In any self-respecting sports flick, you can expect to find a training montage or two. In the case of the Rocky franchise, we’ve been treated to an abundance of them, putting our heroes through rigorous exercises and methods to prepare them for their big final act bout, often set to the beat of a catchy tune.
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With Creed II and the promise of a new training montage with us, let’s count down what it has to match up to when it comes to that all important sequence. Warning: this feature may make you eat lightning and crap thunder.
‘Tommy The Machine Gunn Rises’ – Rocky V
It seems fitting that the worst montage comes from the worst Rocky movie. I stand by the opinion that Rocky V has some merits (I’ve always quite liked Stallone’s performance in it), but this montage isn’t one of them. A mix of training and fight montage, this one sees Rocky training his newfound protege Tommy ‘The Machine’ Gunn (played by real-life boxer Tommy Morrison), intercut with scenes of him winning fight after fight, climbing up the contender ranks, all the while Rocky Jr. (Sage Stallone) struggles to to find his own rhythm. It serves a perfectly fine narrative function, but there’s no denying that it is very unmemorable, and being set to some god awful early 90’s rap doesn’t do it any favours.
‘Win!’ – Rocky II
A satisfying, but largely anonymous montage here, largely because it shares a film with a more iconic montage. After Adrian awakens from her medically induced coma, she simply tells Rocky that she wants him to win, giving Rocky the drive to put all his heart into his upcoming rematch. What follows is a show of strength and determination as the Italian Stallion sets about getting ready. There’s one-armed push-ups against the sunset, there’s heavy lifting, core strengthening and he finally catches that darned chicken. It is all set to Bill Conti’s rousing ‘Going the Distance’ composition, giving this montage a distinct, inspiring drive.
‘Gonna Fly Now – California Dreamin’ – Rocky III
There’s a lot to love in this version of the ‘Gonna Fly Now’ even if it plays in the installment that is the franchise operating at its most formulaic. It works largely because it focuses on Rocky successfully changing his fighting style. But most importantly, it is the montage in which Rocky’s friendship with Apollo Creed is solidified in all its homoerotic glory. In this montage the two former adversaries break down whatever barriers they had left with just a good run on a sandy Californian beach, with gratuitous close-ups of their toned thighs and strained faces, culminating in a joyous frolic in the sea. And of course, there’s a freeze frame. It could only come from 1982.
‘Gonna Fly Now – Community Spirit’ –Rocky II
Rocky II does well for a long stretch to deliver a level of credibility that matches the first, but it gives into to the popularity of the character here in a montage that celebrates the iconic character of Philly that Rocky has become. It is the first (but certainly not the last time) that the franchise tucks in to some cheese, but it is some wholly fulfilling cheese at that. Taking the famous montage from its predecessor and upping the spectacle of it by having a huge crowd of neighbourhood kids join Rocky on his run to the Art Museum, this is a moment where Rocky as a cinematic hero is cemented.
‘Hearts on Fire’ – Rocky IV
Rocky IV is a movie that is predominantly made up of montages (but not all of them if the training variety). This is the second of the training montages in the film (more of the first later) and is lessened as a result. That beings said, there is no denying the 80’s flavoured wonder that it is propelled by Johnny Cafferty’s soaring 80’s power ballad ‘Hearts on Fire.’ We see Rocky demonstrate untold strengths, to Duke’s mantra of ‘no pain.’ He’s never looked stronger, and more grizzled as he grows out his Russian wilderness beard. It all ends with an iconic moment atop a snow-capped Russian mountain frying our ‘Drago’, ready to avenge the death of his best friend. It’s high drama, and the point where he franchise really throws in the towel in terms of authenticity, but it’s undeniably entertaining.
‘Gonna Fly Now – Let’s Start Buildin’ Some Hurtin’ Bombs’ – Rocky Balboa
Operating largely in nostalgia, but by no means any less inspiring as a result, this montage from the sixth film in the franchise skews close to ones that came before while offering a new style of training. As Tony Burton’s Duke points out just before the music kicks in, Rocky’s age has resulted in arthritis and stiff joints, leading them to call upon ‘blunt force trauma.’ The goal is make Rocky’s punches so strong that it’s going to make his opponent feel like they tried ‘kissing an express train, yeah!’ With such a wondrous set up like that, and a great display of strength from Stallone through the montage, there’s no stopping a daft grin from forming on your face as Rocky heads up those famous steps to his most famous track; gonna fly now indeed!
‘If I Fight, You Fight’ – Creed
Creed is the movie that injected a fresh, dynamic spirit into a 40 year old franchise, which is no mean feat by any stretch of the imagination. Art of that comes from its emotional and raw approach to character, with Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis having the most complex arc across any character in this franchise. His chemistry with Stallone’s Rocky is nothing short of sublime, and that all amounts in a montage that operates on high emotion. Rocky has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma ahead of Adonis’ fight with light heavyweight champ Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew). This montage sees them come together to help each through their individual battles, culminating in a rousing finale that bursts with confidence as the choir and and the brass swell in Ludwig Göransson’s score. A powerful moment in a film full of them.
‘Man vs. Machine’ –Rocky IV – Vince DiCola
This montage is the franchise at its most ridiculous, and it is all the more entertaining as a result. Juxtaposing Rocky’s more primal training methods to Ivan Drago’s (Dolph Lundgren) high tech (and steroid enhanced) routine, this montage is all about characterising the qualities of the two fighters as well as their pedigree. To the rhythms of Vince DiCola’s synths and electric guitar, Rocky takes to the rough conditions of his snowy landscape and utilises them in his training, jogging through thick snowfall and chopping down trees. Drago on the other hand, has all the best equipment that the Soviet Union can offer in the confines of his imperialistic gym. All the of the film’s East vs West parables are on full display in a exceptionally unsubtle fashion. It’s part of what makes Rocky IV both utterly absurd but undeniably fascinating.
‘Gonna Fly Now’ –Rocky
How could it not be, right? This is the montage that all the others after it hold themselves to, and for good reason. Matching the feels level of authenticity mixed with Hollywood storytelling, this montage comes at a point where everything is falling into place for Balboa, resulting in him completing the run we saw him struggle to finish earlier in the film. Here, he completes it with energy to spare and a skip in his step. There is no other image that better represents the franchise as a whole than that of Balboa at the of of the steps, holding his arms in the air and leaping for joy with the city of Philadelphia spread out before him. It is of course, all set to the song that is the anthem for the whole series, the tune we all know and hum whenever we need a burst of drive and motivation. It remains powerful and forever iconic, much like the moment in the film itself.
Creed II is released in cinemas on 30th November 2018.
