When heavyweight champion Apollo Creed gives Rocky an unlikely shot at the title, Mickey approaches him about being his manager. Based on their uneasy prior relationship, Rocky is initially resistant, but nevertheless agrees to let Mickey train him.
Mickey had always been Rocky's steadfast support, giving him a place to train and some much-needed life advice as he faced Apollo Creed and then Clubber Lang, and there never seemed to be any doubt that Mickey would always be in his corner.
Rocky gets mad — because he's hurt at how Mickey's treated him before — but then Rocky quickly realizes that he needs a trainer and changes his minds/forgives Mickey.
I think Rocky understood that while Mickey never did help him or treated him well in the past (though admittedly Rocky didn't help his case at the start), Mickey was both genuine in his offer to train Rocky and was remorseful on his past treatment.
Balboa was able to convince Goldmill to train him anyway, with the promise that this would be their last fight. In the time leading up to this fight, Mickey wanted to train Rocky the way he in preparation for facing Apollo Creed, back at his old squalid gymnasium.
As Mick was old and already shown to be in poor health, his death was far less shocking than Apollo's. Instead, the fighter is tragically killed in the ring - once again using grief as a means of forcing Rocky to push himself past his limits to achieve the (seemingly) impossible.
Another major discrepancy is in relation to Micky's age and date of death. In the first film, Micky says he is 76, placing his birth in either 1899 or 1900. In Rocky III however, his headstone lists his date of birth as 1905, making him 71 in the original film.
Kneeling at his side, Rocky speaks to his friend, telling him that the fight ended in the second by a knockout, which Mickey misinterprets as a win for Rocky as he passes away.
Shortly after, Paulie passes away and Rocky's relationship with his son becomes strained due to Robert distancing himself from any contact with him, leaving him alone again. A few years later, he meets Adonis Creed, the illegitimate son of his old friend, Apollo Creed, who asks him to come train him.
From an insane asylum to a 1$ billion movie franchise
In the process, they accidentally severed a nerve which caused paralysis in parts of Stallone's face. That's how the actor got his snarling look and slurred speech, which would become his “signature” 30 years later in the first Rocky movie.
The star once revealed in an Instagram post (via Men's Health) in 2017 that to achieve his ripped look for Rocky 3 - which changed the franchise in many ways - he undertook a "very high protein" diet which consisted of small portions of oatmeal cookies made up of brown rice and around 20 cups of coffee a day.
Stallone is at his best when playing Rocky--it is his vision and his creation--and despite what Hollywood wants us to think, he is not a bad director either. From the supercharged "Eye of the Tiger" opening this film just does not let up. All of the cast are great, none more so than Stallone himself.
Oliver Burgess Meredith, known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor. He was best-known for portraying Rocky Balboa's trainer Mickey Goldmill in the Rocky films and the Penguin in the television series Batman.
After returning home, Rocky and Adrian discover they are bankrupt after Paulie was fooled into signing a "power of attorney" over to Rocky's accountant, who squandered all of his money on real estate deals gone sour and failed to pay Rocky's taxes over the previous six years.
The living legend didn't appear for straightforward reasons, as Sylvester Stallone opted out of Creed III for creative differences. Stallone earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor as Rocky in the first Creed and has served since as the mentor of Adonis "Donnie" Creed (Michael B.
Milo Ventimiglia as Rocky Balboa Jr.: Rocky's estranged son, who moved to Vancouver in the period between Rocky Balboa (2006) and Creed and is now a father himself. Ventimiglia reprises his role from the former film.
As the primary antagonist of the movie, Lang is a complex and fearsome foe, providing a stark contrast to the more straightforward adversaries in the other films. His sheer brutality and relentless determination make him a formidable opponent for Rocky, forcing the protagonist to face his own limitations and fears.
Rocky tries to retire again, and the audience sees how Paulie becomes increasingly jealous that Rocky has money and fame now. Instead of asking Rocky for a job like one usually would, he tries to challenge Rocky to a fight and tear him apart verbally while drunk.
Clubber Lang was very belligerent and had a violent temper. He argues in the movie, loves to crash parties and ruin people's celebrations. An example of this is when Clubber provoked Rocky into fighting him while the citizens of Philadelphia were putting up a statue of Rocky Balboa.
Paul "Paulie" Pennino (played by Burt Young) is Adrian's older brother and Rocky Balboa's best friend, later his brother-in-law when Rocky marries Adrian. He is one of only three characters to appear in the first six films.
Problems begin to arise in relation to Mick's death. His headstone records his date of death as August 15th, 1981, placing the events in Rocky III almost five years after those in Rocky II (and thus making Rocky 36), leading many fans to accept this 1981 date as the "correct" date.
In the first movie, Rocky is a 30-year-old club boxer from Philadelphia who works as a debt collector for a loan shark. When heavyweight champion Apollo Creed has an opponent drop out of a fight with a broken hand and can't find a replacement, he decides to give a local underdog an opportunity at the title.
