10 Movie Sequels That Started In Surprising Ways

6. Rocky Balboa

Mission Impossible 3
MGM

Barely two minutes into its run time, and before the opening credits have even finished, 2006's Rocky Balboa hits you with an absolute gut punch.

The first Rocky movie for 16 years - with the disappointing Rocky V released in 1990 - Rocky Balboa had long-time franchise fans holding back the tears as soon as we first catch back up with Sylvester Stallone's Balboa.

As we get reintroduced to the Italian Stallion, he feeds his pet turtles, does a couple of pull-ups in his yard, and then we get the major curveball of seeing Rocky at the grave of his wife Adrian. Yep, it turns out that between the events of Rocky V and Rocky Balboa, poor Adrian has passed away after a battle with cancer.

To start the film off on such an emotional note was a bold decision from writer/director Stallone, but it's one that immediately sets the table to let audiences know this is a picture that's far removed from the cheesier outings of the franchise. Likewise, to add further emotional weight, we're then soon introduced to the Adrian's restaurant Rocky owns - complete with plentiful portraits of his deceased bride.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.