Rocky V
Rocky is now retired following his fight in Russia. Upon his return home, he and Adrian discover Paulie has mistakenly given power of attorney to his accountant – who has squandered their millions, and put them back to where they started.
Rocky discovers a gifted fighter named Tommy Gunn, and takes him under his wing, becoming the Mickey to his Rocky – and tries to take him to the title, but will Tommy get there? And what about poor Rocky Jr?
Direction
The original Rocky director John G Avildsen takes back over the helm of this one. It does feel as if some of the creative control might have been taken away from him in favour of the lead actors… ahem… choices in narrative and some scene choices of “character attire”
Cast/Characters
Returning to the franchise are of course Sly Stallone, Talia Shire, and Burt Young.
Newcomers are the late Sage Stallone as Rocky Jr (playing the son of his own real life father) and the late Tommy Morrison as Tommy Gunn.
Returning in flashback form is the legendary Burgess Meredith as Mickey.
Breakdown
The main plot point in which Paulie accidentally allows Rocky’s accountant to siphon all their money is the foundation of what occurs throughout the film.
This gives another deeper take on Rocky and Adrian “through it all” moment. This is actually the sweetest part of the film, that despite all the fame and loss they’ve endured – they’ve stayed connected.
I did not buy however how quickly Rocky and Adrian forgave Paulie, and just ‘let it go’…
Throughout the film we are introduced to a new character (who for some reason never was introduced til now), of George Washington Duke (played by the great Richard Gant) a Don King type promoter, who wants Rocky to fight for him.
The character plays no real purpose in the film other than being a mild inconvenience – rather than antagonist. That goes to Tommy.
Tommy, who becomes the “Rocky” to “Rocky’s Mickey” feels poorly done. There was too much emphasis on the city’s love of Rocky, to the point of all the news clippings were “Rocky’s boy” – which leads to Tommy joining Duke, and the final street fight at the end.
It did not feel plausible that Philadelphia would hold Rocky in such high regard that they could not accept a new champion, It all felt as if it was not just an ego trip for Rocky, but possibly Stallone himself ‘reminiscing on the good old days). I
Although set directly after the last film, this was filmed five years later, which is slightly noticeable in how some of the actors appear, and the narrative of Rocky Jr.
Jr was only 9 in the previous film, but his arc suggests he is significantly older and even teenage. His arc is done quickly and poorly too, with ‘going to a new school, bullied, trains with Paulie, beats up his bullies, and then befriends them all in the space of 45m, along with his fight with his dad about giving Tommy too much attention.
There are also scenes of characters watching a movie made in 1989, which made no sense in the ‘timeline’
The screenplay feels artificial too, with way too many unrealistic conversations that either have yelling/mumbling with fast paced dialogue that is just page filler words that don’t add anything to the story.
There are ‘some’ good moments, such as the Adrian/Rocky moments and even the flashbacks of Mickey (with Burgess Meredith returning for a cameo).
I hated the final act, with Rocky watching Tommy’s fight on the television and punching the punching bag at the same time (by the look of those in the room with Rocky, they probably thought the same thing) – and then the final street fight with Rocky v Tommy – felt like I was watching a cop vs big bad showdown – rather than this. Just silly.
Score/Soundtrack
Much less attention on the soundtrack in this film as in previous installments. Even core favorites like ‘gonna fly now’ are absent and minimal memorable songs. The score by Bill Conti works well, and is quite noticeable.
Overall
At times I thought I was watching a different genre of film, and a different character.
This would be Shire’s final outing as Adrian.
Narrative wise it is better than 4, but the final arc – which feels completely out of place brings it back down.
3/5
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