good film but with many flaws

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Rocky VIt was better and more interesting episode of Balboa's life than the previous one, but it still doesn't make it good enough to invest in it. Rocky V is fast paced than the previous ones and seems to have material enough to run for around 100 minutes unlike its previous installments even though the content is predictable and familiar to the audience. Sylvester Stallone may not be able to attract the audience with its storyline but he surely puts enough gravitas on his character and also plays it with all the conviction to always let the audience ask for more of it and root for it and cheer for it. Rocky V is not nearly redefining it or justifying the originality and the purity of it but it is made for the fans and delivers enough action sequences and huge dramatic scene to capture their attention even though it still is poorly choreographed and repetitive.

1hr44mins 242reviews I gave it 7/10 as its good but not great dirJohn G. Avildsen eluctantly retired from boxing, and back from riches to rags, Rocky takes on a new protege who betrays him, as the champ's son must adjust to his family's new life after bankruptcy Rocky Balboa is forced to retire after having permanent damage inflicted on him in the ring by the Russian boxer Ivan Drago. Returning home after the Drago bout, Balboa discovers that the fortune that he had acquired as heavyweight champ has been stolen and lost on the stockmarket by his accountant. His boxing days over, Rocky begins to coach an up-and-coming fighter named Tommy Gunn. Rocky cannot compete, however, with the high salaraies and glittering prizes being offered to Gunn by other managers in town. Sometimes it gets annoying to me how critical people are of the Rocky series. It's like they feel like they have to say terrible things about it, probably because people can be so negative that they can't find it in themselves to believe that a 'less than intelligent' person with heart, drive and passion can move mountains and achieve success. I personally thought this, and every other Rocky movie, was fabulous. I thought Sage Stallone was amazing in his debut as Rocky's son. Also, this movie showed a more real side of boxing, the business side, with exploitative agents and corrupt business tactics. Some may think the Rocky series is an unrealistic saga, but Rocky IV proves it isn't. The person we saw struggle, fight, and grow rich is now back to square one.. .minus all the money but still with the heart.

