Every Rocky Movie, Ranked

After Rocky's nemesis-turned-friend Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) dies in the ring while fighting cold and brutal Soviet heavyweight Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), Rocky travels behind the Iron Curtain to avenge his friend and show off the American way. Drago tells him "I will break you," but in the end Rocky tears down his wall, metaphorically speaking.

Critics pounded on Rocky IV, describing it as jingoistic propaganda. Even worse, it forgot about the gritty sincerity that made Rocky good in the first place, and became a bloated and gaudy parody of itself. And yet, it was a massive box office hit, and is arguably the second-most enduring Rocky movie culturally, serving as a perfect time capsule of the mid-1980s. It also marked the peak of Stallone's career as a movie star who had transformed from an underdog into a larger-than-life figure himself.

"The film runs through most of Leni Riefenstahl's bag of tricks as it builds up a patriotic frenzy, yet the crazed flag-waving would be a lot easier to take if it weren't so clearly a commercial calculation meant to salvage what is otherwise a crass, careless, shamelessly padded film." —Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

In the last film of the original Rocky run, Rocky retires from fighting due to a head injury and finds out that his accountant has squandered all his money. Bankrupt, he and his family go back to South Philadelphia, where Rocky starts training a young fighter named Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison), who ends up betraying him. But then Rocky cleans his clock in a street fight. No matter what happens, he will always be Rocky Balboa.

Rocky V was a critical and commercial disappointment, and effectively ended the franchise until Stallone revived it with Rocky Balboa 16 years later. Reviewers criticized it for its formulaic screenplay and the general feeling of the franchise being past its prime. 

"When the underdog always wins he's not much of an underdog anymore, and the narrative cartwheels Sylvester Stallone has turned over the years to put Rocky in that position have peeled away the novelty." —Variety

Rocky is the world champion, but his success has made him soft. When he goes up against the hungry young fighter Clubber Lang (Mr. T, whose ascent to becoming a 1980s icon started with this film), he gets embarrassed, leading him to turn to his old rival Apollo Creed for help training for the rematch.

Rocky III received mixed reviews at the time, with some critics appreciating Stallone's ability to keep coming up with satisfying variations on the same story and others finding it to be diminishing returns, with the spark of inspiration that drove the first two movies snuffed out. The film was a box office smash, and its theme song, "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor, is one of the franchise's most enduring cultural contributions. 

"Rocky III crawls along without dramatic impetus, failing to convey the big emotions and missing the humor of the first two films." —TV Guide Magazine

Apollo Creed demands a rematch of his fight with Rocky from the first movie, claiming that even though he won in a split decision, he didn't put his full effort into it, and he wants to knock Rocky out and put him in his place. Rocky, meanwhile, attempts to return to civilian life, but finds that he's actually meant to be a boxer after all. He returns to the ring to fight Creed again—and this time, he wins.

Already, some critics complained about the sequel being a retread of the first movie, but others were charmed by Stallone—now working as director as well as writer and star, taking over from the first film's John Avildsen—and his ability to sell it. 

"Perhaps it is Stallone's candor with respect to his commerciality that is the key to the success of both Rockys - they're not trying to con you behind your back. Right out in front, they are unpretentiously calculated, manipulative, unbelievable, faux naif, sentimental. And irresistible. Stallone's stitched-together innocence hides its seams." —Jay Scott, The Globe and Mail

Fifteen years after Rocky V, Rocky is in his late 50s and living a quiet life running a restaurant, Adrian's, named after his beloved wife (Talia Shire), who passed away before the events of the film. But he still feels he has a little bit left in the tank, and comes out of retirement to fight heavyweight champ Mason "The Line" Dixon (played by Antonio Tarver, a real-life light heavyweight champion boxer).

Critics felt that the time away was good for Rocky, as Rocky Balboa tapped back into the underdog nature for which Rocky is known, and with an extra helping of pathos this time. Rocky Balboa also reinvigorated Stallone's career, which had been in a slump since the late '90s. Just like his creation, you can never count him out. 

