Rocky Reviews: Our Verdict on Every Rocky and Creed Film

Rocky (1976) and Creed (2015) are the essential Rocky movies, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rocky Balboa, Creed II and Creed III are recommended for different reasons, and Rocky V is for completists. These Rocky movie reviews are opinions, written as a fan who knows the series, and they discuss plot beyond the first act, including the fates of Apollo Creed and Adrian. If you want a cleaner ordering, rocky movies ranked puts all nine in a single list, and rocky movies in order explains how to sit down with them.

Yes: Rocky (1976), directed by John G. Avildsen, is a character drama with a boxing match at the end, and that balance is why it still works. Rocky Balboa is a small time Philadelphia club boxer who collects debts for a loan shark. Champion Apollo Creed picks him for a Bicentennial title bout because the nickname the Italian Stallion sells tickets, and Mickey Goldmill, the gym owner who once dismissed him, offers to train him. The slow courtship of Adrian (credited in this film as Adrianna "Adrian" Pennino, a shy pet shop worker and the sister of Paulie) carries more of the film than the fight does. Sylvester Stallone insisted on starring, according to History.com, and the film cost $1 million and earned about $225 million worldwide. Verdict: essential, and the best place to begin any rocky 1976 viewing.

No, rocky 2 is not better than the original, but it is a worthy second chapter and my favorite of the early sequels for how grounded it is. Stallone directed it himself (1979), and it picks up right after the close loss to Apollo. An eye injury could cost Rocky his sight, so he retires, marries Adrian and learns she is expecting. Money runs short because he cannot read well and has no steady work, and Apollo, stung by claims that the first fight was fixed, keeps pushing for a rematch. The money trouble is the best material, because it makes the rematch feel necessary rather than convenient. The box office agrees with my ranking: $85 million domestic and about $200 million worldwide, against $117 million domestic and $225 million for the first film. Verdict: recommended.

Rocky 3 was a hit, with $125 million at the domestic box office and about $270 million worldwide. Among the six original films only Rocky IV earned more. Stallone directed again (1982) and set the story five years after the Apollo fight, with Rocky a champion who has defended his title ten times and has started to coast. Clubber Lang, played by Mr. T, publicly calls him out, and Mickey admits he quietly chose easy opponents to protect his fighter. Rocky trains in a crowded, showy setting while Lang trains with fierce focus, and that contrast is the whole film. Hulk Hogan appears as Thunderlips, and Survivor's Eye of the Tiger is the song the film is known for. At 99 minutes it moves quickly. The rocky box office page has every figure. Verdict: recommended, and the sharpest of the sequels.

Rocky 4 is the biggest earner in the saga at about $300 million worldwide, and it is the shortest film at 91 minutes. Stallone directed it (1985) around Soviet boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), who arrives with a manager, a wife and a team of scientific trainers. Apollo decides to fight Drago in an exhibition, Rocky works his corner, and the bout becomes a one sided beating. Apollo does not survive it, a fact the Creed films later carry forward. Vince DiCola scored the film, and James Brown's Living in America is the song people remember. Stallone has said a Lundgren punch put him in the hospital for four days, a real cost behind the ring work. I enjoy it more than I admire it. Verdict: recommended as spectacle, and the one to put on for friends. For the montage lovers, see rocky training montage.

Rocky 5 is the weakest film in the saga, in my opinion, though it has ideas worth respecting. Avildsen returned to direct (1990). Rocky comes home from Moscow with a brain condition that forces him to retire, and then learns his accountant has stolen his money, so the family loses its home and belongings. They move back to the old neighborhood, Rocky reopens Mighty Mick's Gym, and he trains a young fighter named Tommy Gunn (played by Tommy Morrison). Avildsen said Rocky was meant to die in the original ending and that the studio changed it about two weeks into filming, as CBS reported in 2014. The film earned about $120 million worldwide, the lowest of the six. Verdict: for completists only.

Adrian is already gone when rocky balboa 2006 begins, and the film is built around that loss. Rocky is an older widower who runs a small Italian restaurant named after his late wife, visits her grave and tells stories to his customers. I have not found a plain reason from the filmmakers for the choice, so this part is my reading: a boxer who has lost the person who anchored him is the only version of the story that earns a comeback at that age. It also explains why his grown son Robert (Milo Ventimiglia) feels so distant from him. If you want the character in full, adrian rocky covers her arc across the films.

Stallone directed Rocky Balboa (2006) sixteen years after Rocky V, and it is a quiet, sincere film that treats age as the opponent. A television simulation pits a prime Rocky against undefeated champion Mason "The Line" Dixon (Antonio Tarver), and the public chatter nudges an exhibition into being. Marie (Geraldine Hughes) and her son Steps give Rocky a reason to leave the restaurant. The budget was $24 million and the worldwide gross was about $156 million. The fight shoot began in Las Vegas after Stallone broke a foot. Verdict: recommended, and the right goodbye for the original run.

Creed 2015 is essential, and I would rank it with the original for how it handles a handoff. Ryan Coogler directed Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Johnson, who learns in juvenile detention that he is Apollo Creed's son, then leaves an office job and a secret amateur career in Tijuana to find Rocky in Philadelphia. Stallone, billed second, plays Rocky Balboa, the trainer Adonis asks for help. Real fighters Andre Ward and Tony Bellew play opponents, and a crowd scene was shot at Goodison Park. It cost $35 million and earned about $174 million worldwide. Ludwig Göransson composed the score. Verdict: essential.

Creed 2 is recommended, and in my opinion it is the most underrated film in the saga. Steven Caple Jr. directed (2018), with Coogler moving to executive producer. Adonis is champion and engaged to Bianca (Tessa Thompson) when Ivan Drago, who killed his father, resurfaces in Ukraine with his son Viktor (Florian Munteanu), and Rocky refuses to train Adonis for fear history will repeat. Lundgren and Brigitte Nielsen both return, and the film treats the Dragos as people, which I admire. Production began on the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps in March 2018. It earned about $214 million worldwide on a $50 million budget, and it was the first film in the saga to open in China. Meet the antagonists at ivan drago and viktor drago.

Creed 3 is recommended, and it is the boldest film in the saga because Rocky is not in it. Michael B. Jordan directed it himself (2023), and Stallone was involved only as a producer. In 2002 a teenage Donnie leaves his friend Dame, a promising boxer, behind after an incident at a liquor store gets Dame arrested. Years later Jonathan Majors plays the grown Dame, released from prison and asking for a chance to box. Donnie is retired, runs a gym and raises daughter Amara with Bianca, and the family uses American Sign Language because Amara is hard of hearing. It cost $75 million and earned about $276 million worldwide, second only to Rocky IV. Joseph Shirley composed the score, and J. Cole executive produced a separate soundtrack album. Whether a fourth film follows is covered at creed 4.

People like Rocky because it is about effort and loyalty rather than winning, and each generation of the saga rebuilds that idea around a different fighter. In my opinion, the first film is about a man who wants to go the distance, the middle films are about what success does to him, and the last three are about what he passes on. The cast around Stallone, including Burt Young as Paulie, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers and Burgess Meredith, gives the sequels enough depth to keep returning. If you want more, read rocky characters and rocky cast, or check where to watch rocky. The full list of films sits on rocky movies and how many rocky movies are there, and the music is on rocky soundtrack. If you are watching for the first time, start with Rocky (1976), then jump to Creed (2015) whenever you want a fresh set of fighters.