In 1972, Stallone couldn't even be an extra in "The Godfather". In 1976, he wrote and starred in the year's Best Picture, classic underdog story and franchise starter "Rocky". And Roger Ebert saw in him a new Brando.The 80's didn't exactly prove Ebert right but they consolidated his star-status. 1982 was his peak with the success of "Rocky III" and the release of "First Blood" that introduced another landmark of American cinema: John Rambo. The rest of the decade had its share of ups-and-downs making Sly actor and/or director a punching ball for the Razzies. His "Rocky IV", while the most successful sport-movie of all time wasn't exactly a critical success, even among the fans.So 1990 wasn't exactly Sly's finest hour with his starlight fading in favor of rivals like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis. That convinced him to approach Rocky with the same angle. There's always a parallel between Rocky and Stallone's story and the idea of taking Rocky back to his roots, to simpler values like family and friends was actually good. The 80's were over, the iron curtain was open, and Gordon Gekko in jail. But from Stallone's own admittance, he made the film out of greed and rated it a zero. So maybe what lacked in "Rocky V" was a sincere approach to a material that looked good on the paper.Taking Rocky back to the blue-collar streets of Philadelphia was only viable if there was a good story-line to justify it. Unfortunately, "Rocky V" while not a mediocre film never really fulfills its potential, despite many touching moments, it often gets lost in the realms of cheap predictable made-for-TV stuff. Stallone is wrong when he gives the film a 'zero', he's a good actor, passable director, great writer when he puts his heart in but not much of a critic. Some scenes in "V" belong to the best of the franchise and make it even better than "Rocky IV", which was build on a predictable 'death-followed-by-revenge' plot, the story-line of every 80's sports movie.But I love the way "Rocky V" puts you in the Drago match' immediate aftermath, with Rocky shaking and trembling like a frail puppy, asking Adrian to take him home, you could tell he was tired of this 'nonsense'. But then the press conference back in America features so many cringe-worthy moments every hope in cinematic excellence had definitely vanished. I couldn't believe journalists would ask Rocky for a come-back the minute he set his feet on the American ground, I wanted him to pull a Tony Montana and shout "What was the Drago hit- a game of dominoes or something?". So many things belonged to the 'Idiot Script' formula, when you wait for one line to be said, but it doesn't come because you've got to wait for the most dramatic instant.Rocky could tell the journalists that he was suffering from brain damage and the case was rested. The film even involves a subplot with the growing father-and-son relationship between Rocky as a mentor and Tommy "Machine" Gun, making his son Rocky Jr. jealous, but instead of talking to his father, Jr. becomes more and more rebellious until we get to the obligatory confrontation where they come to terms. And the moment where Rocky makes up with his son is conveniently the same where Tommy turns into a one-dimensional ungrateful villain, it's not exactly the kind of smooth transition we're getting used to. It took Rocky, Adrian and Paulie three, four movies to evolve, Rocky Jr. and Tommy one hour.This is the same kind of flaw that undermined "Rocky IV", when characters start to behave according to a script rather than a realistic arc, just like Apollo when he was teasing and mocking a Russian giant who was obviously in better shape, as if his defeats with Rocky didn't humble him a bit. It's a shame that Stallone didn't rewrite the script, because Rocky Jr. and Tommy were interesting characters, and well played by the two deceased actors Sage Stallone and Tommy Morrison but it seems like the purpose of their presence was to highlight some need from Rocky to pass the torch, to be the Mickey of someone. Fair enough, but I hated the way relationships always worked on the kind of binary "On/Off" level that damaged the film's credibility.But the biggest flaw of all was that poor man's Don King played by Richard Grant, he chewed the script every time he was in, and was like the most irritating presence, where was this guy in the previous Rocky? Who the hell was this Union Cane? They even went as far as calling him George Washington Duke while there's another Duke in the film, to add to the confusion. The film is set in 1985 but it is obvious we're in 1990, if new boxing figures were to come, if Rocky had to lose money and get poor again, and last but not least, if Robert 'Rocky' Jr. was supposed to be 14, then just set the film five years after the fourth, and at least, you'll gain a few points in credibility and not have one of the most inexplicable goofs ever.The film, directed by the late John G. Avidsen featured some really powerful scenes, including a flashback with Mickey, allowing us to see Burgess Meredith one last time, a great confrontation between Rocky and Adrian, and an interesting ending showing how Tommy was more of a mislead guy than a villain but "Rocky V" tangles way too much between mediocrity and excellence. Well, let's call it uneven despite good intentions.Or maybe we should be thankful it flopped, since it allowed Rocky to make his great "Rocky Balboa" which revitalized the franchise and allowed "Creed" and a second Oscar nomination to happen. In 1990, the franchise was over… but you know what Rocky says about things being over, right?

I think that this 5th movie in the franchise is less appreciated than the others because it marks the beginning of a new era : Bye- bye the electric 80s and welcome to the gritty 90s : now rock hits or glorious soundtrack become rap music ; Downtown Philadelphia looks like Haiti ! Money perverts sports and violence becomes the way to deal personal problems. In that light, there's no reason that Rocky would be different. It's true that when i saw it on screen back in 1990, i was not very convinced. Today, i don't really mind because the soap stories are rather interesting and offer us to enjoy for the last time Talia and for sure Stallone's kid. According to his late fate, his difficult but close relationship with his father is rather moving. If the movie has less punch than before, it's also because Rocky loses a lot : the mansion, his son, his pupil, his health… But the scene in which he fights in front of his TV is rather inspired. Honestly, the alternative ending fight doesn't bring much and don't change the conclusion. If i reviewed Rocky 6, i still haven't watched Rocky 7 and i'm not really motivated as for me Adrian was half of the soul of the saga so without her, things are not what they used to be ! NB : To add something funny, we can also notice that the Russian airspace has an gate for an alternative earth as coming back from there, Rocky finds a older son and a totally new mansion !