Article: A ROCKY LEGACY: Inferior sequels dealt blows to charm of original film.

Byline: Frank Gabrenya

Dec. 17--When Rocky Balboa arrives Wednesday in theaters, the underdog boxing series will reach six films. That makes it the longest movie series in the past half-century not involving mad slashers, spies or spaceships. Although the films, all written by Sylvester Stallone, make up a continuing story, the central character hasn't been the same lovable mug since halfway through Rocky II, when the blue-collar poignancy that made the first movie so affecting was scrapped in pursuit of sequel riches. What happened to the Rocky movies is a vivid example of why sequels usually fail to improve on what made the original work and how a lazy ...

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