Aquaman (2018) review

In 1941, writer Mort Weisinger and artist Paul Norris created the character of Aquaman, the king of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis with the ability to communicate with the various creatures of the sea. Over the next few decades, Aquaman’s role in the DC Comics universe began to grow significantly to the point where he became one of the seven founding members of the Justice League, and he has continued to be one of DC’s most prominent superheroes ever since. But as for his overall reception amongst audiences… well, that one’s a bit more complicated because, despite his long history in the world of comics, Aquaman has been deemed ‘a joke’ in the pop cultural zeitgeist for supposedly being nothing more than ‘the guy who talks to fish’. This was mainly brought on by the character’s roles in his titular animated series from 1967 and the Hanna-Barbera produced Super Friends series that ran from 1973 to 1986. And despite DC’s efforts to work around this image through various reboots and such, shows like Robot Chicken and The Big Bang Theory continue to enforce this long-standing view on DC’s aquatic superhero. As for getting the King of Atlantis on the big-screen, that journey has been just as bumpy. Simply put, it’s truly saying something when the most prominent on-screen appearance of Aquaman prior to 2016… was the in-universe feature film directed by James Cameron in HBO’s hit series Entourage where he was played by the series’ main protagonist Vincent Chase.

But things finally changed when DC began to develop its own cinematic universe a la Marvel. Game of Thrones alum Jason Momoa was cast in the role of Arthur Curry AKA Aquaman and made his first appearance in the DC Extended Universe via a cameo in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. There, he first appeared alongside Ezra Miller’s Flash and Ray Fisher’s Cyborg in a series of videos that Batman had uncovered (and were then subsequently viewed by Wonder Woman) from the files of Lex Luthor’s company LexCorp on their investigations into the presence of ‘metahumans’ AKA the franchise’s term for super-heroes. Momoa was then promoted to one of the lead roles in the 2017 follow-up Justice League, and while neither film fared very well with critics, Momoa did manage to work well alongside his co-stars. But now The King of the Seven Seas finally gets the chance to grace his own solo film with the sixth installment of the DC Extended Universe, Aquaman. Horror veteran James Wan steps in to direct a film that certainly has quite a lot of baggage behind it going in. For starters, like Wonder Woman, it finds itself tasked with getting the franchise back on track after the considerably disappointing critical and financial performance of Justice League. But, of course, as it’s been made clear in this intro, possibly its biggest hurdle is proving that one of the most widely-mocked superheroes of all-time can be taken seriously. And with strong visuals and a well-balanced tone and atmosphere, it can be argued that Wan did succeed in that regard.

Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) was born as a child of two worlds. This became the case when his father Thomas (Temuera Morrison), a lighthouse keeper from Maine, rescued a woman from a violent storm in 1985. Little did he know that the woman, Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), is the queen of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis. And as she later tells their son Arthur, he’ll eventually grow up to become the one who will unite their two worlds. However, after she ends up leaving both him and his father to return to Atlantis, Arthur ends up ignoring his Atlantean heritage over the years as he becomes the legendary warrior of the sea, Aquaman. Eventually, though, Arthur finds himself having to finally face his destiny when Mera (Amber Heard), princess of the Atlantean kingdom of Xebel, comes to him and warns about his half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), the current ruler of Atlantis who plans on initiating a war against the surface world. Specifically, Orm seeks to gain the support of at least four of the other kingdoms of Atlantis so that he can have a grand army and be granted the title of ‘Ocean Master’. And when it becomes clear that Arthur isn’t exactly prepared to take down Orm with his mother’s trident as his only weapon, he and Mera end up on an adventure around the world to find the trident that belonged to King Atlan (Graham McTavish), the original king of Atlantis. Because as it’s established by Arthur’s mentor Nuidis Vulko (Willem Dafoe), Atlantis’ royal advisor, Atlan’s trident is Arthur’s only hope of reclaiming his birthright as the true king of Atlantis.

