History YMMV / RockyII

* ContestedSequel: While ''Rocky II'' is often regarded as the best sequel to the original film, it is also controversial in the sense of detractors accusing it of being a glorified FixFic to appease audiences who were upset that Rocky didn't win in the first match, something that many felt missed the point of the first film, where It was acknowledged that Rocky didn’t have much of a chance to win, but wanted to prove he was worth something.

* ContestedSequel: While ''Rocky II'' is often regarded as the best sequel to the original film, it is also controversial in the sense of detractors accusing it of being a glorified FixFic to appease audiences who were upset that Rocky didn't win in the first match.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: The film is in the shadow of the original, but is largely seen as a comparable follow-up for the characters in the aftermath of the original. Rocky III and IV is where the sequel fatigue became infamous, as what started as a character drama with boxing as a theme became grandiose sports films with action hero undertones. This film serves as the transition between the two.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Both Creator/NoahAntwiler and Creator/BradJones feel as though Apollo Creed is a TragicHero who is simply looking to prove that he still deserves the title, spending most of the film training like a man possessed. On the flip side, Rocky spends most of the movie making poor personal choices and ultimately agrees to the fight for MoneyDearBoy and half asses most of his training. In that perspective, Creed comes off as the more sympathetic of the two.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/: Both [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment The Spoony One]] and WebVideo/TheCinemaSnob feel as though Apollo Creed is a TragicHero who is simply looking to prove that he still deserves the title, spending most of the film training like a man possessed. On the flip side, Rocky spends most of the movie making poor personal choices and ultimately agrees to the fight for MoneyDearBoy and half asses most of his training. In that perspective, Creed comes off as the more sympathetic of the two.
* GratuitousItalian: Rocky and Adrian's wedding is celebrated in (bad) Italian, and later the same priest blesses Rocky in (equally bad) Italian.

* RealitySubtext: After the unexpected success of the original movie, Sylvester Stallone was propelled into stardom, but his follow up movies were both critical and commercial failures. He seemed destined to be a one-hit-wonder. Only when the decision was made to make a sequel (there was not one originally planned) and it too became a success was Stallone on the A list to stay. Rocky II and to a certain degree Rocky III follow a similar story line.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/: Both [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment The Spoony One]] and the CinemaSnob feel as though Apollo Creed is a TragicHero who is simply looking to prove that he still deserves the title, spending most of the film training like a man possessed. On the flip side, Rocky spends most of the movie making poor personal choices and ultimately agrees to the fight for MoneyDearBoy and half asses most of his training. In that perspective, Creed comes off as the more sympathetic of the two.

* RealitySubtext: After the unexpected success of the original movie Sylvester Stallone was propelled into stardom, but his follow up movies were both critical and commercial failures. He seemed destined to be a one-hit-wonder. Only when the decision was made to make a sequel (there was not one originally planned) and it too became a success was Stallone on the A list to stay. Rocky II and to a certain degree Rocky III follow a similar story line.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/: Both TheSpoonyOne and the CinemaSnob feel as though Apollo Creed is a TragicHero who is simply looking to prove that he still deserves the title, spending most of the film training like a man possessed. On the flip side, Rocky spends most of the movie making poor personal choices and ultimately agrees to the fight for MoneyDearBoy and half asses most of his training. In that perspective, Creed comes off as the more sympathetic of the two.

* GratuitousItalian: Rocky and Adrian's wedding is celebrated in (bad) Italian.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/: Both TheSpoonyOne and the CinemaSnob feel as though Apollo Creed is a TragicHero who is simply looking to prove that he still deserves the title, spending most of the film training like a man possessed. On the flip side, Rocky spends most of the movie making poor personal choices and ultimately agrees to the fight for MoneyDearBoy and half asses most of his training. In that perspective, Creed comes off as the more sympathetic of the two