All up I think this is probably the best of the Rocky films in visual terms, but its story is severely lacking and its depth is non-existent.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Feb 14, 2024

The Survivor song, "Eye of the Tiger," might be the best thing about this film which has Rocky going against Mr. T as Rocky's adversary.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 8, 2023

Very much a film of the ’80s. Not only did it co-star 1980s icons like Mr. T and Hulk Hogan, but it made Rocky a bit more musclebound than he’d been earlier, in line with the G.I. Joe aesthetics of the time. (40th anniversary)

| Original Score: B+ | May 27, 2022

Working behind the camera again, Sylvester Stallone keeps things going in an effective way, expanding on the familiar characters and hitting all the right beats.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 28, 2022

It would be true to say that Stallone has improved as a director, delivering a short, almost staccato movie which zips through the whole fable fast enough to prevent familiarity breeding contempt.

| Nov 11, 2021

This is the stuff of comic books and corny American movies; credible, colorful entertainment, seemingly meat-headed but maybe meatier than we thought.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 11, 2021

Give Sylvester Stallone credit: this picture so totally recycles the first two Rockys that -- in a just universe -- it would be practically nonexistent; but the finished product is nonetheless a huge crowd pleaser.

| Nov 10, 2021

Stallone is distinctly at his best when the film takes off into almost abstract montages of ;music or images, or in the nifty choreography of the fights.

| Sep 24, 2020

Rocky was a right hook that hit satisfying home: Rocky II was a good follow-up left: Rocky III is a redundant flurry of fisticuffs long after the match has been won and the referee has raised the victor's arm.

| Sep 24, 2020

The fight scenes are brilliantly shot, but there's a total absence of talent. [Full Review in Spanish]

| Aug 23, 2019

Rocky III marks the point where the series starts to get silly, but the end result is so enjoyable that it's hard to carp too much.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 14, 2019

In Rocky III we begin to see a transformation from the grounded, relatable realm of the first two films into something a little more suited to the Reagan-era milieu in which it was presented.

| Feb 4, 2019

Rocky III is an engaging exercise in discreet, incisive and good-humored hokum.

| Apr 27, 2018

In Rocky III, Rocky Balboa achieves a peace and contentment with both his strengths and weaknesses that he hasn't shown before. He's still growing.

| Apr 27, 2018

Sly's boxing saga begins to go lightweight.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 15, 2010

The real question with Rocky III was how Sylvester Stallone could twist the plot to make an interesting difference. He manages.

| Jul 6, 2010

Bigger but not better.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 19, 2006

...probably the most effective of the bunch...

| Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 6, 2006

The formula was starting to become tiresome by now. And can somebody please explain how Rocky suddenly became more articulate in this one despite more punches to the head?

| Original Score: C+ | Feb 18, 2006

Learning, especially from Scorsese, in his approach to action and performance, writer/director/star Stallone has somehow contrived to make each of his movies into a more magnificent spectacle than the last.

| Feb 9, 2006