THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
There are franchises bound to stumble with an entry far from good from the rest that come in between. Sadly, the same was said with Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky franchise.
PLOT
Rocky V continues after the triumphant victory Rocky Balboa gained after defeating Ivan Drago in Moscow. Despite having a triumphant moment in his career, it took a toll on his body as he started experiencing physical complications from the match. When he returns to the United States and reunites with his son Robert Jr., he hosts a press conference to share his experience in Russia. During this, he does get goaded by George Washington Duke to fight a top rated challenger named Union Cane (Michael Anthony Williams), but the Italian Stallion declines. His return home only becomes tragic when discovering he is bankrupt after his brother in law Paulie (Burt Young) got fooled into a ‘power of attorney’ to their accountant, who not only squandered the money on real estate deals, but also failed to pay Balboa’s taxes for the past six years. Having to mortgage, Rocky tends to fix it fast by getting booked to fight again, but cannot be able to do so when his diagnosis to cavum spectrum pellucidum forces him to retire. After his home and belongings are sold to pay off the debt, he returns to his working class neighborhood in Philadelphia alongside his son, brother in law and wife Adrian. Despite feeling disappointed in hitting rock bottom, he becomes inspired to reopen Mickey Goldmill’s gym, Mighty Mick’s, that was willed to Robert. Shortly after this, he would train a younger fighter named Tommy ‘The Machine’ Gunn who originates from Oklahoma. He originally gets a new sense of purpose upon training him, but it truly becomes a distraction when he unintentionally neglects his son, who fends for himself when getting bullied at school. With Cage winning the vacant heavyweight championship, Washington still wants to do business with Rocky and pursues Tommy by showering him with luxuries. This results in the young boxer to begin deserting his trainer. On Christmas night, it would blow up in Balboa’s face when Gunn officially goes under Washington’s wing. The Stallion would express disappointment considering that he felt a new meaning in life when training him. Adrian is able to confront him by addressing he was different because he never had the same heart as his and should’ve made his family a main priority. He does so by mending his relationship with Robert who was at the brink of being withdrawn from him. Eventually, The Machine would win his first championship from Cane in the first round, but fans and reporters would hound him for leaving Rocky and never winning the title from a lineal champion. Desperate to prove he’s the best, he goes to a local bar to challenge Balboa to a fight, goading him with a television crew. Rocky would predictably turn him down, which would result in the new champion calling him weak. When Paulie chooses to stand up for his brother in law, it only leads to him being punched by The Machine. This would trigger Balboa to challenge him to a street fight on the spot. Once Gunn accepts, the Stallion would briefly knock him down, but the former would regain the upper hand by attacking from behind. However after gaining motivation by a vision of the late Mickey, Balboa puts his street fighting skills to good use to defeat his protégé. He even knocks out Washington for his disrespect and instigation that led to such conflict. The film would end with a time jump taking place months after the street fight, showing Rocky take his son to the Philadelphia Museum of Arts where his statue is held outside.
THOUGHTS
I loved the first four films so much, I couldn’t help having high expectations for this one too. But I should’ve had them low because this was not what I expected. You would think with John G Avildsen returning to direct, nothing can go wrong, yet it does. It's awkward knowing Stallone wrote this because it's like he forgot how old Robert would be. That is obviously one of many gripes, but it so obvious it hurts. I understand it would create a chance to work with his son Sage, but if he really wanted that to happen, that should've been a possibility during the fourth film. Apart from that, what was bothering me a lot was the way it never felt like it was in the right direction. It kept trying to get there, but kept missing by a long shot. As I watched it, I understood of never feeling miserable when hitting rock bottom because the only thing that matters more than the material is the family who will forever love you. Despite the pacing being off putting for me, I'm still able to catch on to it thanks to the solid performances from the cast. Stallone indeed shows Rocky more vulnerable than ever because he lost the ability to do the only thing he is good at and can barely strive elsewhere. He was also emotionally lost because he felt that all the hard work he did meant nothing. He tried holding onto what he had through Tommy until he lost it without even knowing it. However, he was learning again that the world does not end when you don't have what you want. Seeing how he unintentionally neglected his son to regain glory showed him that family must always be his priority. With that being said, you definitely relate to the teenage Sage playing Robert whose sparking maturity at the most inconvenient time possible. On the bright side, it is a relief for even him to understand his father's actions were unintentional to harm him. Of course their problems wouldn't stop from there, but it was still great to see how they were always willing to figure it out. I can never get enough of Adrian because Talia Shire always ensures she is the one who tells it like it is. It's too obvious at this point Rocky wouldn't be the man he is without her, but it's nice to be reminded. What really didn't work for me was how easy it was to dislike Tommy Morrison's Tommy Gunn. He was straight forward stingy of an athlete that refused to be patient like Balboa and when you got an almighty manipulative promoter like Richard Grant's George Washington Duke, you just knew trouble would come fast. There was no depth for either of these villains compared to Drago or Clubber Lang, so I really don't care much about them by the end of it. That is a problem because franchises are so inventive, you can't help wondering the whereabouts of other characters, which only disappoints me when not feeling the same for these two in particular. The street fight was cool, but I honestly preferred another boxing match. I want to think these were the worst of issues I had with this movie, but that's just the beginning. Going back to the top, I am kind of baffled on how did anyone find out Rocky's past of collecting loan sharks? They name drop that fact with no reason to it, other than to remind us how Rocky was still striving before the glory. I'm even thrown off on how Washington knew where Rocky lived and got his phone number? It's not like he's talking to the media on what he's going through. And forget the fact that he's rich, how did he get access of his medical papers? That should be illegal for him to have. And what kind of odds were there for Adrian to go to the pet store that happened to be across the gym where Washington and Tommy were trying to talk to her husband? I know we need another moment of her to protect him, but it's so unbelievable for everyone to know where Rocky is. And whose idea was it for Tommy to have Robert's room? That was just asking for tension no matter how much of sacrifices they were already making. And lastly, I've already said I liked the street fight, but how far was Tommy from the arena to the bar? This was such a rushed way to get to the climax it is annoying to think about. To get this over with, Rocky V is the weakest of the iconic sports franchise for lacking the right path to take. Good luck to those who haven't seen it yet, but if you have, be grateful this wasn't the end.
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