Synopsis
Following the Ivan Drago match in Rocky IV, Rocky learns he has brain damage, and his unscrupulous accountant has left his family bankrupt. After a forced return to the “old neighborhood” Rocky trains a new, promising boxer Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison) and finds a challenge of a different kind in hyper-competitive promoter George Washington Duke (Richard Gant).
Synopsis
Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) is a down-and-out loan collector in a run-down part of Philly who boxes for fun. He gets a once in a lifetime chance to fight the world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers).
By this juncture, The Karate Kid series has become (as many series do) cheese-ball and unintentionally funny. There’s a glimmer of the original film’s greatness but many aspects in Part III are decidedly off, round-kicking it into definite so-bad-its-good territory.
As with the first Karate Kid, my personal biases made revisiting this flick more enjoyable. It’s a feel-good, Rocky type film that mostly lives up to the original. However, cheese and corn is definitely starting to ooze into the series.
You might think I’m a bit odd for giving this one five stars, but I have fond memories this coming-of-age with a mysterious mentor, and there are some personal connections that are completely biased.