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Rocky III (1982)

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132 comments in total

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27 out of 33 people found the following comment useful :-
Be nice, it ain't that bad....., 19 March 2003

Author: e5150

Clearly the most entertaining of the Rocky films due to its perfect pacing and well-choreographed matches. Stallone is at his best when playing Rocky--it is his vision and his creation--and, despite what Hollywood wants us to think, he is not a bad director either.

What he masters are "subtleties" (my term): certain facial expressions or small actions/reactions at perhaps less-than-pivotal moments which reveal his skill. They need to be really looked for to be seen, which is why only those who without the ability to look deeper than the surface find him so mediocre.

I don't want to give them all away, but here's one example of a subtlety that shows just how human he can make his characters (especially Rocky): in this film, in the break between the end of Round 2 and the beginning of Round 3, he is sitting in his corner getting a mouthful from Apollo. An assistant starts to spray something in his face (probably something to coagulate the blood, I don't know), but Rocky, who is focused intently on Apollo's furious coaching, opens his mouth as if he is expecting water to be sprayed in. He suddenly flinches in disgust as the spray goes in his mouth and stings his face. It's just a tiny tiny humorous moment that speaks loudly about attention to detail.

Or how about in Rocky 2, at the beginning of the match when they meet in the center of the ring and Apollo starts making his bravado-laden threats, we see Rocky just sort of nod and half-smile at him politely, then next you see a side-on shot of him turning to walk back to his corner, and the look on his face says "What a prick." Priceless.

I'm not a fan of boxing, or the first Rocky movie (too slow), or the last Rocky movie (huh?), but this one is extremely enjoyable for me to watch as a human being who faces challenges just like anyone else, and who needs that occasional inspiration to give me a dose of determination to overcome them.

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17 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
The Ups And Downs Of Rocky & Mr. T, 27 May 2006

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

For pure entertainment, this might be the best of the five "Rocky" movies. I mean, where else can you see Rocky, his entourage, Mr.T. and Hulk Hogan all creating mayhem in the same movie? Hokey? Oh, man, yes indeed, but it probably has more ups and downs and memorable scenes than any in this series. Some examples:

DOWN - "Rocky Balboa" (Sylvester Stallone) fights an exhibition match with a wild overzealous wrestling giant called "Thunderlips" (Hulk Hogan) and almost gets killed.

UP - However, he rallies to beat the over-sized animal.

DOWN - In defending his boxing title, Rocky gets pummeled by a loudmouth boxer "Clubber Lang" (Mr. T.).

DOWN - His longtime manager "Mickey" (Burgess Meredith) collapses at the arena before the fight and then dies.

UP - Rocky's former rival "Apollo Creed" agrees to train our hero in a re-match against the obnoxious villain Lang.

DOWN - Down and depressed, Rocky is unable to train and be has lost his will to fight again.

UP - He finds his "eye of the tiger" spirit and trains with great inspiration, becoming even and quicker and faster afoot than Creed!

This goes on and on and on, climaxed by the fight which, of course, has another 30 of these "ups and downs." By the end, you're more worn out than Burgess Meredith. Mr. T, by the way, makes a great villain and the filmmakers added to the suspense using slow-motion action scenes and effective sound with all the punches, grunts and groans all add to the circus-like atmosphere. Nobody grunted like Mr. T!

It's corny, it's hokey, etc., but it somehow works and certainly gives the viewer what it delivers in the ring: non-stop entertainment.

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17 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
Surprisingly good addition to the "Rocky" series..., 22 January 2004

Author: MovieAddict2008 from UK

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

"No, I don't hate Balboa. I pity the fool."

- Mr. T

Who would have ever thought that, after a sequel to a movie that needed none, the "Rocky" chronicles could remain so interesting? Yes, a lot of people make fun of these movies, but I've always thought that the "Rocky" sequels were a lot better than they could have been -- especially considering the fact that the first film is arguably one of the greatest ever made, and definitely not the type of film that should have merited four sequels. How many times can we see Rocky re-train and win a battle? It's always the same. Yet somehow "Rocky III" comes across as a fresh one-two punch. Extremely easy to watch and fun to get into, this is a retread of the first and second film. But, as I said, somehow everything seems fresh.

