in fact it’s a plot point. 

With Rocky getting complacent with his position as the champ and not taking real threats seriously, with even his manager Mickey (Burgess Meredith) noticing he’s missing the hunger he had previously. 

This blends really well with Clubber Lang being, in many senses of the word, the Anti-Rocky. To give a quick example of what exactly that means, Rocky’s “superpower” was never his speed or strength, it was that he could take a large amount of punishment and keep on going, but Lang hits way too hard for that to be a viable strategy.

Mr. T is also just a great villain in this, being such an imposing threat that’s intimidating, while at the same time being so full of bluster and aggressiveness towards anyone who slightly annoys him, that the audience wants to see him taken down. 

It’s also worth mentioning that this film marks the first appearance of Mr. T’s famous catch phrase “I pity the fool.”

But it’s not just Rocky’s current rival that gets great characterization, but previous ones. With Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) being put into a teacher/friend role instead of being an opportunistic or spurned antagonist. The bond between him and Rocky is great and feels real, and is no doubt a highlight of the film.

This balance between the melodramatic and insanity can lead to problems, however. It’s that, while the melodramatic moments are still well done, they badly contrast whenever the insanity and cheese rears its head. 

Rocky and Apollo excitedly embrace after a beach workout.

Some examples of the over the top (pun intended as a nod to the 1987 film, which also starred Stallone) moments include: Rocky fighting a professional wrestler played by Hulk Hogan in the ring; or when during the workout montage the film uses slow mo when Rocky and Apollo are splashing through the water and hugging each other after another slow mo close up of their legs while running (as if they were on an episode of Baywatch.)

This attempt to balance the serious with the silly can lead to fans of full out ‘80s cheese feeling left out and hung to dry until the next film.

“Rocky III” feels like an inbetween movie, caught between the serious drama of “Rocky I” & “Rocky II” and the over-the-top stakes of the next film. Leading it to be a pretty forgettable film, but still a fun watch and in no way a bad movie.

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