| Rocky II(1979) Cast:Sylvester Stallone,Carl Weathers,Talia Shire,Burt Young,Burgess Meredith This time Rocky(Stallone) trains for a rematch against champ Apollo Creed (Weathers) while also marrying his girlfriend and getting ready for parenthood in this at times silly yet quite effective sequel which features a climax so exciting one can't help but feel good after it. If Rocky was the ultimate feel-good sequel, than Rocky II is an agreeable sequel, Stallone takes a little of the focus off of the chracters in favor of more training montage, but still manages to create an overall uplifting movie that works fairly well. The climax though is what really sells the concept of Rocky II, this is a boxing match so well staged and so suspenseful it earns the movie a recommendation on it's own. Stallone pushes all the right buttons and manages to get even the most cynical involved with the action taking place. Say what you will about Sylvester Stallone, but he knows exactly how to make a feel-good movie work, Even Stallone detractors will be secretly cheering Rocky on. .D.Sylvester Stallone*** |