Arguably the final "good" film in the series (although I still consider the last two passable), this chapter sees the death of Mickey (Burgess Meredith), a fierce opponent (Mr. T) ready to take on Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), an angry Paulie (Burt Young), an eager-to-train Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), and an insane 7-foot boxer (Hulk Hogan).

After defeating Apollo Creed at the end of Part II, Rocky is challenged and defeated in the ring by Clubber Lang (Mr. T). Things continue to go wrong when his boxing trainer dies, and Rocky drifts into a state of self loathing and hatred. After the city of Philadelphia presents him with a statue of himself, he drives over to it with his motorcycle and throws his helmet at it.

Rocky blames himself for Mickey's death, and nearly turns down Apollo's offer to train Rocky so that he can enter the ring one more time and give a real beating to Clubber Lang. But alas, he decides to enter into the ring one last time, and so with the help of Apollo and his wife (Talia Shire), he trains harder and longer than he ever has before.

That is all there is, in short. In between we get corny dialogue like, "You've gotta get back the Eye of the Tiger, man!" while the song plays in the background as we see Rocky and Apollo running on the beach in short-shorts and lifting weights together and boxing and doing jump ropes. (These things may be interpreted as homosexual nowadays, by the way.)

Having boxed a bit myself, the "Rocky" series always seems pretty close to reality. I've never been in a ring like "real" boxers, but I've done the same training with boxing bags and running and jump ropes and so on. It's hard work, just like it is in the movie. And this is the perfect film to give you the inspiration to work out. Strange, right? Don't ever, ever quote me on that last paragraph. In fact, just forget the entire thing.

The film, written and directed by Stallone, is surprisingly sweet and endearing. We still care for Rocky after three films -- and hey, as old as the training scenes may get, I still love them. This movie isn't as good as the first "Rocky," or maybe even the second, but I still say that this series has a long way to go before it reaches the murky depths of "Police Academy."

And take some advice from Stallone: "Boy, sometimes charity really hurts!" Oh, wait, never mind. Wrong quote. How about this? "Nothing is real if you don't believe in who you are!" Okay, it's not the next "Citizen Kane." But you'll be hard-pressed to find a more entertaining second sequel than this.

3.5/5 stars.

- John Ulmer

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17 out of 21 people found the following comment useful :-
A great flick !, 1 April 2001
Author: (caspian1978@hotmail.com) from Attleboro, MA

Another film worthy of a Frank Stallone sound track, Rocky 3 has been one of the biggest box office turn outs in history. Not only did every Italian American run out to see this film when it was in the theaters but it made the song "Eye of the Tiger" a national hit. Rocky 3 was also a debut film for MR. T. An excellent performance as one of the best villains in movie history. This one is not only written by Sly....it is also directed by him as well. Check it out.

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10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
boxing clever, 23 March 2006

Author: garywoodburn from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Watching Rocky 3 again – I was struck by how nice a bookend to the whole piece it would have been. I'm a huge fan of these movies – I believe they rise above the popcorn bracket they are placed in.

As much as i love the idea of 4 and 5 and 6 for that matter it gets a bit ridiculous to watch his IQ rise and fall through the series. Indeed by 2007 when the last is released we should expect to see a bubbling wreck a la the once mighty Ali – which might have been a nice character piece – but what we'll get maybe we'll get that one in a few years.

But back to Rocky 3. Mr T is menacing – Coach is frail and plucky and the Adrian/Paulie siblings continue to annoy rather than add to the story. Adrian now seems adept at motivational speaking and Paulie just plain gets on the nerves. The reason I say it would make a perfect end to the series is that a lot of things come full circle. Rocky and his one time enemy become friends – Mickey dies and Adrian blossoms fully. Rocky proves that he is not just a one time lucky bum made good by beating not just the new threat to the throne but his own fears.

Sure it's east to see it doesn't have the gravitas of the original but it has moments. And above all else Stallone created a character that people just love to get behind.

A worthy film to any DVD collection. Take it for what it is and not what others try to make of it. It's good solid entertainment and won't disappoint.

