{"id":7653,"date":"2015-11-23T12:57:43","date_gmt":"2015-11-23T17:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hardwoodandhollywood.com\/pop-culture-spin\/?p=7653"},"modified":"2015-11-23T12:57:43","modified_gmt":"2015-11-23T17:57:43","slug":"rocky-training-scene-power-rankings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hardwoodandhollywood.com\/pop-culture-spin\/2015\/11\/23\/rocky-training-scene-power-rankings\/","title":{"rendered":"The ‘Rocky’ Training Scene Power Rankings"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"rocky\"<\/a>Welcome to Rocky Week here at Baller Mind Frame’s Pop Culture Spin! Over the course of this week (and next week), BMF Editor Sonny Giuliano<\/a> and PCS Writer Dalton Baggett<\/a> will be teaming up on a number of Rocky themed write-ups in anticipation and celebration of the Rocky spin-off Creed<\/em> being released on Thanksgiving Day. Today, these two pop culture guru’s take on the task of figuring out the best training scene in the entire Rocky<\/em> franchise.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sonny Giuliano: <\/strong>Dalton, I like to think that there are\u00a0three things that have led us here, to this point, in both our friendship and our respective writing careers.\u00a0First, we work together … like in real life and everything, not just on the line here as a part of BMF. Second, our former co-worker Jeremiah moved to New Hampshire and I was quick to declare myself your replacement best friend (on a scale of 1-10, how am I doing?). Third, we share a love for the Rocky <\/em>film franchise, so much so that we partook in multiple shots of tequila while listening to Eye of the Tiger a few months back. The next logical step in our friendship\u00a0is to tag team some Rocky <\/em>themed write-ups this week, and then swear to each other that we’ll never drink Tequila again. Deal?<\/p>\n

\n

Dalton Baggett:<\/strong> You make a valid point, Sonny. If it wasn\u2019t for us being real life co-workers, the world may never have gotten our opinions on all aspects of the Rocky franchise, and that would be nothing short of a travesty. I look forward to embarking on this journey with you, a co-worker, and more importantly, a friend. A friend I would rate a seven or eight on the replacement best friend scale. Certain things are keeping you from that perfect ten, one of which is your unflinching love for LeBron James. I just can\u2019t get on that bandwagon. The other thing is your refusal to \u201cget back on the horse\u201d as they say, and drink some damn tequila.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0SG: <\/strong>I can absolutely settle for a seven or eight! That’s a passing\u00a0mark on any conceivable scale of grading that I’ve ever come across in my life. I got a 72 on my Math Regents Exam in high school, and I’ve never been more proud of a grade in my life. Hey, speaking of grading … let’s get to these power rankings!<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
8: Rocky V
\n<\/strong>
\n[youtube]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Jf7CPMh3ZK8[\/youtube]
\n<\/strong><\/div>\n
SG:\u00a0<\/b>I see four major problems with this scene which, to be honest, barely qualifies as a training sequence in my book:<\/div>\n
\n

1: The whole sequence is just a total bummer. There are five shots of Rocky’s son (Robert), just standing there all alone and all sad because his dad (Rocky) loves Tommy Gunn more than he loves him. :-(<\/p>\n

2: To make matters worse, att various points during this sequence Robert is stuck with his Uncle Paulie playing the role of morale booster, trying to make up for Rocky being negligent father. I can’t think of a person who would be worse at cheering me up in any situation than Paulie Pennino would. He’s a human kidney stone.<\/p>\n

3: The song playing during this scene is hot garbage, and the only one worse in any Rocky<\/i> movie and on this countdown is the song featured in the next training sequence that we’ll be discussing. Clearly, there is a correlation between good music and good training. It’s the same in real life. I remember playing high school basketball, one of the schools we played each year had “Arab Money” on their warm-up playlist every year, and every time we played them it was a sloppy game. That can’t be a coincidence.<\/p>\n

4: Rocky’s son is doing one-armed push-ups during this scene. That means I have to go through my life believing that they either pulled the wool over our eyes with some not-so-tricky camera work, and that’s pretty crappy if you ask me, or some twelve year old kid can do one-armed push-ups and I would break my body if I ever tried to do one. Either way, I’m left indifferent about the whole experience.<\/p>\n

DB:\u00a0<\/b>We actually agree on a lot of points about why this montage is just awful. It really is more of an \u201cI neglect my son\u201d montage than anything else. Tommy is such a douche, so I really don\u2019t understand Rocky\u2019s motivation here. Pay attention to your super-human son who, like Sonny mentioned, can do freaking one-armed pushups.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n

I also agree that the music choice is what brings this montage down. Do you know what\u2019s worked for every Rocky movie prior to this one? Powerful rock ballads. What does Sylvester Stallone decide to use in this one? A horrible rap song. Just a poor overall\u00a0decision on Sly\u2019s part.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

7: Rocky III: First Clubber Lang Fight\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

[youtube]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=cvgw2lp7FHU [\/youtube]<\/div>\n

\nDB:\u00a0<\/b>In the first training montage of Rocky III<\/em> we get a rare glimpse of cocky, celebrity Rocky. We don\u2019t get to see this side of the boxer very often, and what a treat it is. He poses for pictures, does a little dancing, and even kisses the pretty girls (Adrian does not approve). Mick CLEARLY does not approve of any of the nonsense as he\u2019s not the type of guy who likes fun, or happiness.<\/div>\n
\n
\n

While it may seem like the relaxed atmosphere that leads to Rocky getting his ass beat by Clubber in their first match, I chalk it up to something up entirely. Rocky just doesn\u2019t grunt enough when he trains. You\u2019ll notice that Clubber has a very distinct and angry grunt while he is training. Rocky just doesn\u2019t have it, and this is clearly why he loses. He probably could\u2019ve practiced a little less dancing and a little more dodging haymakers, but whatever.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

My favorite part of the montage is when we get a shot of an elderly lady clutching a blow-up version of Rocky himself. She has the biggest smile on her face and it is definitely the happiest day of her life. I don\u2019t know why but it makes me laugh every time I watch this scene. I can just picture her taking it home and putting it in the living room, causing her husband some serious self-esteem issues.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Overall, this wasn\u2019t a typical\u00a0Rocky<\/i>\u00a0training montage, and it almost ended up in last place. That was Sonny\u2019s vote for last. I just couldn\u2019t justify putting anything from\u00a0Rocky V\u00a0<\/i>anywhere on a ranking list other than last place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

SG: <\/b>Yes, this scene was the subject of my last-place vote, and I absolutely stand by it. The music is\u00a0<\/span>an atrocity and there is hardly any real training (I mean, how are you supposed to train in a “Creep Joint,” after all?), and those two things are staples of Rocky <\/i>training scenes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

We’re in disagreement elsewhere in this scene, too … how do you enjoy Clubber Lang’s grunts? That’s a serious and rhetorical question, and I expect you to answer it the next time we see each other. If I were making a list about my least favorite things about the Rocky <\/i>franchise, my first five picks would be Paulie Pennino (who, we learn in this scene, probably could have been an awesome Carny if he set his mind to it), Clubber Lang’s grunts, the robot that Rocky bought Paulie in Rocky IV<\/i>, and everything from\u00a0Rocky V<\/i>\u00a0(I’ll count this as two things). On the other hand, if I were making a list of my favorite things in the Rocky <\/i>franchise, the piano that plays itself would be one of my top five picks.<\/p>\n

6: Rocky IV: No Easy Way Out\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n