Aquaman is truly an ambitious entry in the superhero genre as far as its action set-pieces are concerned. This film is full of incredibly elaborate action sequences that feature everything from sweeping camera movements to some very impressive long-takes. And while quite a lot of these action sequences are filled to the brim with CGI creatures in what is usually an equally CG-based environment, the visual effects team clearly brought their A-game to this project. When these effects are combined with Don Burgess’ solid cinematography, it results in some of the most incredibly striking visuals to ever grace a superhero film. Plus, as was the case when the Russo brothers first started to direct MCU films or when Christopher Nolan went from Batman Begins to The Dark Knight, this film’s action sequences show the growth that James Wan has clearly made as an action director after his previous foray into the genre, 2015’s Furious 7. And as far as this film’s tone is concerned, those who were put off by the dour proceedings of Zack Snyder’s DCEU films will be pleased to know that this film is ultimately more in line with the much more successful Wonder Woman in that department. While it does treat the storyline of Aquaman uniting the kingdoms of Atlantis as seriously as possible, the film maintains a fun, light-hearted atmosphere throughout that harkens back to classics like the Indiana Jones films, especially during Arthur and Mera’s journey around the world to find King Atlan’s trident.  

From what I’ve gathered, it seems like Jason Momoa’s first major DCEU appearance in Justice League was decently well-received. Some may have been a bit turned off by Momoa giving the character a ‘surfer bro’ personality, but he managed to do his best with the limited material that he was given. Thankfully, though, as was the case with Gal Gadot when she got her own solo film as Wonder Woman, Momoa fares a lot better in his own solo film, as the character development that he didn’t get in Justice League is finally put in here with the conflict of him being a child of two worlds and how he ends up becoming the reluctant hero of Atlantis. All of this is handled very well and it’s clear that Momoa is having a lot more fun this time around as his comedic banter is much stronger here than it was in Justice League. In fact, it even gets to the point where the character’s controversial ‘surfer bro’ persona feels much more natural when compared to his previous appearances in the franchise. Amber Heard also thankfully gets a much more fruitful role here than she did in Justice League as Mera. In that film, she was a blank slate in what was literally her only scene in the damn film when Steppenwolf attacked Atlantis to collect one of the Mother Boxes. Here, she’s a confident, no-nonsense badass who is repeatedly shown to be much more adept than Arthur at practically everything while also getting a nice little arc in which their adventure allows her to gain a greater appreciation for the human world. And thanks to their characters’ strong back-and-forth dynamic, Heard and Momoa have excellent chemistry. They’re then backed by a solid supporting cast that includes Willem Dafoe as Arthur’s loyal mentor Nuidis Vulko, Nicole Kidman as Arthur’s mother Atlanna, whose role in the film is thankfully not just a brief cameo limited to flashbacks to Arthur’s youth, and Dolph Lundgren in another solid turn this year after Creed II as Mera’s father, King Nereus of Xebel.  

And then you have the film’s two main villains… who, sadly, are the weakest links in the film despite good performances from their respective actors. First, there’s Aquaman’s most famous enemy from the comics, mercenary David Kane AKA Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). And to the character’s credit, the film does set up Kane incredibly well, with his conflict with Aquaman ultimately defined by one gutsy move that Arthur makes during their first encounter that heavily affects Kane on an emotional level. After that, once Kane puts on his signature suit, it leads to one heck of a confrontation with Aquaman and Mera in what is easily one of the film’s best action sequences… a shame, then, that this is the only key scene in the film with him in the suit. In other words, if you’ve seen any of the trailers for this film, then you’ve seen the bulk of Black Manta’s role in it. Thus, the honor of being the film’s main antagonist instead goes to Aquaman’s half-brother Orm AKA the ‘Ocean Master’. Overall, James Wan regular Patrick Wilson is solid in the role even if it is just him spending most of the time unabashedly hamming it up. Plus, the rivalry that the two Atlantean siblings have due to their shared heritage does provide Orm with some decent character development. The issue with him, however, is that while he does have a more substantial role in the plot than Black Manta, said role still feels very limited due to the film focusing more on Aquaman and Mera. And because of this, Orm ends up being the kind of villain who talks a big game instead of legitimately having one.

Well, with a decent RT score and a box-office total that’s undoubtedly going to go past $1 billion soon, it’s clear that Aquaman has been one of the better-received installments of the DC Extended Universe. And while I wouldn’t necessarily call it the ‘best’ DCEU film to date, it’s still a very welcome breath of fresh air after the highly disappointing affair that was Justice League. Simply put, director James Wan does manage to succeed, for the most part, when it comes to taking one of the most widely mocked characters in pop culture history and giving him a film adaptation that treats him respectfully. After all, in a time where the superhero genre has given us films that feature talking raccoons and heroes who can shrink to the size of insects, I think it’s safe to say that the idea of an ocean-based superhero who talks to marine life isn’t such a ridiculous concept anymore. And his first solo film achieves this by being, to be perfectly blunt, the kind of film that Warner Bros. and DC should’ve been making all along instead of just trying to copy what Christopher Nolan did with the Dark Knight trilogy. Instead of an overly dark and dour drama a la Batman v Superman, Aquaman is a bright and colorful superhero epic with impressive visuals and action sequences that are paired nicely with a solid tone that skillfully balances effective drama with genre-friendly humor. And just like Wonder Woman, this film gives its title character (and his leading lady) the proper character development that they didn’t get in previous DCEU films where they were just one part of a larger ensemble. In short, if there’s one thing that films like Wonder Woman and Aquaman prove, it is that the DC Extended Universe is truly at its best when it isn’t trying to take itself so seriously.

Rating: 4.5/5

Creed II (2018) review

For more than 4 decades, the city of Philadelphia has been closely tied to one of the most iconic film franchises of all-time, the Rocky series. It all began, of course, with the 1976 classic about a local boxer named Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone, who also wrote the film) whose journey to fight the heavyweight champion of the world led to him doing the impossible and going the distance. And the film itself went down that same path, surprising everyone by winning Best Picture at that year’s Oscars. The series would then continue on with five more sequels up until 2006’s Rocky Balboa, and while some of the sequels admittedly got rather silly at times, the franchise continues to remain a staple of pop culture, Philadelphia culture, and the sports film genre. And while Rocky’s time in the ring ultimately came to an end after the sixth film, fans of the franchise were treated to a surprise comeback when it was revealed that the series would continue in 2015 with a spin-off titled Creed. Under the direction of Ryan Coogler, the film shifted focus onto Adonis Johnson Creed, the son of Rocky’s original foe, Apollo Creed. And upon its release, the film was a smash hit with both critics and audiences, with many touting it as one of the best installments of the franchise. But now ‘Donnie’ Creed is back in the second installment of his new series, Creed II, which sees him take on his most personal opponent yet; the son of the man who had killed his father more than three decades prior, Ivan Drago. This time, however, Ryan Coogler was unavailable to direct due to his commitment to a certain Marvel superhero flick that lead actor Michael B. Jordan also happened to be involved with. And while it was initially reported that Sylvester Stallone would be stepping in to direct after previously helming films 2, 3, 4, and 6, it was instead decided to maintain the trend of the previous film by allowing a new generation of filmmakers to work on the franchise. Thus, general newcomer Steven Caple Jr. steps in to helm a sequel that, to reference one of this series’ many iconic songs, shows that this franchise still possesses that ‘Eye of the Tiger’.

It has been three years since Adonis ‘Donnie’ Johnson Creed (Michael B. Jordan) successfully managed to overcome the burden of following in the footsteps of his father, the late Heavyweight Champion Apollo Creed, with the aid of his father’s foe turned friend, fellow former Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). And after becoming the new Heavyweight Champion himself, Adonis is more than ready to start off a new chapter in his life with his fiancé, singer Bianca Taylor (Tessa Thompson). However, the past once again comes back to haunt Adonis when a new challenger emerges in Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), the son of notorious Russian boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). Drago, of course, became infamous back in the ’80s when he killed Apollo during a simple exhibition match, and after being beaten by a vengeful Rocky in his home country during a subsequent bout, he now seeks redemption by training his son to take on Adonis. But while Adonis immediately sets his eyes on fighting Viktor and avenging his family name, Rocky warns him that he’s way too dangerous of an opponent given the track record of the man who’s training him. Adonis hastily ignores Rocky’s suggestion, however, and takes the fight which, simply put, does not bode well for him. Dealt with some intense injuries, Adonis now finds himself on the slow path to recovery as he prepares for the inevitable rematch where he seeks to avenge his family’s legacy while, at the same time, being forced to deal with some heavy-hitting developments in his personal life.