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14 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
A Fighter. A Lover. A Legend. The Greatest Challenge., 16 May 2002
Author: Old Joe from Hamilton, Australia

Rocky III brings out a lot of raw emotion, in a heartfelt third sequel. This film also proves that some people have times where the motivation to want to do something is impossible to recapture, and that anyone who gets complacent about where he or she is in life will not achieve his or her full potential. However with some encouragement from family and friends, anything and everything is possible. Rocky seems to make me want to bring the best out in myself, when at times I feel like doing the exact opposite.

Having defeated heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, Rocky now holds the title and all of the comforts it brings. Gone is the self-doubting, small time boxer – the new Rocky even takes the time to compete in charity events most notably against the mountain of muscle, Hulk Hogan. His perfect world is rocked by a challenge from the obnoxious and taunting Chubber Lang. Rocky does not take the fight seriously – despite his boxing prowess, he lacks raw hunger of his opponent and is defeated. The loss is however is incomparable with the tragedy of the death of his longtime trainer, Mickey. Rocky is taken aback when Apollo Creed offers to train him and win back the heavyweight crown in the ‘comeback of the century'. All Apollo wants in return is a ‘favour', which he will not disclose until after the fight. With Creed's help Rocky again develops ‘the eye of the tiger' and the scene is set for another powerful battle in the ring.

The cast of Rocky III was great once again. Taking on the roll of Rocky for a third time was Sylvester Stallone. I have watched the whole serious and his acting ability just gets better and better. His scenes along with Carl Weathers in this movie are really special. I am sure these two would be good friends in real life and I can see why they are. It was the final time we get to see the ever-green Burgess Meredith. His role as Rocky's trainer Mickey ended in this part of the Rocky saga, which for me was a little sad. He was the perfect person for the role of Mickey, as he made you feel as if he was a real boxing trainer. There was also another good role from the now ‘Mrs. Balboa', of course I am talking about Talia Shire. She was such a good choice as Adrian. I am sure a famous actress would have spoiled that part of Rocky.

Yet the one surprising part of this cast is a new edition, that being the brutal Mr. T. He made his presence felt onscreen extremely well. I enjoyed how you felt he was so confident, yet he had the fist to back it up. I never got that heavily into The A-Team, but what I can remembering seeing of it was enjoyable. His role in that show was also very heavy, but he was one person you could look forward too seeing on TV.

The story of Rocky III was for an enjoyable one. To have our champ up against it, for me made this an interesting premise. Then to thrown in the death of trainer, a very angry opponent, who is sure that he can take out Balboa in two miserly rounds. Then to top it off we have the great rivals, becoming great friends and teaming up to defeat this very nasty opponent. Stallone is a great writer, with the Rocky franchise a joy to watch in my view.

Up in till now, I have not mentioned the powerful soundtracks that accompany these great movies. The main theme especially had a powerful impact on me, to the extent, that I wanted to try and achieve something that normally I would say is just too hard to do. The trumpets at the start are just great. Yet the third movie was based around the ‘eye of the tiger'. This was in relation into Rocky get that hunger back to get back into the ring as a real fighter. The eye of the tiger is also a great song that was sung by the group, Survivor. As the movies are made in this series, the music just gets better and better.

So Rocky III makes my summation from the first film come true, that Rocky is truly about motivation. Yet it also shows that if you can rekindle the passion, then you can achieve more than you could ever wished for. With its powerful music, great acting and story, I am glad that by 1982 the world had seen 3 movies with the name ‘Rocky' attached to them!

Rating: 4 Stars or 9/10

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Wow, Look Who's Still Got It!, 11 November 2007

Author: Xander Seavy (RiffRaffMcKinley) from United States

30 minutes shorter than its predecessors-- according to audience reactions I still disagree with, that's the same curse that held "Superman IV" in Hollywood Purgatory (or maybe lower).

Thank heavens "Rocky III" is still an enjoyable piece of work!

For Stallone's second shot in the director's chair, he pits his famous character against Clubber Lang, a testosterone-oozing Mr. T. The trouble is, has Rocky grown complacent in light of his massive celebrity?

While it does stick to something of a formula, R3 still comes out swinging, with more humor and better drama than the first two, but doesn't reach the cheer-inspiring fever pitch of the second.

A worthwhile entry.

