Rocky III

ROCKY III
1982 | Dir. Sylvester Stallone | 100 Minutes

 "There is no tomorrow!"

Living in comfort and softened by a series of easy victories after becoming the heavyweight champion of the world, Rocky is challenged and soundly defeated by a true contender. Subsequently, Mickey dies from a heart attack. Picking himself up from a low point in his life and in his career, Rocky befriends his formal rival Apollo Creed, trains with him and his team in Los Angeles in hopes of regaining his title, his motivation, and his pride.

Sylvester Stallone's Rocky III takes the character of Rocky to a new and entertainingly incredulous direction. Rocky seems to have lost his endearingly humble ways, memorably playing the fool in a charity match against a pro-wrestler portrayed by Hulk Hogan and training in a luxury hotel instead of Mickey's gym. Rocky's wake-up call comes in the form of Mr. T's Clubber Lang, a twisted reflection of Rocky's journey from hungry up-and-coming fighter to world champion.

Sylvester Stallone plays up Rocky's vulnerability and insecurity, sharing some of his best scenes with Talia Shire's Adrian. By Rocky III, Adrian has developed into Rocky's emotional anchor, and Shire delivers her best performance in the series yet. Loaded with personality Mr. T is memorable as antagonist Clubber Lang, aggressively verbose and formidable, delivering an instantly iconic performance. Burgess Meredith delivers a touching performance as Mickey, his character passing away in a deeply affecting scene halfway through the film. Burt Young's Paulie is as amusingly volatile as ever, this time with an uncomfortable racist bent during the Los Angeles segment of the picture.

At times cartoonish but retaining the inspirational heart of the series, Rocky III is arguably the most entertaining film in the series. Thematically, Rocky III is centered on the belief that in order for greatness to be retained, the great must continue to learn, to improve, and to fight without becoming complacent. Though nowhere near the high standard set by the first Rocky film, Rocky III may be more of an essential part of the Rocky canon than Rocky II.


FRAGMENTS
- The film opens with an adrenaline-pumping montage of Rocky's victories set to Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" which has since become as synonymous with the Rocky film series as Bill Conti's "Gonna Fly Now"

- The bronze statue of Rocky at the top of the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art was donated by Sylvester Stallone to the city of Philadelphia after the release of Rocky III and is currently resides at the bottom of the stairs by the museum

- With no acting or boxing experience, Mr. T was cast as Clubber Lang after Sylvester Stallone spotted him on television in the "America's Toughest Bouncer" competition

- The woman who asks Rocky for a kiss during his public training session is played by Sasha Stallone, Sylvester Stallone's wife at the time of the film


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Sylvester Stallone (Stakar in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)

Rocky II

ROCKY II
1979 | Dir. Sylvester Stallone | 119 Minutes

"This guy don't just wanna win, you know, he wants to bury ya, he wants to humiliate ya, he wants to prove to the whole world that you was nothin’ but some kind of a freak the first time out."

Immediately following his loss against Apollo Creed, Rocky retires from boxing and marries Adrian but struggles to find legitimate employment. Meanwhile, with his pride hurting from public scrutiny stemming from Rocky's near-victory, Apollo challenges Rocky to a rematch. Rocky once again trains with Mickey to reenter the ring and prove himself.

As Rocky is challenged to prove that his going the distance with Apollo Creed wasn't a fluke, Sylvester Stallone is pressured to produce a sequel on par with the original modern classic. Though Rocky II is a decent sequel, it doesn't shine as bright as its predecessor. Rocky's true-to-life internal conflict isn't nearly as convincing this time around as his reentering the ring to face Apollo again is a foregone conclusion in order to advance the plot. Highlights of the film include a humorous training sequence in which Mickey makes Rocky chase a live chicken and Rocky's thrilling rematch against Apollo that has Rocky employing a new strategy due to an injury sustained during their previous match.

Charming and inspirational as ever, Sylvester Stallone returns to his signature role with unsurprising ease. While Adrian is developed into a stronger, more outspoken character, Talia Shire is allowed more opportunities to demonstrate her talent despite her limited screen time. Once again, Burgess Meredith continues to be a scene-stealer as Mickey, Burt Young's Paulie is as surly as ever - bordering on despicable considering his character’s treatment of Adrian, and Carl Weathers brings a surprisingly element of pathos to the role of the prideful Apollo Creed.

