Why the hell was Rocky so disrespected in this one?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Rocky Balboa
Croweyes1121 — 11 years ago(December 08, 2014 05:43 AM)
If I have one major hangup about Rocky Balboa as a film, it's that the attitude Rocky gets throughout the movie from everyone just doesn't make a lot of sense given his past.
- He gets a draw with Apollo out of nowhere.
- He defeats Apollo in a rematch.
- He defeats ten boxers in title defenses.
- He loses ONE fight.
- He defeats Clubber and regains his title.
- He defeats Drago - a boxer who literally killed Apollo.
- He defeats Tommy Gunn in a street fight - a guy who held the title at the time.
and yet in this movie we get lines like "I hear he runs a restaurant nowwhat's his specialty, pounded chicken"? I mean seriously, what the hell? Absolutely nothing in Rocky's past justifies this flippant, dismissive attitude the announcers all take toward him. At this point, Rocky should be a living legend, not a freaking punchline. It's as if someone looked at that scene in Rocky III where the announcer says "Balboa WAS a great champion, but his time has past" and liked it so much they decided to include several other scenes like it in this movie even though they made no narrative sense. It just seemed like these things were shoehorned in to make Rocky the underdog yet again and make you feel sorry for his being trashed by peoplebut honestly, who in God's name would trash him at this point?
I also really disliked the constant close-ups on Marie during the last fight. Her chants of "Rocky, Rocky" being louder than everyone else's and, more especially, her "win it, win it" and "YES!" lines REALLY should have been removed from the final fight. So cheesy. AnywayI liked pretty much everything else about the movie, but those two things (especially the first) really irritate me. Anyone else?
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MissEFierro — 10 years ago(April 13, 2015 01:19 AM)
I've only seen the first one and this last one, but I was wondering in the restaurant scenes, people obviously go to see him, but both times he's telling stories, the customers look bored and annoyed that he's at their table. And when he takes the picture with the kid, he looks like he's embarrassed and doesn't really want a picture.
Everyone else on the street is happy to see him, and wants pictures. I get that they're eating and maybe don't want to be bothered right then, but I think that would also be a draw for the restaurant to see him.
He does seem more respected by the working class, and just seen as a has been by others. -
fxdiamond — 10 years ago(April 14, 2015 02:02 AM)
it was more the time that had passed probably as well. after the 1990 street fight we can only assume he and the family disappeared pretty much forever from the lime light and everyone had slowly forgot about rocky and his accomplishments.
but yes still if he had been a real life character and had been through what he had been through as he did in these movies then he would appear superhuman and have pretty much life time super hero status that no one would ever disrespect this.
it almost seemed like that in every rocky movie he had to keep proving his worth almost to everyone for them to remember him again by the end of the movie. well by IV he was quite respected i would say that much, however it all went down hill again by then pretty much very quickly though.
why i think a lot of people love rocky IV so much because he did truly peak in this movie. -
star_in_the_zenith_79 — 10 years ago(April 14, 2015 07:03 PM)
I've only seen the first one and this last one, but I was wondering in the restaurant scenes, people obviously go to see him, but both times he's telling stories, the customers look bored and annoyed that he's at their table. And when he takes the picture with the kid, he looks like he's embarrassed and doesn't really want a picture.
I didn't get that impression. He only told those fight stories if it was specifically requested by customers. He didn't look all that embarrassed about the picture, they commented on what a nice guy he was afterwards. -
JohnnyCastle — 10 years ago(June 02, 2015 05:25 PM)
I definitely get what you're saying.
I think it's more about Rocky never being that cocky champion. Like in Rocky V the promoter was trying to get Rocky to fight again but he turns it down. Every time he thinks about taking it his wife Adrian tells him that it's over and he's not fighting. They despised that slimy promoter for trying to get him back in the ring.
Rocky looked weak like he'd cower from a fight and was afraid. He wasn't always showing what a tough guy he was or flexing his muscles you know.
So probably the sports commentators all wanted to get him to come out of retirement by calling him names. Pretty much just jealous and looking for him to come back to prove again that he's a champ. They were throwing fuel on a dying fire almost. I wouldn't look at it like he was someone that didn't accomplish everything but he was someone who was always getting walked on by other people and never really getting the respect he deserved.
