I saw this for free in the theater and I have to say that it was definitely worth what I paid for it.
I couldn't help but notice the very awkward change of pace that happened once the fight was set up. There's an hour or more spent on Adrian not being there, Rocky running a restaurant, characters that don't amount to anything, etc.
It has a cool, leisurely pace at this point, but once the fight is set, there's a 2-minute training montage and the next thing you know, they're in Vegas. It felt as though someone hit fast-forward just to get to the fight quicker.
And once the fight did happen, I didn't seem to care. There was no mystery at all. Rocky was fighting for personal reasons that were resolved regardless of whether or not he won, lost, went the distance, etc. He just wanted to let loose the beast inside, and it's never in doubt that he would do so with relative ease.
He has no problems getting back into shape and fighting the greatest fighter in the sport that day even after a long furlough. During the fight, Dixon is the one who gets hurt and has to fight harder to survive, not Rocky. Hell, the computer even said Rocky would pound Dixon's ass, so where is Rocky's external struggle? There was no question as to whether or not Rocky would accomplish his goal because his goal was never displayed in any physical way. How do we know if he's vanquished the demons within if all we see is him taking a pounding, giving a pounding, and then taking another pounding? I didn't see any progress toward his goal from the point he stepped into the ring to when the final bell rang.
The supporting characters were drawn very weak. Paulie is back for no reason other than because he was in the original film. Then he loses his job? What's that all about? Why did it have to happen and what did that amount to? Rocky's son quits his job but is never shown taking a second step forward after that. It's never resolved. Marie was semi-interesting, but clearly just pasted in because there had to be some kind of female interest for the male lead. But like I mentioned before, no mystery in this story. Rocky verbally states that Adrian is/was the only woman for him, so why bring Marie into the picture? She's obviously not going to hook up with Rocky, and it makes her seem like a fifth wheel (her son serving even less of a purpose).
Even the dog didn't do it for me. The only reason the dog was there was because Rocky had a dog in the original, but in the first Rocky film, the dog served a purpose (a symbol of Adrian's love for Rocky). In the new film, the dog is there and gone again as though it wasn't even needed in any way at all.
This film exists only as a paycheck for Stallone. It simply does not function on it's own merit, must rests entirely on the audience's love for the quality of the original Rocky. In other words, there is absolutely no reason to watch this movie. You get nothing new from it. Just watch the original Rocky film instead.
I couldn't help but notice the very awkward change of pace that happened once the fight was set up. There's an hour or more spent on Adrian not being there, Rocky running a restaurant, characters that don't amount to anything, etc.
It has a cool, leisurely pace at this point, but once the fight is set, there's a 2-minute training montage and the next thing you know, they're in Vegas. It felt as though someone hit fast-forward just to get to the fight quicker.
And once the fight did happen, I didn't seem to care. There was no mystery at all. Rocky was fighting for personal reasons that were resolved regardless of whether or not he won, lost, went the distance, etc. He just wanted to let loose the beast inside, and it's never in doubt that he would do so with relative ease.
He has no problems getting back into shape and fighting the greatest fighter in the sport that day even after a long furlough. During the fight, Dixon is the one who gets hurt and has to fight harder to survive, not Rocky. Hell, the computer even said Rocky would pound Dixon's ass, so where is Rocky's external struggle? There was no question as to whether or not Rocky would accomplish his goal because his goal was never displayed in any physical way. How do we know if he's vanquished the demons within if all we see is him taking a pounding, giving a pounding, and then taking another pounding? I didn't see any progress toward his goal from the point he stepped into the ring to when the final bell rang.
The supporting characters were drawn very weak. Paulie is back for no reason other than because he was in the original film. Then he loses his job? What's that all about? Why did it have to happen and what did that amount to? Rocky's son quits his job but is never shown taking a second step forward after that. It's never resolved. Marie was semi-interesting, but clearly just pasted in because there had to be some kind of female interest for the male lead. But like I mentioned before, no mystery in this story. Rocky verbally states that Adrian is/was the only woman for him, so why bring Marie into the picture? She's obviously not going to hook up with Rocky, and it makes her seem like a fifth wheel (her son serving even less of a purpose).
Even the dog didn't do it for me. The only reason the dog was there was because Rocky had a dog in the original, but in the first Rocky film, the dog served a purpose (a symbol of Adrian's love for Rocky). In the new film, the dog is there and gone again as though it wasn't even needed in any way at all.
This film exists only as a paycheck for Stallone. It simply does not function on it's own merit, must rests entirely on the audience's love for the quality of the original Rocky. In other words, there is absolutely no reason to watch this movie. You get nothing new from it. Just watch the original Rocky film instead.