Rocky II (1979)

Although this was a major step in turning Sylvester Stallone into the '80s icon that he would become, Rocky II sees the star still some short distance away from being fully-formed at the end of the 1970s. While tough and strong, Rocky Balboa is far from the sculpted man-mountain he would become in later instalments, and there's still more time for character development and relationship moments that help to make Rocky more than just the standard "action hero" seen in so many other Stallone vehicles.

Set in the immediate aftermath of the first film (with the opening scenes replaying that fight between Rocky and Apollo Creed), this shows our main character dealing with his new-found success, trying to make the best of things, and considering how to make the most of his boxing reputation without having to dive straight back into the ring. Apollo, on the other hand, is being mocked and insulted by those who believe he received a hiding from someone who never should have been allowed to go the distance with him. There has to be a rematch, but that means that Rocky needs to learn a few new tricks. Meanwhile, he's very happy to be starting a family with Adrian (Talia Shire), but Adrian knows that she'll eventually have to see him fight again.

Once again written by Stallone, who also decided to direct this time around, this is a full and engaging character piece that stands toe to toe with the original. It continues the story of Rocky in a way that doesn't feel like a complete retread, although it ultimately ends up in the same place, but looking at it in hindsight, knowing what comes along after it, makes it easy to see the different parts of the formula falling into place.

Stallone is once again very good in front of the camera, remaining a gentle giant who is often held back by himself more than those directly around him. Shire gets to do a bit more than just be timid and quiet, developing her character into the motivating and supportive partner she would remain for the rest of the series, whether for or against whatever upcoming boxing match looms ahead. Carl Weathers is still a crackling and very worthwhile antagonist, his fighter desperate to reclaim his reputation while also admiring the strength and grit of his opponent. Burt Young pops his head into enough scenes to keep his character a part of the core group, Burgess Meredith still does wonderful work as Rocky's trainer, Mickey, and both Tony Burton and Joe Spinell once again do enough in their brief moments of screentime to make a good impression.

It may not be distilled to the purity of what we think of now when we think of this franchise, but the iconic theme plays often enough, there's a training montage, the final act is all about the big fight, and this nicely ends one story arc that is then reworked to form a strong throughline that would hold together the very best of the later instalments. 

8/10

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Prime Time: Rocky (1976)

It is interesting to rewatch Rocky for the first time in decades and consider a number of things you might have forgotten. It’s also equally interesting to even contemplate reviewing it in the 21st century. I mean . . . who needs another review of Rocky at this point? Nobody. But here I am anyway. 

The story of a boxer (Rocky Marciano AKA The Italian Stallion, played by Sylvester Stallone) who seems to have missed any shot at glory, Rocky is a boxing film that features a surprisingly small amount of boxing. It’s crucial to the tale, and to the character, but this is just as much a character study as it is a rousing sports movie.

While watching Rocky this time around, I really couldn’t be certain that I had ever actually watched the whole film before. I would have been very young when first checking it out, and it isn’t as simplistic, or as focused on the training and fights, as some of the later movies in the series. It’s now impossible for me to know if I had ever watched the whole thing, however, because Rocky is a massive part of pop culture. You know how Stallone speaks. You know the main theme (music by Bill Conti). You know that a battered and tired Rocky shouts “Adriaaaaaaaaan” when he wants his partner beside him at the end of a fight. These are all things that are locked in to my brain, just as some of the main supporting players are. 

The story of Stallone holding out to get a deal in which he could star in the film he wrote for himself is the stuff of legend nowadays, a modern Hollywood fairytale in sync with the film itself, but can you remember who actually directed this? It was John G. Avildsen (who would also strike big with The Karate Kid, but seems destined to be overshadowed by the iconic characters he placed onscreen in professional fights).

Stallone is excellent in the lead role, although (and it seems weird to say this) it’s strange to see him looking much closer to someone with a normal physique than the super-ripped and muscular form he started to build from the 1980s all the way through to now. He definitely hits the perfect note here though, a fighter in the ring who just wants life outside the ring to be a bit better for himself and everyone he knows. Talia Shire is  very sweet as the super-shy Adrian, while Burt Young is alternately amusing and annoying as her insensitive brother, Paulie. Burgess Meredith is great fun as Mickey, the trainer who dismisses Rocky until he gets his unexpected chance at the big time, and Carl Weathers is brilliant as Apollo Creed, the boxer supplying that chance. Unlike so many other opponents in the series, Apollo isn’t depicted as a big villain, and the series would benefit enormously from this decision. There are also good little moments for Joe Spinell (as a local crime boss who employs Rocky as a debt collector) and Tony Burton (as Apollo’s corner man/assistant).

I realise that I have spent all of this time telling you plenty that you already know. Like myself, most people have either seen this film or know enough about it to feel like they have seen it. There are still some surprises to be savoured though, especially if you haven’t checked this out in years, and the film wins viewers over with little details and sweet moments that lay the foundation for the hugely successful franchise it would become. This isn’t perfect, far from it, and anyone seeking something in line with the more formulaic sports movies that are so often described as “Rocky mixed with [insert sport here]” may be disappointed, but it’s full of heart, and often full of an innocence that you only truly appreciate when you realise that it’s the vital ingredient missing from some of the mis-steps in the later instalments.

Maybe not a knockout, but it still manages to stand upright against the barrage of jabs that may come from a modern critique. 