The picture is a natural and entertaining continuation of Rocky Balboa's story, mostly consistent in quality to the first Rocky film. However, written and produced as a straight-forward sequel with no real surprises, Rocky II inevitably lacks to originality of the original film, retreading too much of the same ground.


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Sylvester Stallone (Stakar in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)

Rocky

ROCKY
1976 | Dir. John G. Avildsen | 119 Minutes

"Nobody's ever gone the distance with Creed, and if I can go that distance and that bell rings and I'm still standin', I'm gonna know for the first time in my life that I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood."

Washed-up Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa is chosen by world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed to be his next opponent. With support from cranky boxing coach Mickey and his mousy girlfriend Adrian, Rocky overcomes all odds, including his personal demons, and enters the ring, taking the chance of a lifetime, and doing the impossible by going the distance against the champ.

Written by and starring then-unknown Sylvester Stallone, Rocky may be the ultimate inspirational underdog fairy tale. First and foremost a character piece, the role of Rocky was written to be a reflection of Stallone's real life struggles at the time. Seen by most as nothing more than an uneducated bruiser, Rocky's brutish exterior hides a big heart and a fierce determination to succeed waiting to be awakened. The picture features one of the most famous training montages ever filmed, the first movie sequence ever to utilize the Steadicam, with Rocky jogging through the streets of Philadelphia set to Bill Conti's iconic rousing musical score.

Sylvester Stallone drives the film with a genuinely heroic performance, playing the title role with humor, grit, vulnerability, and heart. As the shy introvert Adrian, Talia Shire conveys a quiet hidden strength, perfectly complementing Stallone's Rocky. Character actor Burgess Meredith plays Mickey with explosive energy, delivering many of the film's best lines. Brimming with style and charisma, Former pro football player Carl Weathers is expertly cast as the bombastic Apollo Creed. Rounding out the supporting cast is Burt Young as Rocky's unpleasant rough-around-the-edges best friend Paulie.

Rocky is a crowd-pleaser that tells a universally appealing story. Sylvester Stallone's star-making all-or-nothing dream project is a Hollywood classic for the ages.


FRAGMENTS
- Frank Stallone, Sylvester Stallone's brother, makes a cameo appearance as a singer on a street corner

- Boxer Joe Frazier, who famously boxed three times against Muhammad Ali (a partial inspiration for the character of Apollo Creed), makes a cameo appearance in the film

- Troma Entertainment co-founder Lloyd Kaufman, who assisted in the production of Rocky, has a cameo appearance as drunk


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Lloyd Kaufman (Gridlemop in Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)

- Sylvester Stallone (Stakar in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)

Going the Distance: Rocky

"You, me or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward."

Released in 1976 and winning several Academy Awards including Best Picture, Rocky brought Sylvester Stallone instant fame and began one of the most popular movie series in the world. With passion and conviction, Stallone wrestled with Hollywood executives to retain the integrity of his original screenplay inspired by boxer Rocky Marciano and his own real life personal struggles. Instantly iconic, often emulated and parodied, the inspiring and universally relatable story of Rocky Balboa rings true. The film transcends what most would write off as a simple boxing movie to become what is essentially a synonym for "crowd-pleasing underdog film."

The success of Rocky paved the way for five direct sequels and a spin-off film series centered on the son of Rocky's rival Apollo Creed with Stallone's Rocky as an essential supporting character. Spanning four decades of cinema history, the Rocky film series turned Carl Weathers, Mr. T, and Dolph Lundgren into action stars. Running parallel to the life and professional career of Stallone, most apparent in the fluctuating thematic focal points and varying overall quality of each film in the series, the extended saga of Rocky Balboa is American cinema's ultimate inspirational fairy tale.

Ant-Man

ANT-MAN
2015 | Dir. Peyton Reed | 117 Minutes

"I know a guy."

To stop a powerful and potentially dangerous technology from falling into the wrong hands, pioneering former SHIELD scientist Hank Pym recruits Scott Lang, a down-on-his-luck master burglar, to steal and destroy the tech from his wayward protégé at the headquarters of his own company. With the help Pym’s inventions, combat training from Pym’s estranged daughter Hope, a ragtag group of thieves, and an army of ants at his command, Lang becomes an unlikely microscopic superhero.

