Rocky III (1982) | Sylvester Stallone

With Rocky III, director-screenwriter-star Stallone takes the film series into a new direction, although the underdog formula still stays intact.  Stallone realizes that it's hard to be the underdog when you're the champion, so to knock Rocky down a few notches, he creates the most terrifying challenger he never faced, the bruising #1 contender, Clubber Lang (Mr. T).   Lang has been stalking the ready-to-retire Balboa, showing up at every match and public appearance, egging the champ on to stop dodging him and fight him in the ring.  Rocky is ready to take him up on the challenge, but his manager Mickey (Burgess Meredith) reveals that he has been protecting him since he's gotten the title belt, only challenging chumps Rocky could easily beat.  Undeterred, Rocky still goes ahead with the match, losing the title and his manager in the process.  Can Rocky face retiring as a loser, or will he rise to the most difficult challenge he's faced yet with a rematch?