8/10

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Clash Of The Titans (1981)

The final feature film to showcase the stop-motion creations of the great Ray Harryhausen, Clash Of The Titans may not be the very best film that he would be a part of, but there's no denying that it's a fantastic swansong full of magic and wonder.

It turns out that in olden times Zeus (Laurence Olivier), as well as being the big cheese among the gods, was a bit of a horndog. He was a bit of a player. When a woman that he seduced is cast out to sea with her (and his) son, he takes revenge by unleashing the kraken and ensuring that the woman and child wash up safely on another shore. The boy grows up to be Perseus (Harry Hamlin) and he finds himself in the middle of some trouble as some gods - mainly Thetis (Maggie Smith), looking for revenge after Zeus showed no mercy in the punishment of her own son, Calibos (Neil McCarthy) - decide to stir things up a bit for both himself and Zeus. Zeus, seeing the path that Perseus is being led down, at least ensures that his son has a fine shield, a helmet that can make the wearer invisible and a magic sword. Before you can say "clockwork owl" things get out of hand and Perseus ends up having to race against time to find a way to stop the kraken appearing once again, this time to snatch up his love, Andromeda (Judi Bowker).

Directed by Desmond David and written by Beverley Cross, Clash Of The Titans is a spectacular film that might run for almost two hours in length, but packs plenty into every sequence. The fact that there are a number of creations here - Pegasus, Calibos, the kraken, Medusa - that are amongst the best that Harryhausen ever made adds immeasurably to the proceedings.

Harry Hamlin is fine in the role of Perseus, and the supporting cast is full of those already listed plus the likes of Ursula Andress (don't blink or you may miss her fleeting appearance), Pat Roach, the ever-wonderful Burgess Meredith, Sian Phillips and Tim Piggott-Smith, but none of those names are important. Even the mighty Laurence Olivier is forgotten when the action set-pieces take place and our hero looks to be in a tight spot.

The pacing isn't perfect, the script walks a fine line between the intentionally mythical and the unintentionally mirthful, and it suffers in comparison to what else was being done by the start of the 1980s, but it's a fantastic and fitting end to the visual effects career (though not his movie career) of a man who pioneered so many tricks and inspired the imaginations of so many in the film business today.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Clash-Titans-DVD-Laurence-Olivier/dp/B000B7KXNG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1369151356&sr=8-2&keywords=clash+of+the+titans

The Sentinel (1977)

If Michael Winner was anyone else he'd surely have a bit more recognition from people. But he's Michael Winner. He's the annoying windbag who went from directing movies to critiquing restaurants and telling people in the most patronising manner to "calm down, dear" while advertising insurance. And he had the cheek to do that after "glorifying" vigilante justice with a the first few Death Wish movies. Here's the thing that's easy to forget. Death Wish was a very good film. As was The Mechanic. And The Jokers. The Sentinel is an unfairly neglected horror that manages to throw in some real mystery, real shocks and some great performances. Unfortunately for those who hate him, it was developed into a screenplay (based on the Jeffrey Konvitz novel) by Michael Winner, produced by Jeffrey Konvitz and Michael Winner and directed, of course, by Michael Winner.

The Sentinel is all about a beautiful young woman who moves into an apartment and then starts to worry about her sanity as she starts to see stranger and stranger things happening around her, things involving her strange and creepy neighbours. Maybe it's all tied in to the old man who lives upstairs, the one that she never sees out and about because he never goes out and about. He seems to just sit there, gazing out of his window, like some kind of sentinel.

The script and direction don't really seem to be all that spectacular here but as the movie builds towards a fantastic and horrific climax it becomes easier to see that, in fact, everything is almost perfectly crafted. The film has a real sense of mystery and develops the plot beautifully. Even if you remain a step ahead of the film, it's a pleasure to see how every detail is revealed and how the unreal horror continues to pile up in a surprisingly realistic manner.

Another pleasure here is the cast. Winner managed to get himself a superb cast here, with some big names even in small roles. There's a fleeting appearance by Jeff Goldblum before he became a well-known actor, Christopher Walken gets a bit more screentime but was also in the very early days of his career and then you also get to see Ava Gardner, Beverly D'Angelo, Burgess Meredith, Eli Wallach, John Carradine, Jose Ferrer, Martin Balsam, Sylvia Miles, William Hickey and Jerry Orbach. Each and every one is a great actor, with Burgess Meredith being one of the very best. Then there's Chris Sarandon in a main role, doing an okay job, and the beautiful Christina Raines playing Alison Parker, the beautiful young woman. Heck, Tom Berenger even appears in the last minute or so for perhaps the smallest role of his career.

There was (and, indeed, still is . . . . I suppose) quite a controversy regarding the decision made by Winner to use people with real deformities during a scene in which "denizens of Hell" appear but, for some reason, I didn't find this bothersome. Perhaps I should have, and future viewers have been forewarned, but I didn't. In fact, that sequence felt as strange and disturbing as the rest of the movie, which meant that it felt as if it belonged right where it was.

I really like The Sentinel and I encourage others to at least check it out. It might be fashionable to automatically dislike and mock any Michael Winner movies but it's a lot more enjoyable to give them a chance and maybe even be entertained by them.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Sentinel-DVD-Chris-Sarandon/dp/B00149XOVI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1350167969&sr=8-2