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
"rock" on, rocky., 10 June 2005

Author: The_Light_Triton (Black_triton14@hotmail.com) from In a Chair in my room

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This is my favorite in the rocky movies. Sylvester Stallone is awesome. Mr. t is great. Bringing in hulk hogan to beat the crap out of Rocky had me cheering.

So rocky finally beats up Apollo creed, a legendary boxer. so rocky is now famous, doing ads and TV shows like the Muppet show. now, Mr. t, or clubber Lang, is very angry, saying he wants his shot at the title. rocky's fame starts going to his head, so he takes the challenge. he gets easily beaten by clubber, and then loses his motivation. and then Apollo comes to him and tells him he has what it takes to get it back. so will he fight Clubber and win the title?

This movie takes the icing with the actors. Sylvester Stallone, Mr. T, and Hulk hogan are enough to bring audiences.

This movie is 10 / 10

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9 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
A sequel that, if nothing else, is better than part II., 4 February 1999
Author: Glyn Ingram (mringram@hotmail.com) from London, England

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

There's no denying it:- These "Rocky" movies may be covering the similar ground with every new installment, and they may each suffer from the same blatant faults...But they still remain downright entertaining! Why it is, I don't know. You always come away on top of the World when you watch a "Rocky" film. Perhaps its because of Stallone's ability to always make Rocky appear as the underdog in the films, even though, by this stage, he's meant to be a World heavyweight champion.... ....Or perhaps its those brilliantly directed and edited training sequences, which seem to improve with every new installment. Or, perhaps its those memorable one-liners. "Rocky III" certainly has plenty of them, including a classic moment where Mr. T (Rocky's new opponent) decides to 'Mouth off' to Rocky's wife during a public speech.

Anyway, after the more disappointing "Rocky II," the Rocky series has become much more of a fantasy. In the opening quarter, we're 'Treated' to an entertaining fight between our hero and the wrestling champion Hulk Hogan at a so-called Charity event. It's predictably fun to watch, but it's only in there for fun anyway. Meanwhile, during the opening sequence, we're introduced to the new boxer in town - A rather hard-looking man called Clubber Lang (Mr.T) who "Wants to whip Rocky Balboa's ass." And he does. During the second part of the movie, following the death of Rocky's trainer (Burgess Merideth), Rocky returns to the ring and is defeated tragically. But all is not lost, for Apollo Creed, Rocky's arch-enemy in the first two Rocky movies, wants to train our hero back up, and return him to the champion status that he was once at....

It's all here:- The good fun training sequences, the one-liners, the fast editing (Sometimes), the stupidly unrealistic boxing sequences and the occasional domestic arguments.

To "Rocky III's" credit, however, despite a relativly weighty storyline (Well, quite a lot happens!), the film never feels rushed or jam-packed, and, as with the other "Rocky" movies, it is far from being overlong or taking up too much time.

In its way, some of the scenes are quite touching, too, and Sylvester Stallone is back on board to give it all he's got as both writer, actor and director. The other performances are all above par too, and at least Stallone isn't frightened to make major changes to the character and the story with each new instalment (e.g. The death of the trainer), unlike with part II, which in some ways fell like a repeat of one.

"Rocky IV" is even more trashy than this movie, but it still remains above par Hollywood entertainment, and is hell of a lot better than a lot of other boxing movies around today. Worth a look for the training sequences alone. How can you not LOVE that 80's music?

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Round 3: Rocky Balboa vs. Mr. T. I Pity the Fool Who'd Miss This Fight!, 24 April 2005

Author: (robocoptng986127@aol.com) from U.S.A

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Our story begins right before our last one left off: Italian Stallion Rocky Balboa versus Apollo Creed in a devastating rematch. With some powerful punches, Rocky lays out Apollo as they both fall to the arena floor. Rocky manages to get up so he wins. He is the new Heavyweight Champion of the World! And since then, Rocky has been traveling the world, fighting in numerous and rigorous boxing matches. He's appeared in commercials, TV shows, even The Muppet Show. Yes, these past 6 years, Rocky Balboa had become a household name. But unbeknownst to Rocky, a tough, gritty, southpaw boxer named Clubber Lang had been watching Rocky for 6 years and demanded to fight him. Clubber has won match after match, pummeling each opponent beyond recognition, and he desperately wanted to challenge Rocky for the title of Heavyweight Champ. Meanwhile, Paulie began losing a lot of respect for his friend Rocky and wanted nothing further to do with him, until he offered him a job. Rocky, Adrian and Rocky Jr. have moved from their townhouse into a giant mansion, and invited Mickey and Paulie to move in with them. Life was great. Then one night, Rocky would be fighting in the ring for charity. His opponent: a wrestler. Yes, 6'6, 390 pounds Thunderlips!

