Rocky III

Parents need to know that Rocky III is the 1982 sequel in which Rocky takes on a vicious boxer (played by Mr. T) determined to take his World Championship belt. There's a lot of boxing violence; like the other movies in the Rocky franchise, Rocky and the boxers he fights are shown beaten to a pulp and bloodied. While previous films in the Rocky series talked up the long-term physical damage associated with fighting, this one shows the two-fisted violence with no consequences. In another scene, Rocky fights in a charity match against a pro wrestler (played by Hulk Hogan); the two fight in and out of the ring, with Hogan throwing around Rocky, the refs, and anyone who stands in his way. While extremely drunk, Paulie leaves a bar, stumbles into a video game arcade, and vandalizes a "Rocky" pinball machine by throwing a whiskey bottle into it and shattering the glass. While Rocky trains with Apollo Creed in a predominantly African American boxing gym, Paulie mutters assorted racist comments: He complains about the "jungle" music, laments that Rocky is being taught how to box like a "colored fighter," and says, "I don't like these people." While Paulie later compliments Creed on how well he trained Rocky, there isn't a sense that he's no longer someone who would make comments like those. Cigar smoking is shown, as are homeless men drinking wine in the alleys and sidewalks of Skid Row. Rocky is shown gracing the advertisements of products like American Express, Maserati, Nikon, and Gatorade. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.