I think it’s safe to say that when it was revealed that Creed II would be bringing back Ivan Drago, some were a bit fearful about the film returning to the overall tone of Rocky IV, which is widely considered to be the goofiest installment of the franchise. This was, after all, the same film where Rocky bought an actual robot for his brother-in-law Paulie, featured a full-blown musical performance by James Brown singing ‘Living in America’ and was mostly just a series of montages where Rocky faced off against the equivalent of the final boss in a video game. But thankfully that’s not the case with Creed II, as it does maintain the same serious tone of its predecessor. And in this instance, it’s fitting to have Donnie face off against Drago’s son because it more than fuels this film’s emotional depth given everything that their family did to his all those years ago. True to franchise form, this film maintains a strong emphasis on its main protagonist and the physical and mental struggles that he goes through, and director Steven Caple Jr. does a phenomenal job when it comes to handling the story’s most emotional moments. And while there aren’t any major single-take fight sequences like in Ryan Coogler’s film, the boxing matches in this film are still excellently filmed and edited. In short, both Creed films fully succeed in accomplishing the same thing that the original Rocky films managed to achieve all those years ago. They properly set up their main characters and the ‘underdog’ situation that they find themselves in and then proceed to take their time to ensure that audiences are fully endeared to them. Thus, when the film’s final boxing match does occur, we’re fully behind them as they take on their opponent, resulting in an emotionally satisfying conclusion. Yeah, it’s undoubtedly become this series’ defining formula at this point, but it’s still quite effective in its execution, which is saying something considering that this is the eighth installment of the series.

As was the case with the first film, Creed II primarily belongs to Michael B. Jordan, who’s fantastic once again as Adonis Creed. Even when he ends up diving into a situation without thinking things through first, he still manages to be a highly sympathetic protagonist and Jordan’s charisma is in top form here. A lot of this also comes via his relationship with Bianca, who in just two films has more than managed to become more than just the equivalent of what Adrian was to Rocky in the previous films. Jordan and Tessa Thompson have phenomenal chemistry and one major plotline that revolves around their newborn daughter Amara being afflicted with a serious physical condition provides the film with one of its most emotionally devastating moments. Phylicia Rashad also happens to get a bit more to do this time around as Adonis’ mother (and Apollo’s widow) Mary Anne, primarily thanks to her sharp wit whenever she shares a scene with Jordan. And, of course, there’s still Sylvester Stallone being as great as ever as Rocky Balboa. Admittedly, this one doesn’t give him the same emotionally-charged storyline that he got with Rocky’s cancer diagnosis in the first Creed, but he continues to maintain Rocky’s status as one of the most endearing protagonists in film history. But perhaps the most impressive thing that this film manages to achieve is taking the character of Ivan Drago and effectively presenting him in a serious manner. That’s right, this isn’t the over-the-top goliath of Rocky IV anymore; instead, we get a man who’s deadly committed to regaining his former glory no matter the cost. In other words, it’s easily the best performance of Dolph Lundgren’s career. Admittedly, though, his son Viktor doesn’t get as much to work with character-wise. Granted, Florian Munteanu does prove to be quite the physical foe for Adonis to face and there is some decent characterization with him when it comes to him trying to understand why his father is so desperate to win back those who shunned him after his loss to Rocky. Ultimately, though, he arguably gets even fewer lines than his dad did in Rocky IV.

The most common word that is being tossed around with this film is ‘predictable’. After the whirlwind success of the first Creed, several critics have lamented the fact that this film decides to go for a straight-forward plot that rehashes one of the most notable storylines from a past installment of the franchise. Well, to that I say this… yes, it’s predictable… but is that really such a bad thing? After all, the Rocky films usually aren’t known for re-inventing the wheel when it comes to their writing. And yes, that even includes the first Creed, which literally ended the same way as the original Rocky four decades prior and ultimately worked as well as it did thanks to Ryan Coogler’s strong direction and the outstanding lead trio of Jordan, Stallone, and Thompson. And despite the loss of Coogler as director for this one (though he did stay on as an executive producer), Steven Caple Jr. does an excellent job in his place because he continues to maintain an emphasis on the most important aspect of these films, their characters. Sure, you can tell that things will end up being alright for Donnie and his family, but it’s more about the journey there than the destination itself. Plus, it even manages to take the series’ goofiest villain and find some bits of humanity within him, thus making him just as intimidating as he was in Rocky IV but in a vastly different way. In short, Creed II is another rousing success story for this legendary franchise that, pardon the pun, delivers yet another emotional knockout. And considering the recent announcement by Sylvester Stallone that revealed that this will ultimately be his final turn as Rocky Balboa, that effectively makes this film one hell of a send-off for a true icon of the big-screen right as his new protégé becomes a legend in his own right.

Rating: 5/5!

