Rocky II

I suppose the plot of Rocky II was the most obvious one of the series, the rematch between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed after the split decision result at the end of the first movie, but boy does it take it's sweet time getting there.

The sequel picks up essentially right where the first film ended, with a recap of the fight between Rocky (played by Sylvester Stallone) and Apollo (played by Carl Weathers) at the end of the first film. As the two are wheeled into the hospital, the press start asking them questions about the fight. Apollo breaks his promise of there being no rematch in record time when the press challenges his performance. Rocky turns down the offer as time passes. Rocky tries to trade on his notoriety by doing some commercials, but discovers he can't act and has difficulty reading the cue cards due to an injury to his right eye from the fight. Rocky proposes to Adrian (played by Talia Shire) and she accepts. The two buy a house together and before long they have a baby on the way. Rocky is having difficulty finding a way to support his new family and thinking of returning to fighting despite his promise to Adrian not to. Meanwhile, Apollo is getting hate mail claiming the fight was fixed, only fueling his desire for a rematch. Rocky finally accepts the challenge and with the help of Mickey (played by Burgess Meredith) he trains harder than ever with the goal of defeating Apollo in the ring.

There is a lot to like about Rocky II. Seeing the continuing romance of Rocky and Adrian was very cute and heartwarming. Seeing Rocky trying to build a life for his new family and hitting roadblock after roadblock was heartrending. Of course the training sequences were inspiring and awesome, especially with the admittingly corny but still awesome scene where Rocky runs through the streets of Philadelphia only to have some of the neighborhood kids start running with him, only to turn into a full on mob by the time he gets to the iconic Philadelphia Museum of Art steps. I know it's cheesy as hell, but it's still one of my favorite scenes in the movie. The climactic fight is also quite epic, even if the ending isn't exactly a huge surprise. While all the performances are good this time out as well, I have to give special mention to Burgess Meredith this time around. I swear, while everyone else wasn't looking he just picked up the movie and walked off with it. Every time he showed up on screen, I perked up a little as he interjected a little extra life into the film.     

The real problem with Rocky II, and it's not enough to ruin the movie by any means, is that is takes forever to get going. The front end of the movie is burdened with scene after scene of Rocky marrying Adrian, blowing through the money he got the from the fight, trying to find work, etc. All of this is important and everything, but it also gets a bit repetitive and drags things out when the audience really wants the plot to get going. We know the rematch is going to happen. There's no suspense there, it's why we bought the ticket. Like I said, it's not enough to ruin the film, but the pacing is a bit off and the beginning is more drawn out than it needs to be.

Overall, Rocky II wasn't quite as good as the first film. Sequels rarely are, but it is still a strong follow-up to the original film. It's not a perfect film, but it is a frequently entertaining one, especially any time Burgess Meredith is on screen.