When Sylvester Stallone ranked every ‘Rocky’ movie
The relationship between Sylvester Stallone and the Rocky franchise has sadly soured after the creator of the iconic boxing series found himself at loggerheads with the people who now own the rights. MGM have happily handed the keys to the kingdom over to Michael B. Jordan, as Creed III marked the first time the ‘Italian Stallion’ was absent from one of the saga’s movies.
Having headlined the first six instalments and then lent support in the following two, it’s understandable that Stallone would be so dismayed at the property he created being continued and expanded without his involvement. It’s not as if the pugilistic sports dramas have been immune from their own fair share of ups and downs along the way.
Plenty of stars and filmmakers have said choosing a favourite role, character, or film is akin to naming which of their children they prefer. However, Sly had no such qualms when he awarded the first five Rocky stories numerical value while appearing on The Jonathan Ross Show.
As you’d expect, 1976’s Rocky – the launchpad for Stallone’s entire mainstream career – was rewarded with a perfect 10/10 score. As a certifiable cinematic classic and the film that changed everything for its writer and leading man personally and professionally, it’s impossible to argue with his assessment.
Rocky II scores significantly lower at 7.5/10, even though it was the sequel that saw Rocky finally achieve his dream of becoming the heavyweight champion of the world. Rocky III shoots right back up to a 9/10, even if opinions may vary as to whether or not Mr. T’s Clubber Lang and Hulk Hogan’s Thunderlips are enough to propel it above the boxer’s second big screen outing.
Rocky IV drops back down to a 7.5/10, which makes sense considering that not only did Stallone revisit the Cold War-era festival of cheese as recently as 2021 to cobble together a director’s cut, but he was almost killed by Dolph Lundgren after instructing his co-star to punch him as hard as possible. The actor ended up in intensive care for a week and a half as a result.
Anyone familiar with Stallone’s career won’t be shocked to find he bestowed Rocky V with a big fat zero, which he was adamant ended the franchise on the worst possible note. It stayed that way until he returned 16 years later for Rocky Balboa, and he even cited his distaste for the fifth chapter as “one of the reasons I wanted to do the last one”.
Even though he didn’t rank the sixth movie, the fact he called its mere existence his “toughest challenge,” an “almost impossible dream,” and his “most memorable film moment” on Instagram suggests he’d more than likely hand it 10/10, too.
