1982 Rocky III

The Rocky series of films started out as the underdog versus the big time, with Stallone's small town boxer going up against the heavy weights. But what happens when that small town character becomes one of the heavy weights?

I guess it could go one of two ways; either he fights to remain stable and noble or he becomes the poster boy for revenge and nationalism (see Rocky IV), or he loses his championship to a nasty bully and earns to get his reputation back. That's Rocky III.

Here Mr T. who would later find fame as B.A. Baracus in The A-Team, plays the type of bully Rocky had fought against during his rise to the top. The drama is simply based around his lavish one-line bully quotes and incessant bragging. A trait he would take to The A-Team and latter work, including Snickers adverts.

Rocky III marks the second time that Stallone writes and directs his own movie, a trend that would be repeated in The Expendables many years later. He is a good writer, and an okay director, but he is clearly now as much as ever a pupil of cinema and eager to keep learning. He directs the fight scenes with some lovely touches and the tension does ramp up to an almost fever pitch. Stallone is a likable personality, and this cannot be disputed seeing as how his movies have made the amount of money that they have, the Rocky series alone has made around $1.444b. Rocky IV being the box office peak of the series.

True to form for an 80's movie there is a song (of course there is), this time it is The Eye of the Tiger by Survivor, I bet you are now singing that one in your head. All the original cast also return, Talia Shire as Rocky's wife; Carl Weathers as nemesis now friend Apollo Creed and Burgess Meredith as the much loves Mickey.

Rocky III added $270m to the Rocky franchise as the series continued its upward trajectory; see 1985 for the biggest box office entry of the series.