ROCKY II (1979)
THERE wasn’t going to be a rematch. They didn’t want one. They had one, nonetheless.
Balboa seemed happy enough to take the advice of doctors not to fight again over fears over his eyesight – until wife Adrian became pregnant and Creed launched a campaign to drag him into a rematch that included taking out a newspaper advertisement that read: ‘Chicken Stallion.’ Surely, it should have read ‘Italian Chicken.’
Balboa takes the bait, but knowing he’s taking the fight against Adrian’s wishes, Stallone lacks motivation in the gym where he works on boxing orthodox to protect his bad eye and confuse Creed. Adrian ends up in a coma after giving birth to their son and Balboa finds the drive he needs when she awakes and tells him to win. The switch to orthodox doesn’t confuse Creed, who hits Balboa at will for 14 rounds before the dramatic last round…