I really enjoyed the first “Rocky”. “Rocky II” is a disappointment. It may not be horrible but it is a needless sequel. It feels as if it is nothing more than an attempt to make more money and that’s a shame.

“Rocky II” picks up where the last one left us after the big fight. It shows us how Rocky (Sylvester Stallone “Over The Top”, “First Blood”) is doing after tying with the heavyweight champion of the world Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers “Predator”). Things initially seem perfect for Rocky but predictably, things start going wrong for him. As the film goes on, we discover that Rocky will have to don his gloves again to take on Creed for money in a rematch. What will be the outcome? If you watch the rest of this film it isn’t too hard to guess.

Sylvester Stallone will never be a great actor in my eyes but something about his performance in the first “Rocky” felt right. However, it doesn’t work too well here. Most of the cast are reasonably bland and that is sadly a big problem that the movie has. Sure, the acting wasn’t perfection the first time around and there were bland moments but it’s substantially weaker here.

“Rocky II” has a weaker training montage, a weaker plot and weaker action than the original so why bother with this sequel? Did “Rocky” really need a sequel to begin with? Well, you could argue that he wasn’t world champion at the end of the first but still he’d made a name for himself and it was fitting ending to an intriguing picture. There is a scene in “Rocky II” where Rocky starts doing advertising and it is so awkward and uneven it’s a reminder why this film isn’t good. “Rocky II” is not very intriguing and it feels pointless. Although not the worst in the “Rocky” series, this is one you can do without.