Just a guy going against all odds. -
smoko — 10 years ago(June 09, 2015 10:14 PM)
@Croweyes1121
Absolutely nothing in Rocky's past justifies this flippant, dismissive attitude the announcers all take toward him.
Well, it was purely a film-making decision to make Rocky the underdog that people write off - if everyone was kissing his ass the whole time then it wouldn't be a Rocky movie, would it?
I agree that those scenes were shoehorned in, and they were awkwardly contrived and didn't ring true. But they were also necessary to make us root for Rocky. -
SloppyJ30 — 10 years ago(June 17, 2015 11:12 AM)
Well, imagine if Joe Montana announced he was coming out of retirement to play for the Niners next year. I mean, he's freaking JOE MONTANA, but people would be laughing the milk out of their noses. It just seemed too absurd that Rocky, having not fought for, what, 15 years was going to fight a current champ.
Kind of like making a Rocky movie 15 years after Rocky V. I thought this was a horrible idea. But I'll be damned . . they made a pretty good movie out of it. Sylvester Stallone actually is Rocky. When no-one with a lick of common sense said he should do something, he managed to do it, and do it well. Gotta tip your hat.I have meddled with the primal forces of nature and I will atone.
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spasek — 10 years ago(August 01, 2015 12:36 PM)
It seems you misunderstood a few things.
Rocky IS an underdog in this fight. Something that is pretty obvious, so I'm not sure why you have an issue with that.
Any boxer, even if he was a former champion, would undoubtedly be chopped down and pretty much be made fun of in the press. Come on, do you even watch ESPN? These guys chew up athletes on a regular basis, so do all of the other sports shows. That's the point that Stallone is making.
You're also forgetting that even those people closest to him, except for Marie, are telling him that he's nuts for undertaking this endeavor. Sure, they change their minds and get behind him, but they weren't at first.
Rocky has always been a character who defies the odds and the rules to live the dream; the dream of being who you are no matter what anyone says. He points this out several times in the film.
You may not like the fact that the media is poking fun at him, but that's what they do, and that's what they WOULD DO! Stallone had that part pegged perfectly.
However, remember the end. Much like the original Rocky (remember the media poking some fun at him too? If not, go watch it again), Rocky gets the respect of nearly everyone who watched that fight. Even the announcers can only say, "Incredible."
If this movie bothers you so much, then I'm going to point out something glaringly obvious to you: Don't watch it. -
jmsocool — 10 years ago(August 02, 2015 04:46 PM)
At the end of the scene where the promoters go to Rocky's restaurant to talk to him about the exhibition fight, the one promoter comments to the other one that Rocky, in his prime, would have pounded Mason Dixon (the actual dialogue is a little ambiguous, do to the use of pronouns, but Stallone clarifies it in the commentary). and during the fight Max Kellerman and Jim Lampley seem respectful towards Rocky. Larry Merchant comes across as a bit of a jerk. I wonder if the commentators ad-libbed their lines, because they did sound fairly natural.
"My girlfriend sucked 37 d*cks!"
"In a row?" -
TerraFirma69 — 10 years ago(August 17, 2015 05:51 AM)
Just weak easy writing. Boring. Making him the underdog again when in the reality of the Rocky universe he'd command massive respect. Especially considering he's always been so humble, that goes a long long way in the world of sports. Any commentator dissing him would be told to pull their head in right quickly.
then whoa, differences -
spookyrat1 — 10 years ago(August 24, 2015 02:41 PM)
and yet in this movie we get lines like "I hear he runs a restaurant nowwhat's his specialty, pounded chicken"?
Yet IRL, these are the sort of lines you get from some smart arse TV sports observers trying to force a laugh. -
Huskie_Jon — 10 years ago(September 08, 2015 09:01 AM)
The media in all Rocky movies are a bunch of jerks. Remember, in Rocky V, how they were ripping on Tommy's "cheap" girlfriend right in front of him. I do not believe I have ever seen the real world media stoop that low.
A dope trailer is no place for a kitty.
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FirstBlood1982 — 10 years ago(November 26, 2015 07:55 PM)
As others have pointed out, if a 60'ish year old boxer comes out of retirement to fight the 30'ish undefeated world heavyweight champion that's knocked out every opponent thus far, he'd be a laughing stock, regardless of how long his list of past accomplishments decades ago were.
How that's depicted in the film is very realistic.
+++by His wounds we are healed. - Isaiah 53:5+++