Rocky Franchise Retrospective (1976-2006)

When it comes to sports film franchises, there is not a single series out there that is more iconic than the ‘Rocky’ franchise. What started out as a simple $1 million ‘underdog story’ written by the film’s star, Sylvester Stallone, soon became one of the most famous films of all-time. At the 1977 Academy Awards, where it was as much of an underdog as its main character, ‘Rocky’ ended up winning 3 Oscars, including Best Picture, and would go on to spawn a highly successful film franchise with many of the sequels directed by Stallone himself. As a result, the character of Rocky Balboa has become a beloved icon of the city of Philadelphia and the iconic moment from the first film in which Rocky ascends the stairs leading to the Philadelphia Museum of Art has been mimicked on a regular basis by tourists along with them taking photos of the ‘Rocky’ statue that had once stood at the top of the ‘Rocky steps’. This past weekend saw the release of the newest installment of the franchise; one that takes the series in a whole new direction. Directed by Ryan Coogler (‘Fruitvale Station’), ‘Creed’ focuses on the character of Adonis Johnson Creed, the son of Rocky’s first major opponent Apollo Creed, as he becomes a protégé of the ‘Italian Stallion’. But for now, in honor of the new film’s release, today I’ll be covering all six of the previous ‘Rocky Balboa’ films, from the original classic ‘Rocky’ to the most recent entry in the series, 2006’s ‘Rocky Balboa’. It’s time to ‘go the distance’ and honor one of the most famous film franchises of all-time as I look back upon the ‘Rocky’ films. ‘Yo Adrian!!’

ROCKY (1976)

As the poster described it best, Rocky Balboa’s ‘whole life was a million-to-one shot’. But when fate came along and Rocky was given the chance to fight the Heavyweight Champion of the World, Apollo Creed, he stunned the world by ‘going the distance’ when the odds were completely against him. Really, what more can be said about this film that hasn’t been said already? Not only is it one of the best sports films ever made, but it’s also one of the best films ever period. The true definition of an underdog story, Rocky is a highly sympathetic character from the start. Sure he spends most of his time fighting and acting as an enforcer for a loan shark but deep down he’s got a good heart, which we see come out in spades when he romances the shy pet store clerk Adrian. Basically this film is two stories in one; Rocky’s fight with Apollo and his budding romance with Adrian and by the time the actual fight begins, we’re fully on Rocky’s side as the fight between the two keeps us on the edge of our seats the entire time. And of course a lot of that comes from Sylvester Stallone’s excellent performance in the title role, and he’s backed up by an excellent supporting cast that includes Talia Shire as Adrian, Carl Weathers as Apollo, Burt Young as Adrian’s brother Paulie, and Burgess Meredith as Rocky’s hardened trainer Mickey. In a way, the first ‘Rocky’ was as big of an underdog as its main character but the end result led to the Oscar for Best Picture, making it a key essential part of film history.

Rating: 5/5!

ROCKY II (1979)

‘Rocky II’ does what any great sequel does. It continues the story and further develops the characters while doing just enough to maintain a lot of the same elements that made the first film so great. In this film, Rocky tries to readjust to normal life after ‘going the distance’ with Apollo. But he soon comes to find that it’s rather hard to find a job due to his lack of education. Meanwhile, Apollo begins pressuring Rocky into a rematch and after a while, despite the disapproval of Adrian, who he just married, Rocky does end up prepping for the fight. Like the first film, ‘Rocky II’ definitely paints Rocky as the underdog in the situation while also putting him through what are arguably some of his absolute lowest of lows, especially when compared to the first film. An eye injury sustained during the previous fight leaves him at the risk of going blind and there’s even a point where Rocky pretty much loses his spirit to fight, especially after Adrian falls into a coma after giving birth to their son. But of course, everything starts to get better and Rocky regains his spirit just in time for the rematch with Apollo which, dare I say, is even more epic than the one in the first film. The advertising wasn’t lying when it said that this truly was ‘the rematch of the century’. ‘Rocky II’ may not be as great as the original ‘Rocky’, but it still manages to be a solid follow-up nevertheless.

Rating: 4/5

(P.S. Can’t go wrong with probably the best scene of the film in which Rocky chases a chicken: “I feel like a Kentucky Fried Idiot!”)

