Rocky II begins where its predecessor ended, in the 15th round of the unknown Philadelphia boxer's fight against Champion Apollo Creed. Having gone the distance with the world's greatest boxer and proven himself more than just a publicity stunt buffoon, Rocky is carried off to the hospital where he's warned that another fight could result in blindness. Marrying his introverted sweetheart Adrian, he settles into the uncertain life of an instant celebrity with neither the brains nor experience to handle his new wealth and 15 minutes of fame. A total bust at any kind of work (including a failed stint as a TV commercial spokesperson), running low on cash after a wild spending spree and with a new baby on the way, Rocky is forced to take a backbreaking job in a meat-packing plant - virtually back to square one in his life and, dramatically speaking, re-set for the fairy-tale transformation that was the high point of the first picture. Taunted by Creed into a rematch, Rocky decides to return to the ring. Cue the cantankerous manager/trainer, the rousing Bill Conti music, the triumphant run through the streets of Philadelphia and up the iconic steps of the city's art museum (accompanied this time by a crowd of cheering kids), and, of course, the climactic fight, as expertly filmed and edited as the original.
It all worked the first time around and Stallone didn't miss a trick in making it work again. In fact, at 119 minutes, it was exactly the same length as the earlier film. The picture was one of the top moneymakers of its year, and some critics said it was better than the original.
Having cut his directorial teeth with Paradise Alley (1978), Stallone decided not only to script and play the lead again but to take on the directing chores. Although at the time of Rocky II's production Stallone said he saw the movie as the middle part of a trilogy, the popular palooka hero would eventually appear in five pictures, all of them written by their star, who also directed all but the first and last of the series. Producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff, as well as co-stars Burt Young and Talia Shire (Francis Ford Coppola's sister and mother of Jason Schwartzman, star of Rushmore, 1998), returned for all five, and Carl Weathers appeared in all but the final entry, Rocky V (1990).
During filming, Stallone tore a pectoralis major muscle, preventing him from throwing anything but a short uppercut. Some shots of the extended boxing match sequence then had to be shot very closely to cover the limitation. Fortunately, the script called for Rocky to change up into a left-handed attack, otherwise the sequence could not have been completed.
The movie failed to garner any of the ten Oscar® nominations given its predecessor, but as a measure of Rocky's enduring popularity, this sequel received both the American Movie Award and the People's Choice Award.
Producer: Robert Chartoff, Arthur Chobanian, Irwin Winkler
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Screenplay: Sylvester Stallone
Cinematography: Bill Butler
Film Editing: Stanford C. Allen, Janice Hampton
Art Direction: Richard Berger
Music: Bill Conti, Frank Stallone
Cast: Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa), Talia Shire (Adrian), Burt Young (Paulie), Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed), Burgess Meredith (Mickey), Tony Burton (Apollo's Trainer).
C-119m. Letterboxed.
by Rob Nixon
