A rewatch of theRockyseries has been made much better thanks to theCreedfilms and their redemption of the worst installment in the franchise.Creedis often counted as one of thebest-ranked legacy sequelsof all time due to its ability to stand on its own but also build on what came before. As questions overCreed 4’s storyare raised, theRockyfranchise becomes one of the more long-lasting as it nears its 10th installment.
Whenranking theRockyandCreedmovies, it is often the first few from the former and all three of the latter that are regarded as the best installments. Further down the list, there tends to be one movie that is ranked as the worst of the bunch. Despite this reality, watching theRockyandCreedmovies in orderas of 2024 somewhat lessens the stain of this aforementioned movie after the legacy sequels went a long way to redeem it.
Rocky Balboa’s Story In Creed 1 & 2 Makes Rocky 5 Way Better In Retrospect
The movie in question isRocky V.Rocky Vis almost unanimously considered the worst in the franchise, primarily due to the underdeveloped plot and the shift away from boxing to return to Rocky’s street-based roots. The character of Tommy Gunn, Rocky’s protégé and one of his opponents, was also regarded as a misstep, withRocky Vsending the franchise into a period of limbo. All that said,the development of Rocky Balboa as a character inCreedandCreed IImakes his journey inRocky Vmore enjoyablewhen viewing it retroactively.
Rocky: Every Opponent In The Series, Ranked
The movies in the Rocky and Creed franchise vary in quality, so why do fans love the boxing franchise? The opponents. We rank them from worst to best.
Rocky Vis all about the titular character becoming a mentor rather than a fighter. Although the movie itself goes back on this by having Rocky engage in not one, but two street fights by the end of the story, this is still the main focus. Rocky’s mistakes during this journey make his son, Robert, estranged from him, leading directly into the stories ofRocky Balboa, Creed, andCreed II.
Rather than being an installment that ruined a character and left him in cinematic limbo,CreedandCreed IIturnedRocky Vinto a necessary point of the character’s overall arc…
The latter two especially focus on Rocky as a mentor and show him overcoming his past mistakes to reconnect with his son. Through Rocky’s mentorship of Adonis Creed, his mistakes with Tommy Gunn are rectified. Furthermore, the rekindling of his relationship with his son made Rocky’s familial errors fromRocky Vsimply another step in his journey in retrospect. Rather than being an installment that ruined a character and left him in cinematic limbo,CreedandCreed IIturnedRocky Vinto a necessary point of the character’s overall arc, making it a lot better when rewatching the entire franchise.
Now that theCreedtrilogy is complete, a marathon of the franchise is filled with more good films than bad ones. Admittedly,Rocky Vis the only movie in the franchise that is mostly disliked. That said,Rocky IIIandRocky IVcould still be classed as lesser-made movies regarding quality, despite often being viewed as some of the franchise’s most impactful stories. Regardless,Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky Balboa, Creed, Creed II,andCreed IIIvastly outweigh the other entries in theRockyfranchise, meaning it is definitely comprised of more good than bad.
Rocky V
Cast
Facing financial ruin and health issues, Rocky returns to his roots to train a promising young fighter. As he struggles to rebuild his life, tensions rise with his protege, culminating in a dramatic street fight that forces him to confront his past and reclaim his legacy.
