- Both franchises are being relaunched in 2006, after long gaps (well, the whopping 16-year break between ROCKY V and ROCKY BALBOA puts the four-year gap between DIE ANOTHER DAY and CASINO ROYALE in the shade, I guess).
- Both CR and ROCKY BALBOA are said to be shaping up as unusally "gritty", "serious" and "high quality" entries in franchises not always exactly renowned for their thoughtful tone or artistic accomplishments.
- Talia Shire plays Adrian in the Rocky series, and was married to NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN producer Jack Schwartzman. In addition, Shire's brother, Francis Ford Coppola, was one of the many writers who worked on THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (or at least I think he was).
- Dolph Lundgren plays Ivan Drago in ROCKY IV and Venz in A VIEW TO A KILL.
- Both franchises died embarrassing public deaths at the turn of the 1990s, with LICENCE TO KILL bombing in 1989 and ROCKY V crashing to the canvas in 1990. With curious aptness, Bond's licence to kill is revoked in LTK, while in ROCKY V Rocky is refused a licence to box.
- Rocky composer Bill Conti (as he usually seems to be referred to) did the music for FOR YOUR EYES ONLY.
- In both franchises, the third film is considered by many fans to be the best, and the one in which all the defining elements of the series finally came together.
- In both franchises, the fifth film doesn't have an especially high reputation among fans (I've always found it surprising that Bond fans, on the whole, don't seem particularly wild about YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE).
- And talking of the fifth film, YOLT has Bond travelling to Japan, and the bad guys' camp includes an attractive redhead of dubious morals, while ROCKY V has Rocky invited to Japan, and the bad guys' camp includes an attractive redhead of dubious morals.
- Both Bond and Rocky have battled Russian communism and served as heroic symbols of the West.
- The "ROCKY" (and then whatever roman numeral comes after it) scrolling across the screen from right to left, accompanied by a world-famous bit of theme music, is essentially the Rocky series' equivalent of the Bond series' gunbarrel opening.
- (WARNING: ROCKY BALBOA SPOILER)
Spoiler
- Both franchises are bedevilled - *ahem* if you're obsessed about this sort of thing, of course - by impossible-to-solve continuity and timeline glitches.
- In both franchises, the normally cleanshaven hero is seen sporting a beard after time spent roughing it in a communist country (Rocky in ROCKY IV, Bond in DIE ANOTHER DAY).
- Both franchises have existed for at least 30 years.
- In 1985, AVTAK and ROCKY IV both touched on the issue of sneaky steroid use in sports (and in both cases by villains with links to the KGB).
- AVTAK and ROCKY IV also both boast a rather naff robot supporting character (Paulie's "girlfriend" and Q's dog) that's looked back on by fans with a sort of affectionate scorn.
- Indeed, AVTAK and ROCKY IV are films that are often seen as quintessentially '80s to an extent that's utterly ludicrous, embarrassing and hilarious.
- Bond is played by an actor pushing 60 in AVTAK (hey, is AVTAK the Bond flick that chimes most with the Rocky franchise?
). Rocky is played by an actor pushing 60 in ROCKY BALBOA. - In both franchises, the hero is seen battling a preposterously tall opponent in consecutive films (Bond versus Jaws in TSWLM and MOONRAKER, and Rocky versus Thunderlips in ROCKY III and versus Drago in ROCKY IV).
- An extremely short janitor is used for comic relief in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE and in ROCKY.
- In both franchises, the hero smokes cigarettes in some films but not in others.
- Rocky avenges his best friend (Apollo Creed) in ROCKY IV. Bond avenges his best friend (Felix Leiter) in LTK.
- Rocky has appeared on "The Muppet Show" (see ROCKY III), as have Bond actors Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan.
- Both Bond and Rocky appear to be an only child and an orphan (but both find a sort of father figure in a much older man - M in the Bond franchise, Mickey in the Rocky series). Both father just one child, a son (well, the literary Bond does, at least - oh, and while we're on the subject of LitBond, he was also a boxing champ, albeit as a schoolboy).
- In ROCKY, Rocky gives well-intentioned advice to a stroppy teenage girl who doesn't really care for his words of wisdom. In FYEO, Bond gives well-intentioned advice to a stroppy teenage girl who doesn't really care for his words of wisdom.
- 1980s world leaders make appearances in both franchises. "Thatcher" has a cameo in FYEO, while "Gorbachev" turns up in ROCKY IV.
- (Okay, admittedly a bit of a stretch, this one) Elton John wrote and performed "The Measure of a Man" for ROCKY V. He was strongly rumoured for the theme song of BOND 20 (DAD), and doubtless other Bond films as well.
- (And possibly even more of a stretch
) In NSNA, Bond implies that a girl in Philadelphia gave him the greatest joy of his life. Rocky would doubtless feel the same.- ROCKYs III and IV have a strong gay subtext. Possibly. GOLDENEYE has a strong gay subtext. Possibly.
- Rocky's wife works in a pet shop. The Pet Shop Boys were at one point supposed to do the theme song for THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS. (Okay, that'll really do now - Ed.)