ROCKY III (1982)

I think it’s safe to say that ‘Rocky III’ was the point where the series started to become much more over-the-top in tone compared to its much more grounded first two installments. While not as crazy as its immediate predecessor, this film sees Rocky fighting both Hulk Hogan and Mr. T in just one film. Stallone has even admitted that he sort of ran out of ideas after ‘Rocky II’ so this film ended up being more about the fights than it was about the story and characters. But even with that in mind, ‘Rocky III’ is still a very entertaining installment of the franchise. Mr. T as the brash and cocky Clubber Lang is a highly memorable adversary of Rocky (“I Pity the Fool!”), the death of Mickey is a genuinely tear-jerking moment, and it’s pretty cool that this film sees Rocky’s former rival Apollo coming back to help Rocky train for his rematch with Lang after the first fight ends with Lang defeating Rocky. Just like the first film, ‘Rocky III’ also introduced a few iconic elements of this iconic franchise. This was the first film to introduce the Rocky statue that now sits near the bottom of the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum after originally being located at the top of the ‘Rocky Steps’ and briefly relocated to the Wachovia Spectrum. And then there was the famous theme song ‘Eye of the Tiger’ by Survivor, a theme that is as equally iconic to the Rocky franchise as ‘Gonna Fly Now’, the main training theme from the first film that returned for the second, third, and sixth films. Admittedly ‘Rocky III’ doesn’t really have the same underdog spirit as the first two films, namely due to Rocky becoming a celebrity in this film after becoming the new Heavyweight Champion of the World, but it’s yet another highly entertaining entry in this highly entertaining franchise. Though things would only get even crazier with the next film…

Rating: 4/5

ROCKY IV (1985)

‘Rocky IV’ is both one of the silliest films ever made and one of the most awesome films ever made. I mean this film is full to the brim with ridiculously cheesy moments and dialogue. Paulie gets an actual robot for a birthday present, Apollo enters a fight to a James Brown concert, and the ending is, no joke, pretty much the equivalent of Rocky single-handedly ending the Cold War. But even with all of that in mind… this film is just so damn entertaining that I can forgive it full-heartedly for its sillier moments. It gives Rocky arguably his most powerful enemy ever in Dolph Lundgren’s Ivan Drago, a Russian heavyweight whose punch is so strong that when Apollo fights him in an exhibition bout, it kills him. And the final fight between Drago and Rocky is pure over-the-top epic-ness. It should also be noted that this film probably holds the record for most montages in a single film. The film is probably 75% montages and it’s the shortest of the series at just 90 minutes. Still, these montages are just as memorable as the rest of the film; the flashback montage set to ‘There’s No Easy Way Out’, the first Training Montage in Russia, the second Training Montage in Russia set to ‘Hearts on Fire’, and the fight montage set to composer Vince DiCola’s track ‘War’. Yes ‘Rocky IV’ is a pretty stupid film if you really think about it but I don’t care about that whatsoever. That’s because it’s arguably the most entertaining film in the entire series and fully embraces its silliness. It’s completely over-the-top and silly and I love it.

Rating: 3.5/5 (Entertainment Value: 5/5!)

ROCKY V (1990)

Many film franchises have what is regarded as a ‘black sheep’ AKA the one entry in the series that has the worst reputation with fans of the franchise. For the ‘Rocky’ franchise, that film is ‘Rocky V’. Sure it may have saw the return of the first film’s director, John Avildsen, after the last three films were all directed by Stallone but it’s pretty much universally regarded as the ‘worst’ film in the series. Even Stallone himself has admitted that he wasn’t satisfied with the final product, saying that he really only did it for the money. During an interview with Jonathan Ross, when he was asked to rate all of the ‘Rocky’ films, he gave ‘Rocky V’ a 0. But is it really as bad as everyone says it is? Well, while I will concur that it definitely is the weakest of the series, I still think that there are some good things in this film. There are some genuinely touching moments peppered throughout, like an very emotional flashback that Rocky has of a moment with Mickey (“Get up you son of a bitch, cause Mickey loves ya!”) and scenes in which he’s trying to reconnect with his son (who in this film is played by Stallone’s real son Sage, even though this does create a bit of a continuity error given how he older he is compared to how old the character was in ‘Rocky IV’, the events of which occurred just a few days before the start of this film). Plus the final fight scene between Rocky and his former protégé Tommy Gunn is pretty awesome/over-the-top, namely because it’s the only instance in which Rocky partakes in a street fight.

But as for this film’s main issues, there are quite a few to mention. The film can be quite a downer sometimes and even a little mean-spirited with its apparent ‘pro-fighting’ stance. Now I don’t mind that the filmmakers tried to bring Rocky back to his roots after the last two films had him living the celebrity life but it just doesn’t capture the same charm that the first film had. Tommy Gunn is a pretty terrible foe for Rocky; sure he’s an intimidating fighter but he ends up being an egotistical jerk that ends up disrespecting Rocky even though he was the one who helped make him a star in the first place. Plus the whole plotline of Rocky having to retire due to him suffering brain damage as a result of all his fights has actually turned out to be fairly inaccurate. Originally the film was going to end with Rocky’s death but Stallone ended up changing it because he felt that it wouldn’t have been the right kind of ending for a series like this, even though the original ending technically would’ve been more fitting for how the film in general played out. Would it have been a better ending? We’ll never know but on the bright side this did lead to a much more fitting finale to Rocky’s story 16 years later. In short, ‘Rocky V’ may be the ‘worst’ of the ‘Rocky’ films but I wouldn’t go as far and say that it’s completely forgettable. There are some good things in it, especially the final fight between Rocky and Tommy, but overall it really doesn’t have the same heart or entertaining craziness of its predecessors.

