On Sunday evening for feature film fans everything on RTL2 revolves around Rocky or his screen legacy. First, “Creed” continues the saga as a reboot in the main program, before the inspiration for Sylvester Stallone’s character finds an appreciation at the end of the week in the night program with “Chuck”.
“Creed”, RTL2, 8:15 p.m.
Former heavyweight champion Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) takes Adonis Johnson’s (Michael B. Jordan), the son of his former rival and friend Apollo Creed, as a trainer and mentor.
Who would have thought that there was still so much life in this old nag? With “Rocky V” the series about boxer Rocky Balboa, which has been running since 1976, was knocked out in 1990, before it successfully sent lead actor Sylvester Stallone back into the ring as director and lead actor with “Rocky Balboa” 16 years later. In the age of spin-offs, MGM planned an offshoot around Rocky after its success with critics and audiences and were able to announce in 2013 that they were working with the “Fruitvale Station” couple of director and screenwriter Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther”) and leading actor Michael B. Jordan had reached an agreement – and that even Stallone would slip into the Rocky role for a seventh time.
The co-production by MGM and New Line Cinema was filmed for $ 35 million in the English cities of Liverpool and London, as well as in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the Rocky stories are set.
With this drama, Coogler managed to turn the quality screw a little higher – his “Creed” is one of the best that the series has to offer. The film remains true to the origins of its predecessors, but also expands the saga in an interesting and surprisingly effective direction.
“Creed” received excellent reviews in 2015 and grossed $ 173 million worldwide. This success has led MGM to produce a sequel that will hit theaters in November. The film for Sylvester, which won the Golden Globe for “Best Supporting Actor” and was nominated at the Academy Awards, was a particular triumph there, however Mark Rylance for whose performance in “Bridge of Spies” was defeated.
Critic Sean Axmaker wrote in “Seanax”: “At the heart of this film is identity and family, the legacies you inherit and the legacies you create. It’s a wonderfully compelling, old-fashioned, underdog boxing film.“
“Chuck – The True Rocky”, RTL2, 1:15 am
The story of the American heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner (Liev Schreiber), whose title fight against Muhammad Ali in 1975 was Sylvester Stallone (Morgan Spector) inspired his film “Rocky”.
The “15 minutes of fame” was for the US heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner in 1975 his title fight against Muhammad Ali, which he lost to a technical knockout in the 15th round without a chance. After that he was really well known, but couldn’t handle it at all, became addicted to cocaine and finally sued in 2003 Sylvester Stallonebecause he used his life story as the basis for “Rocky” from 1976 without his permission. An agreement was reached out of court.
Jeff Lighter had already told the story of the “man who was Rocky” in 2011 as a documentary film “The Real Rocky” and was scripted by several producers – including Liev Schreiber, who absolutely wanted to play the part and should also contribute to the script Independent production engaged. Directed by the Canadian Philippe falardeau (“My Salinger Year”). The US drama was created in Suffern, New York State.
In 2016 the work celebrated its premiere as “The Bleeder” at the Venice International Film Festival and retained this title in Great Britain and Ireland; then ran on the home market as “Chuck” – just like in Germany, where it did not come into the cinemas, but only appeared on disc.
Despite good reviews, only a few viewers could warm up to “Chuck”; Worldwide there was only around half a million dollars. That is a shame, because even if the film does not spare you clichés that you know from athletes’ biographies, it wins you over with its fresh and chaotic honesty and, last but not least, the outstanding performance of Schreiber.
Critic Alex Welch wrote in “IGN Movies”: “The film doesn’t add anything new to the boxer drama, but the strong portrayal of Liev Schreiber and the reliable supporting actors bring the life story of the title character to life with heart and respect.“
You can find the complete TV program here
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