Climbing into the ring a third time for Rocky III (1982), Sylvester Stallone confronts bigger issues than just a mere heavyweight championship bout in this sequel. Acting as star and director, Stallone decided to take a new approach to his character in Rocky III, which was probably influenced by his own sudden fame and celebrity as a Hollywood superstar. So in this third installment in the series, we find Rocky Balboa in the midst of an identity crisis. He's an average Joe who suddenly finds himself blinded by the bright lights of success. This is also the first Rocky picture to begin with our hero as a champion. The story picks up three years after the conclusion of Rocky II (1979) where the "Italian Stallion" triumphed over Apollo Creed in the ring. Undefeated after ten major bouts, our champ is at the top of his game in Rocky III but he wants to retire in victory. Not a chance. His attempts to gracefully hang up the gloves are thwarted by the boxing phenomenon known as Clubber Lang (Mr. T), an imposing hulk of a man with a trademark mohawk, who beats Rocky in a well-publicized match, thus setting the stage for another uplifting comeback. Along the way we are shown the obligatory training montage plus glimpses of the sprawling Balboa Estate with peripheral appearances by Rocky's wife, Adrian (Talia Shire), and devoted trainer Mickey (Burgess Meredith).

Around the time of its release, Stallone announced that Rocky III would be the final chapter in the Rocky Balboa saga, something he always envisioned as a trilogy. Originally, he had a completely different ending in mind for the grand finale. Instead of a comeback match with Clubber Lang, Stallone wanted the film to end in the Roman Coliseum with Rocky trading blows with a Russian boxer. This, of course, became the inspiration for Rocky IV (1985).

While Rocky III followed the predictable pattern of its two predecessors, it did have something new to offer fans of the series - Hulk Hogan and Mr. T. Hogan was just beginning to emerge as a major wrestling personality in 1982 and his charity match battle with Rocky is one of the film's highlights. Mr. T also enjoyed a surge of popularity thanks to his colorful performance as Clubber Lang, going on to star in the TV series, The A-Team.

As expected, many critics responded to Rocky III with lack-luster reviews but fans didn't care. Most of them responded the same way as the critic for Newsweek who wrote "Just as Sinatra can endlessly reprise 'My Way' and still raise goose bumps, so Stallone can turn out shameless variations on his Believe-in-Yourself miracle play and still get the old adrenaline pumping." And although Rocky III wasn't the sort of film to win any Academy Awards, it did end up with an Oscar nomination for Best Song - "Eye of the Tiger," performed by Survivor. It lost to "Up Where We Belong' from An Officer and a Gentleman.



Producer: Robert Chartoff, Irwin Winkler
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Screenplay: Sylvester Stallone
Production Design: William J. Cassidy
Cinematography: Bill Butler
Costume Design: Tom Bronson
Film Editing: Mark Warner, Don Zimmerman
Original Music: Bill Conti
Principal Cast: Sylvester Stallone (Rocky), Talia Shire (Adrian), Burt Young (Paulie), Carl Weathers (Apollo), Burgess Meredith (Mickey), Tony Burton (Duke), Mr. T (Clubber Lang), Hulk Hogan (Thunderlips), Ian Fried (Rocky Junior).
C-99m. Letterboxed.

By Bill Goodman