Rocky III (1982) * * *

Directed by:  Sylvester Stallone

Starring:  Sylvester Stallone, Mr. T, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith

Circa 1988, I listed Rocky III among my ten favorite films.    25 years later, I consider it the third best of the Rocky series.    However, it is still fun although it doesn't have the engaging dialogue and power of Rocky nor the excitement of Rocky II.    Rocky III is the first in the series to show Rocky as a superhero who must take down the evil fighter looking to knock his block off.    Here, the number one contender Rocky must conquer is Clubber Lang (Mr. T), a ferocious knockout artist complete with a sneer and mohawk.  

Six years have passed since the initial film and Rocky is still heavyweight champion.    He easily dispatches his opponents over 10 title defenses, gaining popularity, celebrity, and wealth.    As Lang destroys foe after foe, he starts publicly challenging Rocky with insults and taunts.    Rocky's manager Mickey (Meredith) fears Lang, believing that Rocky has grown soft and would be annihilated by his mohawked challenger in quick fashion.     Rocky believes he can win, but Mickey bursts his balloon by telling Rocky that his recent opponents were hand-picked chumps who posed no real threat to him.    They agree to the fight, but while Rocky's public workouts are spectacles, Lang trains intensely in dark gyms pounding the hell out of a bag and doing countless pullups while grunting loudly.  

Right before the fight, Mickey suffers a heart attack and soon a distraught Rocky is pulverized in two rounds by his challenger.    Lang knew Rocky was a beaten man during the pre-match staredown.  "I looked in his eyes.  He's scared."   Mickey dies right after the loss and the mourning Rocky is approached by his foe from Rocky and Rocky II, Apollo Creed (Weathers).   Creed is retired, but misses the fight game and agrees to train Rocky for his rematch with Lang.   Rocky's training goes poorly at first, due to his lack of confidence and focus.    But after a heartfelt talk with Adrian, Rocky picks up the pace and becomes a lean, mean fighting machine.

Both of the fights in this film (not counting the "charity" match with wrestler Thunderlips (Hulk Hogan)) are brief compared to the 15-round epic battles between Rocky and Apollo.    Considering more punches are thrown in two rounds of Rocky III's fights than in most real boxing matches, it's just as well they only last a few rounds.   Rocky even adopts the "rope a dope" style made famous by Muhammad Ali during his 1975 fight with George Foreman.    However, I'm sure against a bonecruncher like Lang such a style is ill-advised.  

Clubber Lang is a one-dimensional, though entertaining villain.   Mr. T's acting style fits the character like a glove.   In Rocky III, most of the characters are not seen through.   Adrian shows up in a few tender scenes, but is otherwise unnecessary.    Paulie (Burt Young) is a soused whiner who should be grating on everyone's nerves after a while.    Rocky's battle with his self-confidence isn't quite as convincing as the personal struggles he dealt with in the first two movies.    Rocky III wasn't written to further explore the characters or add any additional depth.   It is more a fun, slick production for the dawn of the early 80's MTV generation.   The opening montage of Rocky's fights is set to the tune of Survivor's "Eye Of The Tiger", making it essentially a music video (back when MTV played such things). 

I enjoyed Rocky III mostly because the fights are entertaining and Mr. T has some neat one-liners like "I pity the fool" which became his signature catchphrase.    It is polished and engages on a superficial level.   Plus, it is satisfying to see Lang get his comeuppance.