Thoroughly comedic in tone and with a whole lot of heart to boot, writers Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish built what is essentially a quirky heist film that happens to feature a man who can shrink. Comedy director Peyton Reed, along with additional writers Adam McKay and Paul Rudd pile on an extra layer of snappy humor. However, after a light and fun training montage, the film runs into pacing problems roughly halfway through its runtime, with weighty but touching drama clashing with significant dose of exposition in just a handful of consecutive scenes. Fortunately, a surprise fight scene between our hero and an Avenger, and the film’s culminating action sequences are absolutely fantastic, playing with scale in truly inventive ways featuring spectacular visual effects, with Lang's insect friends often stealing the spotlight.

Best known as a supporting comedic actor, Paul Rudd is appropriately charismatic as the scrappy Scott Lang, naturally funny but still able to sell the role’s dramatic beats especially in the scenes he shares with child actress Abby Ryder Fortson who plays Lang’s daughter Cassie. Veteran Oscar winner Michael Douglas brings his A-game to the role of Hank Pym, carrying much of the dramatic weight of the picture, truly committing to the part of a tortured scientist trying to patch the rift between him and his daughter while taking full responsibility for the mistakes of his past. As Hope van Dyne, Evangeline Lilly does a fine job playing the tough no-nonsense frustrated woman who struggles to reconnect with her father, although the role in this film is relatively small, serving more to set up the character for future films. Though the part of the villain is slightly underwritten, Corey Stoll goes for broke as the ruthless mentally unhinged Darren Cross, completely letting loose in his own Yellowjacket power suit during the film’s final act.

The film sports a strong supporting cast of excellent character actors led by the scene-stealing Michael Peña as Luis, Lang’s overenthusiastic former cellmate and partner in crime. The rest of Lang’s crew consists of hip-hop artist Tip "T.I." Harris as getaway driver Dave and David Dastmalchian as computer hacker Kurt. The talented Judy Greer is featured in a very minor part as Lang’s ex-wife Maggie. Bobby Cannavale plays Maggie’s police officer fiancé Paxton whose partner Gale is played by Wood Harris. Martin Donovan makes several brief appearances as a former SHIELD leader Mitchell Carson, revealed to be a Hydra official. Returning from previous Marvel Cinematic Universe films are Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson in a brief but memorable turn, with quick cameos from John Slattery as Howard Stark returning from Iron Man 2 and Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter.

Ant-Man is a concentrated capsule of fun that tops off the second phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a more intimate story playing in stark contrast to the over-the-top grandeur of Avengers: Age of Ultron. As a feature-length denouement to Phase Two, it effectively establishes the post-Ultron world of the MCU, but above all it is still very much its own entertaining self-contained film.


MID-CREDITS STINGER
Pym gifts Hope a prototype of an advanced power suit so that she may follow her mother’s heroic footsteps as The Wasp.


POST-CREDITS STINGER
Dir. Anthony and Joe Russo
Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) are alone with an incapacitated Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). Pressed for allies, Sam mentions that he "knows a guy". The full version of this scene is featured in Captain America: Civil War.


STAN LEE CAMEO
Stan the Man is a bartender in a an elaborate chain of communication as part of Sam Wilson's attempt to reach out to Scott Lang to recruit him at the end of the film


FRAGMENTS
- The film was in development since the beginning of Phase One alongside Iron Man with British comedy director Edgar Wright set to direct until creative differences arose between Wright and Marvel Studios at the very end of pre-production (The Hollywood Reporter)

- Director Peyton Reed was once slated to directed Fantastic Four for 20th Century Fox in the early 2000s before leaving citing 20th Century Fox's mistreatment of the source material

- As Darren Cross theatrically dismisses the Ant-Man technology as Cold War propaganda to his clients, he throws out the phrase "Tales to Astonish", a reference to the comic book series in which Ant-Man made his debut in 1962

- During his mission to break into a Stark Industries warehouse, Christophe Beck’s musical score references Alan Silvestri’s theme for The Avengers when the warehouse is revealed to be the new Avengers Headquarters established in Avengers: Age of Ultron

- Christophe Beck's score also references Henry Jackman's theme for the Falcon from Captain America: The Winter Soldier when Scott unexpectedly faces off against Sam

- While infiltrating the Pym Technologies building as a phony security guard, Luis whistles "It’s a Small World," a nod to the Walt Disney Company, the current owners of Marvel Studios