After writing and performing in the first Rocky movie, Sylvester Stallone went from a struggling actor who had been considering giving up his dream and getting a normal job to one of the all-time global megastars of film. His legacy is immortalised by the classic boxing drama, which remains one of the best efforts in the sports genre.
In portraying the down-and-out boxer Rocky Balboa, Stallone delivered his undoubted most iconic on-screen moment. Not only could he handle himself physically in the ring, but he also showed that he could offer up a performance of genuine emotional nuance too.
However, the result of the success of the original Rocky movie was that critics felt that whatever came next would pale in insignificance. Consequently, by the time Rocky II rolled around, the very same critics and audience members saw the sports drama as something of a comeback.
“You know what I think happened? After Rocky, I was almost set up in the eyes of the media to make a flop,” the actor once told Roger Ebert. “The last two years have been pretty tough, public image-wise. I said some things that did not exactly endear me. My ego got blown out of proportion.”
He added, “They all ask me, ‘Will Rocky II save your career?’ Is this my comeback, they wanna know? Will it pull my career out of the toilet? I didn’t think I was doin’ so bad. I’ve never made a film that lost money. If Rocky II was a comeback, I coulda made it a lot more commercial, Like, Rocky coulda been an astronaut.”
Stallone had made F.I.S.T. and Paradise Alley before Rocky’s return to the ring in 1979, which led figures in the industry to believe that it would be the film to salvage his career. However, Stallone took deep offence to any such considerations, which is understandable considering he only made two films between the first two boxing franchise movies, so he was hardly in need of redemption.
The success of the first Rocky film seemed to have another adverse effect on Stallone, too, this time from a personal perspective. He once told the BBC how embarrassed he was about how he used to behave after the film’s release. “I abused power badly. I read some of the interviews I gave now and wish I could go back and punch myself in the face.”
Check out the trailer for Rocky II trailer.