Rating: 2/5

ROCKY BALBOA (2006)

(Just a quick disclaimer: I am aware that even though I’ll be frequently referring to this film as ‘the finale’ of the franchise, this moniker has officially been made null and void by the release of ‘Creed’, even though that film is technically just a spin-off. So for now, just view this film as the finale to Rocky’s story. Now onto the review…)

So as we just noted earlier, ‘Rocky V’ was such a critical and commercial disappointment that even its main star was dissatisfied with it. Not wanting this to be the final send-off to this beloved franchise, Stallone returned to the director’s chair for one final ‘Rocky’ film (until ‘Creed’), ‘Rocky Balboa’, released 16 years after the fifth film. Now retired from boxing, Rocky finds himself yearning to return to the sport one last time after a computerized simulation has him (in his prime) beating the current heavyweight, Mason ‘the Line’ Dixon. Suffice it to say, this is a much better conclusion to Rocky’s story than ‘Rocky V’; in fact, I’d argue it’s the best of the series after the first film. It clearly was a very personal project for Stallone and you can really see that, particularly in scenes that were clearly meant to parallel his own struggles in getting the film made. It’s the franchise’s strongest ‘underdog story’ since the original; whereas in that film Rocky was a nobody given the chance of a lifetime, this film sees him trying to overcome the factors of his age and the overall unlikeliness of him achieving much in the ring because of it. And yes, the idea of the then 60-year old Stallone getting back into the ring sounds rather ludicrous but Stallone was clearly aware of that as it does play a part in the plot. Stallone and Burt Young, the latter once again returning as Paulie, are both excellent once again as are newcomers Geraldine Hughes as Marie, a character who first appeared in the first film (the one who told Rocky ‘Screw you creepo!’), and real-life champ Antonio Tarver as Dixon. Dixon’s a much better opponent than Tommy Gunn, who also deals with the pressure of being in Rocky’s shadow but isn’t a completely egotistical jerk like Gunn was. And while Talia Shire doesn’t reprise her role as Adrian, the plot-point of the character’s death between films adds the right amount of weight to the film’s strong emotional core. All of this comes together for a very emotional yet highly satisfying ‘final hurrah’ for the ‘Italian Stallion’ in the ring.

Rating: 4.5/5

So now comes the question… how do I rank all of these films? Well, like this…

6. Rocky V

5. Rocky IV

4. Rocky II

3. Rocky III

2. Rocky Balboa

1. Rocky

The Expendables 3 (2014) review

I will admit that I’m a fan of ‘The Expendables’ films and I am also aware that I’m kind of in the minority on that. I mean sure when you really look at these films, they’re generally nothing more than dumb cheesy action films that are very much in line with the action films from the 80’s. Still, even with that in mind I still find both ‘Expendables’ films to be very entertaining. The first film, despite some occasionally clunky editing and for also being a bit too serious at times, managed to still have some awesome action sequences that I feel managed to make up for a good chunk of the film’s shortcomings. But ultimately I prefer the sequel, ‘The Expendables 2’, more than I do the first one. It didn’t take things as seriously as the first film did and it had much better action sequences and a far more memorable villain compared to the generic warlord and CIA agent from the first film. So now we come to the third ‘Expendables’ film, this one helmed by Patrick Hughes, who has recently been hired to helm an American remake of ‘The Raid’. As for this film, it’s faced quite a bit of controversy recently for a few major reasons. The first, and clearly the most infamous, was when a Digital Copy of the film was leaked online by piracy sites a few weeks before it was set to be released in theaters. Seeing how it is estimated that the leaked copy of the film was viewed more than 2 million times, it certainly is playing a key factor in the film’s poor performance at the box office. But then you also take into account that this is the first film in the series to be rated PG-13 after the far more violent/bloody R-rated first two films. Some may feel that this means that the new film will be ‘watered down’ compared to its predecessors. However, ‘The Expendables 3’ still manages to be a fun and corny action film that actually isn’t affected by the PG-13 rating that much.