Now a match between a boxer and a wrestler is never pretty. Thunderlips climbed into the ring and wanted nothing more than to twist Rocky's head from his shoulders. The fight was on. Thunderlips proceeded to crush Rocky, slam him against his knee, slam him to the floor and jump on him, and finally chucked him right out of the ring. But Rocky bounced right back and finally played out some old school boxing. He successfully laid out Thunderlips and tossed HIM out of the ring. It was a tie and they raised $75,000 for charity; Rocky had a statue of himself dedicated to him, and as he spoke to the crowd, Clubber Lang approached him and demanded a fight, but Rocky had decided to give up the ship and retire from boxing. But when Clubber crossed the line taunting him, the fight was on. But Mickey wanted nothing to do with it and decided to leave. Rocky pleaded with him so he agreed to train him. But instead of doing it at Mickey's gym, they trained in an area filled with Rocky's fans, Rocky merchandise, and a band! Finally, the night of the fight was on. Clubber Lang was driven by anger and sheer hatred. The fight was over in the second round, Clubber had won and Rocky had lost his title of Heavyweight Champ. Worse to come, Mickey's health was failing quickly and he died later that night. After the funeral, Rocky was inconsolable. He didn't know what to do. It was then that his former opponent, Apollo Creed, approached him and offered to train him for a rematch with Clubber.

So, Rocky, Apollo, Adrian and Paulie head for Los Angeles to the neighborhood gym where Apollo started out. It was in a trashy neighborhood which didn't appeal to Paulie at all. Rocky's heart just wasn't in to training. He blamed himself for Mickey's death. It wasn't until Adrian confronted him that he suddenly found the courage and the strength. So, Rocky and Apollo engage in rigorous training. They ran on the beach, swam laps in the pool, even pummeled the old punching bag. And before you can say, "It's the eye of the tiger, the thrill of the fight",Rocky Balboa had once again become a lean, mean, boxing machine. And so, the rematch with Clubber Lang was on in Madison Square Gardens. Apollo gave Rocky his old red, white and blue trunks to wear. Clubber was even angrier and filled with even more hate than before. He was going to paint the arena with Rocky's brains. Round 1: Rocky had the advantage, but Clubber quickly countered with jab thrusts. Round 2: Clubber had the advantage and pounded on Rocky with numerous blows to the face. By Round 3: both men stained in sweat and blood, lunged at each other. Clubber laid out Rocky with some death-defying blows. It seemed like it was all over for the Italian Stallion, when suddenly he bounced back and pounded Clubber like there was no tomorrow and laid him out with an vigorous, angry blow. The fight was his! Rocky Balboa was once again the Heavyweight Champion of the World! After the fight, Rocky and Apollo do a little sparring for old time's sake.

Well, what can I say about Rocky III? It was good. Just as good as the 1976 original and 1979 sequel. Sylvester Stallone is back as Rock, and is as good as ever. Talia Shire is back as Adrian, Burt Young is Paulie, Carl Weathers is Apollo and Burgess Meredith is Mickey. All turned in great performances. This was sadly the last movie for Mickey, even though he makes a short appearance in Rocky V. Too bad, Mickey was a great character and Burgess Meredith was so good as him. We have Mr. T, famous boxer and future star of "The A-Team" as Clubber Lang, and WWF wrestling champ Hulk Hogan as Thunderlips. This one has a lot more fighting than the last two movies. It focuses more on Rocky boxing than Rocky outside the arena. And "Eye of the Tiger " is an awesome song! So, if you've seen Rocky and Rocky II, by all means, see Rocky III! Sly Stallone wrote and directed. Then see Rocky IV and V. I recommend Rocky III. I pity the fool that don't see this movie!

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