What’s Aged the Best?
The score, Thunderlips, Eye of the Tiger, Clubber Lang, Apollo, the pinball machine, Adrian, the supporting announcers, and key Mickey dialogue
In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:42:09Read transcript
- The recurring fight overture still signals that Rocky’s comeback is beginning.
- Thunderlips holds up because the wrestling is authentic and Hogan performs moves absent from much of his later career. — Bill Simmons
- Eye of the Tiger remains culturally durable and was central to Hogan’s early crowd response. — Bill Simmons
- Clubber Lang remains one of the strongest sports-movie villains because his spare presentation and verbal performance create menace.
- Apollo’s training role is praised as one of Carl Weathers’s fullest performances in the series. — Bill Simmons
- The rare Rocky pinball machine remains desirable and is said to sell for about nine thousand dollars. — Bill Simmons
- The ten selected title-defense opponents have absurdly specific credited names that the panel enjoys reciting. — Bill Simmons
- Clubber’s slow look into the camera became an iconic Mr. T image. — Bill Simmons
- Rocky’s affluent house visually captures how far the family has risen. — Bill Simmons
- Adrian’s appearance and confidence plausibly reflect the family’s new wealth while preserving the gradual change from the first two films.
- Mickey’s warning that Rocky cannot win establishes the template later reused in Rocky IV.
- Bill Baldwin and Stu Nahan are both said to have aged nicely.