After rescuing one of their old teammates, ex-medic Doctor Death (Wesley Snipes) from prison, the mercenary group ‘The Expendables’, led by Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), are then tasked with intercepting a shipment of weapons that are set to be handed over to a Somalian warlord. However, once there, they soon find out that the arms trader providing the bombs is none other than Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson), who co-founded the group with Barney many years ago. He was believed to be dead after being ‘killed’ by Barney when he found out that he had gone rogue but it turns out that he’s still alive. When one of the members of the groups is severely injured in the operation by Stonebanks, Barney ends up disbanding the team so that none of the others would end up the same way. He then proceeds to enlist a new younger group of mercenaries (played by Kellan Lutz, Ronda Rousey, Glen Powell, and Victor Ortiz) in order to capture Stonebanks and take him into custody. However, the operation soon goes haywire and Stonebanks ends up taking the new recruits hostage, leaving Barney with no choice but to reassemble the old gang in order to take down their former ‘ally’.

Like the two films that came before it, ‘The Expendables 3’ is an incredibly cheesy action film that very much feels like it came from the 80’s with its constant one-liners and its fair share of story clichés. However that’s part of what makes these films fun to watch in the first place. They harken back to the classics like ‘Die Hard’ and ‘Rambo’ and while I may not have been an ‘80’s kid’, I can certainly see the impact that those films have made on the action genre. I also have to give these last two films a lot of credit because after the first film tried to be more serious than it needed to be, the sequels have thankfully not made the same mistake. They opt for a much more light-hearted tone which is much more suited for films of this nature. There has been quite a lot of speculation regarding this film being ‘toned down’ to a PG-13 rating after the previous two films were rated ‘R’. However I can assure you that this is not that big of a problem. Sure, that does mean that there are some really noticeable instances where the violence is heavily edited so that we don’t see anything too violent or bloody. But at the same time, this film does get rid of something that I’m well-aware has been a major problem for a lot of people and that is the use of CGI blood squibs whenever someone is killed so the downgrade to PG-13 isn’t all that bad. Heck, even under a PG-13 rating this film is still pretty damn violent, especially during the insane finale.

It’s clear that because this film is rated PG-13, the filmmakers are trying to market the film towards younger audiences than they used to. That fact is most noticeable in regards to how this film spends more time on the new young members of the Expendables than the older ones. So with that said, if you’re going into this film expecting to see a lot of the main members of the Expendables, you’re more than likely going to be disappointed (I can safely say that fans of Terry Crews will be especially disappointed in regards to the amount of screen-time he has in this film though from what I hear, this was due to scheduling conflicts) because aside from Stallone, most of them disappear for a good chunk of the film. Despite this, the film still has its fair share of stand-outs within its very large cast. The biggest standout would easily be Antonio Banderas as Galgo, a sharpshooter who is initially turned down by Ross to join the team but ends up getting hired eventually. Banderas steals every scene he is in, mostly because he gets a lot of the best lines in the film and that’s because he’s always talking, which ends up annoying most of the other Expendables because of his motor mouth. As for Mel Gibson as the main villain, his presence in the role more than makes up for the fact that he actually doesn’t do jack for most of the movie. Overall, every member of the cast does their job even though some don’t have as much screen-time as others.

These ‘Expendables’ films aren’t for everyone, so if you’re not already a fan of these movies, ‘The Expendables 3’ isn’t really going to change much for you. It’s just like the last two that came before it; it’s cheesy, it has a fairly standard plot and little to no character development. It’s more about the action and how many action stars can fit into one cast, so much so that some don’t get the proper screen-time they deserve. Yes, these films haven’t fully delivered on the action spectacle that the first one promised back in 2010 and there are quite a few things that could have been done to improve them but I still managed to enjoy this new one just as I did the other two. This film may not be as violent as the two that came before it as evident by its PG-13 rating but aside from a few occasionally heavily-edited action sequences and a greater focus on the newer additions to the Expendables, the film isn’t affected too much by the lower rating. It’s sad that this film had to become a victim to piracy because it’s clear that the whole ‘leak incident’ played a key part in the film’s incredibly poor opening weekend. Now considering the general critical reception towards these films, franchise fatigue might have been another factor as well. However, I hope that this film’s bad luck may change soon because it’s a really entertaining film just like the other two that came before it.

Rating: 4/5