"What's touching about Rocky Balboa, the sixth chapter in the saga of Philadelphia's lord of the ring, is the small-scale stuff. Not the spectacle of the has-been, now 60, connecting with a punch. But the sight of an actor connecting with a character." —Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

The second Creed movie is sort of a loose remake of Rocky IV. It finds Apollo Creed's son Adonis "Donnie" Creed (Michael B. Jordan) at the top of his game after becoming the world heavyweight champion. But all the changes in his life are distracting, and he's unprepared when he goes to fight Viktor Drago (Florian Munteau), the son of the man who killed his father. After he's embarrassingly defeated, he prepares for a rematch.

Critics enjoyed the film's performances, especially Jordan's, Stallone's, and Dolph Lundgren's, who returns as Ivan Drago, now serving as his son's string-pulling manager. Stallone co-wrote the screenplay and makes his final appearance to date as Rocky to date, as the film sets him up to ride off into the sunset.

"Creed II is very much a Rocky sequel. It's bigger, louder, and more over the top than its predecessor, with a more formulaic story and more absurd boxing matches. It's satisfying as a pop confection, but it's not as special or as rich as its predecessor." —Matt Singer, ScreenCrush

The movie that started it all follows Rocky Balboa, local Philadelphia boxer and debt collector for a loan shark, as he gets picked from obscurity to fight Apollo Creed. As he trains for the fight under his manager Mickey's (Burgess Meredith) tutelage, he and Adrian fall in love. Rocky knows he might not win, but that's OK as long as he proves he has what it takes to "go the distance." Which is exactly what happens—he loses the fight, but wins in his heart.

Critics at the time found Rocky to be cliched and sentimental, but nevertheless worked so well because of Stallone's complete commitment to the character and the story. Because at this point in his life, he was Rocky. He was a Hollywood underdog determined to go the distance, and he succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Rocky was the highest-grossing movie of 1976 and won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Stallone was nominated for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay. 

"What makes the movie extraordinary is that it doesn't try to surprise us with an original plot, with twists and complications; it wants to involve us on an elemental, a sometimes savage, level. It's about heroism and realizing your potential, about taking your best shot and sticking by your girl. It sounds not only clichéd but corny — and yet it's not, not a bit, because it really does work on those levels. It involves us emotionally, it makes us commit ourselves: We find, maybe to our surprise after remaining detached during so many movies, that this time we care." —Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Michael B. Jordan took on the Stallone dual role as director and star for his third outing as Donnie Creed. The film finds Donnie reconnecting with his old friend and fellow boxer "Diamond Dame" Anderson (Jonathan Majors), who served a lengthy prison sentence, during which time Donnie never reached out to him. Dame wants the shot at fame and glory his time in prison deprived him of, and betrays Donnie to get it. So Donnie has to come out of retirement to defeat Dame and come to terms with his own troubled past.

Creed III is different from other Rocky movies—for one thing, Rocky isn't even in it—but critics liked the shifts, finding the complexity of Dame's character a welcome change from the franchise's generally one-dimensional villains. They also praised Jordan's confident direction in his feature debut. 

"To put it into a larger perspective, if Creed III were a Rocky movie, it would be up there — nowhere near the original Rocky and a little worse than Rocky II, but certainly better than the rest of them." —Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

It's the start of a new spinoff series in which writer-director Ryan Coogler took over the franchise and turned it into something the same, but different in a totally satisfying way. Amateur boxer Donnie Creed, the illegitimate son of Apollo, wants to go pro. He seeks out Rocky and asks him to be his trainer as he tries to build a legacy of his own in the shadow of the famous father he never knew.

To their own surprise and delight, critics loved the film, with praise going to Coogler's impeccable direction, Jordan and Stallone's performances (Stallone was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), and the way it honors what came before it while trying something new. 

"In the end it's a movie about legacy, and it more than preserves the Rocky franchise's. It reminds you why it was great in the first place." —Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly