Rocky V (1990)

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Tommy Morrison, Sage Stallone, Burgess Meredith, Tony Burton, and Kevin Connolly
Grade: C-

This is the first and last time we see Rocky blowing bubbles for Tommy to punch as part of their training regimen. Is this standard in boxing gyms?

Summary

To remind us of what happened previously, a sped-up version of Rocky Balboa’s (Stallone) fight with Ivan Drago at the end of Rocky IV is shown, complete with a worried Adrian (Shire), Paulie (Young), and the words of encouragement from Apollo Creed’s former trainer Tony “Duke” Evers (Burton). In that climactic 15 round match, Rocky takes out Drago for the win and is hoisted in the air with the American flag draped over him.

As is customary with the Rocky series, Rocky V takes place right where the last film left off.

Immediately after the fight, Rocky is in the shower in the locker room, and Tony packs his bag for him while talking about how Rocky did himself, everyone, and Apollo proud. Rocky ignores this and yells for Tony to get Adrian. Something is wrong.

She comes into the locker room shower to check on Rocky, and he’s sitting there shivering. He asks how everyone is doing. She confirms they’re doing good, so Rocky brings up a comment he remembers from his old trainer Mickey (Meredith) about how when he was fighting, sometimes he’d fight so hard that he thought he broke something inside. He thought he was going to die and how the angels were pulling on him. Now, Adrian is starting to get scared. Rocky says he can’t stop his hands from shaking and how he’s never felt this before. She holds his hands and says they should see a doctor, but Rocky wants to go home. He’s tired. He then comments, “I just wanna go home, Mick”. Adrian looks at him with concern and lays her head on his hands. They decide to fly home. When the plane arrives, there’s a marching band outside playing “Gonna Fly Now”. Rocky exits the plane and looks around for Rocky Jr. (Sage Stallone) immediately. Finally, he appears and runs towards Rocky for a big hug. Adrian, Paulie, and Tony greet Rocky Jr. right after while Rocky Jr. says he made the honor roll. Airport security rushes him inside the hanger for an immediate press reception. Rocky is asked how he feels about the Russian people, and he speaks positively about his experience. He may have not understood them, but he knew what they meant. Adrian is asked if she learned Russian, so Paulie jokes she was fluent in vodka, which gets a laugh. Another reporter brings up rumors of physical complications after the fight, but Adrian interrupts to pass this off as rumors and that Rocky is in perfect physical condition. Another reporter comments that the American Medical Association has recommended boxing be banned and if he agrees with the doctors. Rocky says he does and that doctors shouldn’t fight. Sadly, it doesn’t look like he’s joking, even though this was a hilarious answer. Just then, boxing promoter George Washington Duke (Richard Gant) interrupts to say he agrees with Rocky and doctors shouldn’t fight.

Duke calls Rocky the “funniest champion ever” while making his way to the front of the conference with his own microphone before standing next to Rocky at the podium. With his fighter Union Cane (Michael Williams) alongside him, Duke talks about his known resume promoting the finest fights in the country before asking Rocky to give Union Cane a title shot. The reporters start asking if this is good timing considering Rocky just got off the plane, but he bypasses this to bring up a contract that he has ready. Apparently, it contains the largest guarantee ever offered to a champion on this planet. It will be a huge fight held in Japan called “Letting it Go in Tokyo”. He grabs Rocky by the shoulder to act friendly and goes on about how America has allowed them both to rise from oppression and poverty to join hands in an international event. He even holds a confused Rocky’s hand up in the air while he does so, prompting Adrian to take over on the podium to say Rocky is retired and has nothing more to prove. A reporter asks Rocky if he considers this a public responsibility to respond to Duke now rather than later, adding that this is about professionalism. Duke agrees and says he should respond now. Rocky jokes, “Do you mind if I heal first?”. Cane throws a weak threat Rocky’s way, Duke wants to know what Rocky means by all this, and the reporter demands to know immediately. Rocky just says he has to think about it, the flight was nice, and how he wouldn’t have done as good if Adrian wasn’t there with him, so he looks at her and thanks her. Rocky thanks Rocky Jr. as well, saying that having him feels like being born again, which is a confusing statement. At the same time, the reporters keep interrupting to ask if he’s going to retire or not. Rocky ignores them and leaves with his family. Lawyer Merlin (Mike Sheehan) who works with Duke assures him to not worry and that they will get Rocky. Upon getting home, Rocky is elated. He never wants to leave again. He starts dancing with Adrian and acting overly joyous, almost odd.

Rocky Jr. starts to notice how different his behavior is, but Paulie just passes it off as Rocky taking some punches.

At night, Rocky Jr. is painting a picture of Rocky from an old fishing trip they had, and a double-bruised eye Rocky enters to get him ready for bed. He compliments his drawing and looks at other pictures he has on his table, including one of his French teacher Madame Dupont naked. After Rocky makes a lame French joke and does a magic trick to pull a Russian quarter out of his ear, Rocky Jr. asks what Rocky meant when he said having him was like being born again. Rocky explains how there’s an A-side of life and a B-side of life, and he came up on the latter and struggled. Rocky Jr. is lucky enough to get those breaks in life, so when he sees Rocky Jr. get all things in life that he didn’t have growing up, it’s like he is living through his son’s eyes. He enjoys it. It’s like living all over again. He kisses him goodnight, and Rocky Jr. tells him that he’s glad he’s home, which he appreciates. He says they’ll play tomorrow and jokes that he can show him his English teacher. Rocky Jr. admits she’s pretty hot too and he laughs. As soon as Rocky closes the door, he can hear Adrian argue with Paulie downstairs about how he cost them everything and how it was Rocky’s money, not Paulie’s. Paulie passes it off as a mistake and tries to walk away, but Adrian pursues him and says he gave up their lives, stressing the importance of what he did. Paulie explains that her accountant is the crook, not him. He did what he thought was right. Rocky finally intervenes to ask what’s going on, and Adrian reveals that Paulie gave power of attorney to their accountant. Unbeknownst to them, Rocky Jr. is listening from upstairs. Paulie goes on about how they sent the letter about being in Russia for a couple of months and they needed Rocky to sign a tax extension. Adrian explains how that tax extension was the power of attorney. Paulie promises he never stole a dime and leaves to buy alcohol. A confused Rocky asks what’s happening, so Adrian reveals that all the money is gone. It is explained by Rocky’s lawyer that the piece of paper Paulie had Rocky sign wasn’t a request for an extension of his tax returns. In reality, it was the blanket power of attorney in favor of the accountant, who was involved in high-priced commercial real estate.

The accountant thought he could flip it quick, take his profit, and have all the money back before Rocky knew it was gone. Unfortunately, his deals fell through because the market dried up. Rocky lost millions. His lawyer has filed 8 criminal acts against the accountant. Even so, Rocky has debt payment on his property that the accountant didn’t pay, he didn’t pay Rocky’s tax returns in 6 years, and his mortgage hasn’t been paid in months. Adrian is confused by this because they didn’t have a mortgage. Their house was fully paid for. However, apparently there’s nearly $400,000 outstanding. The only thing that is not encumbered is a gym willed to Rocky Jr. by Mickey in 1982, Mighty Mick’s Gym. Paulie reminds Rocky of the commercials he used to do and how he can sell things, but Rocky reminds him that he’s a fighter, not a commercial guy. It’s what he does for a living. The lawyer says the commercial idea isn’t going to work anyway. They couldn’t get any sponsors. With the investigation of the accountant, out came a criminal record of Rocky’s for assault in connection with loan sharking, related to his old career in the original Rocky with Gazzo. The lawyer suggests taking a couple of more fights instead. Because of his popularity, Rocky will be out of debt in no time, which prompts an angry look by Rocky. Paulie chimes in to agree, saying fighting is the ticket. Still, Adrian is adamant that Rocky is retiring and reminds Paulie they are here because of him. Paulie is quick to say he’s not taking any blame because he thought he was doing good business. They start arguing until Rocky tells Paulie to stop. Next, he tells his lawyer to call Duke, and he will take on Cane anywhere, anytime. Rocky storms out of the room and Adrian follows while telling him not to. Rocky knows a couple of fights will get them out of this. She reminds him of what he said, but he is quick to say that he didn’t officially say anything. They didn’t come this far to lose it all. She tells him to see a doctor, but he’d rather see a promoter.

Adrian says that if the doctor okays it, she will support him. Rocky is insistent. When he has problems, he has to fight. Adrian still wants him to see a doctor, asking him to do it for her. He relents and does. At the doctor’s office, the doctor states that because of the continuous violent blows to the head, he has developed a condition particular to boxers called “Cavum septum pellucidum”, which is a hole in the membrane separating the ventricles. The brain surface neurons in this area have also been traumatized. Basically, he has suffered damage to the brain. Adrian asks how long it will be until he recovers, but they say the effects are irreversible. Immediately, Adrian tells Rocky he has to retire, but he doesn’t want to. He doesn’t think it’s the time, especially not in a doctor’s office. He tells these doctors that he just fought the best fight of his life. All he needs is a couple more. Adrian reminds him he just suffered severe brain trauma, but Rocky doesn’t want to hear it. He thinks they could be wrong because anyone can be wrong. He goes on about how only God isn’t wrong, prompting Adrian to say this is what’s best for him. Rocky counters by saying all he needs is a couple of easy fights, but Adrian and the doctors confirm he can’t get licensed in any state with the way it is. With this, Adrian asks Rocky if he loves her. Of course he does, and he questions why she’d ask that. Adrian explains that if you love someone, you live with them. You live for them. You don’t gamble with a life. She doesn’t care about the money. She cares about him. That’s all that matters. She knows they’ll be okay. Rocky whispers something to Adrian, resulting in her asking the doctors to keep this private. They confirm it will be strictly confidential.

Just like that, Rocky Balboa retires from boxing officially.

Soon after, the news breaks how Rocky is bankrupt and suing his former accountant. This leads to the Balboa estate being auctioned off. At the auction, a saddened Rocky Jr. sits on one of Rocky’s motorcycles but is told to get off it because they just sold it. Rocky assures Rocky Jr. they have been down before, but he will get it all back. They just have to stick together. He recalls Mickey saying it’s not over until they hear a bell and they haven’t heard one yet. Later, Rocky dusts off the old leather jacket, fingerless gloves, and fedora from the attic and Adrian finds him there, asking what he’s doing wearing it. He just passes it off as looking through some stuff, finding them, and how they feel comfortable. She was looking all over for him downstairs and admits it’s all kind of depressing. He agrees. He pulls out Adrian’s old glasses and she chuckles, remembering the time when he took them off her in Rocky. She puts them on for a moment, and Rocky reminds her that it’s the first time he kissed her. He takes them off Adrian, and they kiss. Rocky excuses himself to take a walk and just asks for her to talk to Rocky Jr. since he’s taking this pretty hard. Following this, he goes to Andy’s bar that night. After leaving the bar, some customers are heard talking about how he blew it all. He lights up a cigarette and looks across the street to Mighty Mick’s Gym. He goes inside and sees the place is destroyed. After hitting the heavy bag a couple of times, he picks up an old boxing glove and remembers Mickey telling him to slip the jab as he punches. He has a flashback training in the ring with Mickey for his fight with Apollo Creed in Rocky. In the flashback, Mickey talks about how he knows how Rocky is feeling. He also says that if Rocky wasn’t there, he wouldn’t be alive today. With Rocky here and doing as good as he’s doing, it’s giving him a motivation to stay alive. He thinks people die sometimes when they don’t want to live anymore. Rocky jumps out of the flashback for a second and says the line before Mickey does in the flashback of “Nature’s smarter than people think”. Going back to the flashback, Mickey states this and how they lose everything, little by little, until we say that we have no reason to go on.

He saw Rocky as his reason to go on. He will stay alive, he will watch him make good, and he won’t leave him until that happens. When he does finally leave Rocky, Rocky will not only know how to fight, but he will be able to take care of himself outside the ring too. With this, he gives Rocky the most favorite thing he has on Earth. It’s Rocky Marciano’s cuff link. Mickey turned it into a necklace, and he gives it to Rocky. He sees it as an angel on his shoulder.

If he ever feels hurt or if he’s going down, this angel will whisper in his ear. He’s gonna say, “Get up, you son of a bitch… ’cause Mickey loves you”. Rocky thanks him and hugs him, and Rocky comes out of the flashback saying that Mickey was the angel. He also remembers asking him what happened to the other cuff link, but Mickey doesn’t know, assuming Marciano gave it to some bum. The flashback ends, and a teary-eyed Rock stares at the ring they trained in all those years back before shutting his eyes. Sometime after, Rocky and his family move back into their old house. Paulie kept it this whole time, so they got lucky there. Rocky Jr. helps Rocky bring boxes in, and Rocky is concerned that Rocky Jr. is responding too well to this. At the same time, the entire neighborhood is crowding them because of Rocky’s celebrity status. Rocky assures Adrian that it’s only temporary before following her inside. That night, Duke calls Adrian and offers to handle Rocky’s career to get them back to normal. She tells him they are living like human beings, and he should try it sometime before hanging up on him right after. Adrian looks at the phone and says to herself as if to say to Duke, “… And leave my husband alone”. The next day, Rocky and Paulie walk Rocky Jr. to school, with Rocky Jr. asking Rocky when he started smoking. He passes it off as a bad habit that came back before they are interrupted by a random citizen who greets Rocky for coming back to the neighborhood. Getting back on topic, Rocky stresses learning street smarts and figuring out who people are. Paulie tells him to watch out for the scams because everyone is one. Rocky Jr. asks him what that is, so Paulie tells him to ask Rocky, which was a bit of a low blow. When Rocky tries to talk about scamming being a hustle, they are interrupted by an old lady neighbor who remembers Rocky. She was apparently Bubba’s mother and reminds Rocky how he used to use Bubba’s head like a punching bag.

Rocky responds that he had a nice head, and she just welcomes him back to the neighborhood.

Getting back on topic, Rocky tells Rocky Jr. that a hustle is related to a con. Paulie doesn’t think he gets it, but Rocky Jr. realizes what he’s saying: Beware of deceptions. Rocky tells him he’s smart but then gets thrown off because the Atomic Hoagy Shop has now turned into a Khmer market, which is also covered in graffiti and closed. Rocky and Paulie don’t like how the neighborhood has changed, and Rocky Jr. says it’s called “urban blight”. They continue to walk but Rocky tells Paulie to back up a little so he can talk to Rocky Jr. privately. He warns Rocky Jr. how these kids aren’t like the one’s he’s used to and how sharp he has to stay around here. When Rocky Jr. assures him, “I intend to”, Rocky comments how much smarter his son is than him. When they get close to the school, he tells Rocky Jr. to speak up if he has any ideas on how to fix things and how they need to stay together because they’re the “home team”. Rocky realizes he used to go to this school and tries to encourage his son, saying he thinks he can handle it. Rocky Jr. admits he’s a little scared when Rocky asks if he’s sure, but he tells him that’s fine. Rocky has had 72 fights, and he was scared for every one of them. He does the magic trick thing with the ear again and gives him his lunch money out of it, sending him on his way. As soon as Rocky Jr. gets on the playground, all the kids stare at him while Rocky still yells out words of advice like don’t mess with someone’s girlfriend. Afterwards, Rocky tells Paulie how worried he is because Rocky Jr. doesn’t know the streets like that and assumes some kid is going to try to fight him just because Rocky is his dad. As they cross the street, a boxer from Oklahoma with an amateur record of 45-1 in Tommy Gunn (Morrison) introduces himself. He turned pro at 18 and has 8 fights under his belt. Now that he’s 20, he wants to show Rocky what he’s got. He goes on about how he’s saved $400, but they are both interrupted by Duke who pulls up beside them exiting a limo.

He shows up with his lawyer Merlin, and they both walk with Rocky to try and convince him to fight again because the payday will be massive. Cane is apparently challenging for the title, and they give Rocky tickets to the match. When he wins the title, they suggest Rocky challenge him for it. Duke goes on about how people love comebacks. He calls Rocky “The Great White Hope”, but Rocky refers to himself as “The Great White Dope” and declines. Duke stops bullshitting and has Merlin bring up the medical report from Rocky’s doctor visit, as they got a hold of it somehow. He says they can work around it. Rocky asks where he got it, and Duke just laughs. Merlin says it doesn’t matter. If he agrees to fight Cane, Duke can guarantee he can get Rocky a license to fight in any country around the world. Rocky is interested and admits to Paulie how they could use one more payday. Thankfully, Adrian comes out of the old pet store to interrupt and calls Duke out for trying to sell him on the fight. Duke gets aggressive about how good of an opportunity this is, but Adrian counters with how it’s an opportunity for Duke to make money and for Rocky to be disabled. She asks Duke what he would do if the choices were reversed, and he just claps. Adrian tells Rocky they don’t care about him, but Duke gets in Rocky’s face about how he’s this great champion and he can still sell while people are still buying into him. Rocky starts to get pumped up. However, Adrian gets in front of Rocky and tells Duke he’s done fighting. Duke calls Rocky a fool and how they should get Adrian to fight Cane instead because she’s the one with the “cojones” in the family. Duke goes to his car, tells Tommy to get off the hood because he was sitting there, and then tells Merlin he will get Rocky eventually. Once Adrian apologizes to Rocky, Paulie excuses himself to give them their privacy and heads into Mighty Mick’s.

Adrian continues about how the injuries could be too severe, but Rocky is bothered about the situation they’re in. He doesn’t want her working at the pet shop again, but Adrian is fine with it and already talked to Gloria who could use the part time help. Rocky questions why she wants to go back to the first place she started. He has to do it, but she doesn’t have to. She gets emotional, saying she wanted to be there to be close to him. He calms down, and they hug. He has her go back to the pet shop since it’s getting cold, but then he stops in the middle of the street. He asks her if they ever left this place, and she doesn’t know. Rocky turns around and Tommy joins him again because he still wants to talk, but this couldn’t be a worse time. Rocky just tells him that his head is a little busy right now, and he heads in the gym, leaving Tommy on the sidewalk. In the limo, Merlin isn’t sure Duke can get Rocky because he’s not thinking straight, but Duke is sure he can. He just needs an angle. Cane is in the backseat with them and is down to fight right now, saying he’s better than Rocky ever was. Duke gets mad. He tells Cane he owns the paper on him. Cane will fight who he tells him, where he tells him, and how he tells him. Merlin adds to not bite the hand that feeds him. Outside the playground, school bully Chickie (Connolly) points out Rocky Jr. while he steps out for a moment, outs him as Rocky’s son, and attacks him along with his friend. Even though his girlfriend Jewel (Elisebeth Peters) tries to stop them from going too far, they beat up Rocky Jr., steal his coat, and run away. At Mighty Mick’s, Rocky has reopened the gym, and the place is doing well with him as the head trainer. At the same time, Paulie stays by the door and sells off small things Rocky has touched like a coffee cup. After he sells one for $5, Tommy walks in and asks if there is somewhere he can change. Paulie remembers him and points him to the locker room. Rocky is training with Richard and tells him to slip the jab before ending their session.

Paulie walks up with Tommy, and Rocky invites him in the ring to show off what he’s got. As Benson (Albert J. Myles) is brought over to spar with Tommy, Rocky asks Paulie what “cojones” stands for. He explains it’s “Latin for ‘Spanish nuts’. Rocky wants Tommy to get his head gear, but he says he doesn’t need it, prompting Rocky to tell Paulie he’s going to get his “cojones” knocked out. Rocky tells Benson to take it easy on Tommy, and they begin their session. Tommy takes quite a few hits early and then takes over. He starts throwing some serious punches and it gets more devastating with each one. Rocky and everyone have to yell at Tommy to stop because it’s just a sparring session, but it almost gets ugly. Finally, he eases up, and Rocky has Benson exit the ring for a break. Rocky chastises Tommy for practically street fighting and not actually boxing, but Tommy still wants to know if he has something. Rocky is pissed off at what he saw though and tries to continue training some other guys. Tommy suggests Rocky manage him unless he doesn’t think he has anything going. Rocky says Tommy has tools, but he’s not a manager. Without saying Mickey’s name, he says the guy who owned this gym was a manager. Rocky was only the guy who needed to be managed. He wishes Tommy good luck and goes back to training. Rocky can see Tommy walk away, and he angrily hits a heavy bag before leaving the room. After school, Jewel finds Rocky Jr. and offers her coat to him, introducing herself. She says her boyfriend is out of the picture now because of his lack of manners. Rocky Jr. introduces himself as “Robert” to Jewel and calms down a bit. The two discuss Jewel being there for 6 years now, how it’s not Disneyland, how Rocky Jr. has been to Disneyland, how she’s not like the other people from school because she wants to get out, and how she thinks he has a nice ass.

Philly girls, you know?

At the end of the workday, Paulie jokingly talks about going to Miami with his money to become a gigolo and how his back is bad because of his arthritis. He questions why Rocky doesn’t have any, but Rocky argues that he’s been through enough. Rocky sees the pet shop and notes that Adrian is too good for this, and this place is depressing in general. They walk by Andy’s and a local says the people inside have been asking about both of them, but Rocky isn’t interested. Naturally, Paulie is, so Rocky says he can go ahead if he wants to. Tommy is waiting outside for them, and the two run into him on the sidewalk. Tommy wants to try again for Rocky, but Rocky is still firm in his stance that he doesn’t know anything about managing. Tommy just wants a chance. If he screws up, Rocky doesn’t have to throw him out. He will leave on his own accord. Neither has anything to lose, but Rocky brings up the hypothetical of Tommy not making it. He doesn’t want Tommy blaming him for it. If he was Tommy, he would talk to his family about this. Tommy says he has no family. This is it. He talks about how he knows everything about Rocky from his first fight with Apollo Creed, how no one ever gave him a chance, and how he’s hungry just like Rocky was, even if he doesn’t come from the same streets Rocky did. Ever since he put on boxing gloves, he’s wanted to meet him because if anyone could make him a winner, it’s Rocky. Rocky looks to Paulie and asks if he sees a winner standing there, but Tommy interrupts right away to confirm it because Rocky beat the best. He knows Rocky doesn’t know him personally, but he promises to do anything he wants him to do. If he can’t do it, he will bust his ass trying. He assures Rocky he’s not hustling him. All he’s asking for is a chance. Finally, Rocky relents and invites him home for dinner. At dinner, Rocky Jr. has to tell Rocky about the fight and the stolen coat. Adrian wants to come down to the school, but Rocky Jr. doesn’t want that because it will only make things worse. He wants to do what he thinks is right, so Rocky asks him what that could entail. Paulie interrupts to say he should hit the kid with a baseball bat.

Tommy says he had trouble like that when he was in school. He used to get chased by one kid until his mother told him to pretend the guy is a balloon, meaning if you pop him hard, these guys just go away. Tommy, Rocky, and Paulie chuckle, but Adrian isn’t pleased. She tells Tommy how they raise Rocky Jr. to solve problems with his mind rather than his muscles. After Tommy apologizes, Rocky Jr. asks Rocky if he can teach him how to fight. Rocky is open to teaching him how to throw a few deadly punches, but Adrian isn’t happy hearing this. Rocky Jr. asks Tommy if his dad taught him how to fight. Tommy admits his dad was alcoholic. He would go out with his friends, come home, and beat him and his mother. Growing up, he never thought about fighting anyone other than his father. He recalls getting in trouble at school when he was 13, and his father tied him down and whipped him so bad that he couldn’t walk for a week. The first guy Tommy ever knocked out was his father. When he gets in the ring, all Tommy sees is him. Rocky tries to lighten the mood by joking that he at least had a father to knock out because he didn’t have that. Paulie tells Rocky Jr. that he might be able to punch out Rocky someday, and Rocky questions why he would say something like that. Paulie passes it off as being the “fittest of the survival” because he can’t even get that right. Changing the subject, Rocky asks Tommy if has a place to stay because he can sleep in the basement if he wants. However, Rocky Jr. reminds him that he’s down there, so Rocky suggests his son stay with Paulie temporarily. Paulie isn’t happy being volunteered for this, but who gives a fuck what he has to say at this point? Rocky knows it will be temporary and is fine with it, even though Tommy really doesn’t want to impose. Rocky then gives Tommy a tour of the house. Adrian tells a somber Rocky Jr. to go to the basement to show Rocky what he did today, so he leaves the room. Adrian sits down next to Paulie who pours alcohol into his coffee. She asks if he knows Tommy, and Paulie tells her that he hits hard.

Rocky takes Tommy to the basement, and Rocky Jr. follows them. Rocky tries to let him know that they haven’t gotten a chance to clean everything up too much, but then they are both surprised to see all his old boxing stuff unpacked and hanging up as like an ode to his accomplishments. Rocky Jr. did all for him after school. He even painted the wall. Tommy changes the subject to ask about his necklace, so Rocky explains the story about Mickey getting Rocky Marciano’s cuff link. Because his work is forgotten about so quickly, Rocky Jr. becomes disheartened seeing the two hit it off so well, as Rocky has this extra energy about him when he discusses things with Tommy. Since Mickey is on his brain, Rocky walks Tommy over to where he has some more things to show him. He quotes Mickey on how he said that fighting is like 90% in the skull and 10% in the body. Rocky Jr. tries to interrupt to mention Jewel, but Rocky cuts him off rather quickly, wanting him to hold that thought so he can finish talking to Tommy. He asks Tommy who is best friend was in Orlando, so Tommy has to correct him and say he’s from Oklahoma. Rocky moves past this and just wants him to answer the question. Tommy mentions some guy named “Eric Elder”, but Rocky excitedly disagrees with him. He tells Tommy that his best friend is a guy named “Frankie Fear” because fear is a fighter’s best friend. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Fear keeps you sharp, keeps you awake, and makes you want to survive. However, you have to learn how to control it. He talks about how fear is like a fire burning deep inside. If Tommy can control it, it’s going to make him hot. On the other hand, if it controls you, it’s going to burn you and everything else around you up. He stops himself and then talks about how these are the things that were taught to him. If Tommy wants, he’d like to teach him. A saddened Rocky Jr. looks down. Tommy excitedly accepts because it means Rocky is down to be his manager, and Rocky is now fully on board.

Rocky even says what he usually says to his own son in “Home team” when referring to the two of them. It was their motto, but now it’s becoming his and Tommy’s motto. Rocky Jr. goes back upstairs, and Rocky doesn’t even notice because Tommy points out the heavy bag and asks if Rocky can show him a few things while he’s there. Naturally, Rocky is down.

Rocky may find a new lease on life managing Tommy Gunn, but how it affects his family yields unexpected consequences.

My Thoughts:

Rocky V has its fair share of detractors, but they do have a point. Make no mistake about it, it is the worst of all nine Rocky and Creed films. With that being said, it’s not nearly as bad as audiences remember it.

Despite audiences enjoying the formula of what Rocky was becoming in Rocky III and Rocky IV where Rocky Balboa finds a new dominant challenger to face off against, the focus of Rocky V seems to be star and creator Sylvester Stallone trying his hardest to avoid this developing formula. Here, he wanted to get back to the drama and character focus that made the first film what it was, going back to the roots of what made Rocky Balboa the hero to audiences worldwide. Instead of going with what was working in the overly commercialized widespread appeal of the last two sequels and just giving the future sequels more depth, he instead decided to strip Rocky of everything he worked for in an effort to get the protagonist back to where he was barely scraping by on the streets. This was the first of many mistakes in this sequel. For fans of the series, we have been on this journey with this main character and his family and friends since 1976. That’s 14 years of Rocky Balboa. We have seen Rocky go through the rags to riches story, starting as the underdog and working his way up to becoming a real-life superhero. He’s suffered losses in and out of the ring, has become a world champion twice, and has dealt with the deaths of some very close friends. He’s gone through so much going into Rocky V that suffering through MORE of life’s knockout punches becomes too much for the viewer to handle. Devolving the character to where he’s back to nothing is the last thing we want to see. Sadly, the first act was so overstuffed with disaster that it almost undid everything Rocky has overcame over the course of his life. We’ve been on board for 14 years of backstory and through the deaths of Apollo Creed and Mickey just for Rocky to lose his livelihood because fuckstick Paulie signed over the power of attorney to their weasel accountant and that guy lost millions in a real estate venture? Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? Granted, superstar athletes getting screwed by their shady accountants has been a tale as old as time. We still see it to this very day.

Nonetheless, doing it to Rocky in the fifth movie when he can’t do anything about it, since he’s forced into retirement, is quite literally the last thing we want to see.

The problem is how the Rocky movies have been structured up until this point. The viewer has been so used to the other aspects of the sport, the characters involved, and the opponents they face that the real-life aspects of boxing that the athlete comes across isn’t a detail they are looking forward to, as it’s never been a factor in any of the previous films in a major way. Then, out of nowhere, Rocky V is all about it, and Rocky himself is somehow very aware of all the behind the scenes bullshit a fighter has to face, despite Mickey handling all of that for him in the previous movies and Rocky himself avoiding it entirely in the fourth movie. It would make sense for him to have a great understanding of it by the time Creed comes along, but he should be struggling with the intricacies of being a manager and dealing with the politics of boxing in this sequel as much as he does with understanding what a mortgage is, like in Rocky II. Training a fighter is one thing, but if we were truly following Rocky accurately in this moment of his life, him dealing with contracts and money and whatnot should have been a huge hurdle for him. In any event, financial struggles and the political maneuverings of boxing have never been an issue in four movies, so the fifth being all about it is too much of a contrasting transition. It’s just hard to be invested in the story like we were previously. Had they begun to introduce these topics in Rocky IV, it may have been an easier adjustment. If you remember, Rocky could only take the Ivan Drago fight if he vacated the title because the boxing commission wouldn’t sanction it. In addition, he said he was doing the fight for no money. Had there been scenes with Rocky arguing with the boxing commission or whatever and THEN coming to the conclusion he does in the press conference, it would establish this element of Rocky at odds with the commission as something to keep an eye out for. However, the realities of boxing’s politics were always pushed to the side in favor of the characters and the basic themes the movies would touch on. That is why all the champions in the movies are referred to as the “world heavyweight champion” instead of being described specifically as the more complicated WBA, WBC, IBF, or The Ring champion.

There’s also the WBO champion, but it wasn’t established until 1988, so we can’t fault Stallone there.

The point is that they avoided the politics of boxing even in the writing of the screenplay, and we never questioned it because that’s the world they wanted to create.

Dating back to the first Rocky, they never established Apollo Creed’s credentials other than his unblemished record and how he was “world champion”. So, years of conditioning the audience to think the politics of boxing is not nearly as complicated as it is in real life is just another reason as to why Rocky V loses the viewer and could be the biggest criticism of the Rocky franchise as a whole because dealing with these governing bodies could have made for some interesting developments in the series. Really, it’s a positive and negative of the fifth film. It’s a positive because it allows Rocky to deal with the other side of boxing for the first time, which is a long time coming for what is considered to be THE boxing franchise. The negative is that it was either too late in the series to bring it up or that it was too early for Rocky Balboa to deal with it all as a manager and retired fighter. In 1990, Sylvester Stallone himself was still in his prime, and this sequel came out three years before Cliffhanger and Demolition Man. Because audiences know Stallone was still at the top of his game, it was hard for them to see the actor in the role of Mickey this early. By the time the Creed movies came out, it made sense since Stallone is the older, aged fighter with years of wisdom in and out of the ring. In Rocky V, it takes place after he just had the best fight of his life against Ivan Drago and is still visibly young. Why would we want him to give it all up? In Stallone’s defense, the basic outline of this sequel is a good story that makes for a compelling drama, but it was just too early to put it into production. It needed to be saved for the end of the decade rather than in 1990, as Stallone was still in fighting shape for the context of this movie. Because of this, Rocky V would have been much better suited to be more in line with what Rocky III and Rocky IV was, with Rocky taking on a new challenger while life stuff gets in the way, like the development of Rocky Jr., his struggles in school, and him trying to maintain a relationship with Rocky while Rocky focuses so much on training and keeping his spot at the top that he starts to ignore his family or something, mirroring Apollo’s obsession with beating Rocky in Rocky II.

It would have been more like the stylized blockbusters that weren’t as loved by critics, but it would have been a beloved entry by audiences. It’s not like he won the critics over with how Rocky V turned out anyway. Once again to Stallone’s credit though, the plot of Rocky V could have succeeded had it came out in the late 90s in between Cop Land and his remake of Get Carter. A visibly changed Stallone and an older version of Rocky trying to keep up would have aligned a lot more with the plot and character arc he wrote, and it would have been much easier for the audience to comprehend a legitimate Rocky retirement. Had Stallone made Rocky V in 1990 with Tommy Morrison’s Tommy Gunn being just another opponent to face off in his prime, and THEN a hypothetical Rocky VI in 1997 or 1998 with the plot of THIS film and a different fighter being the person he trains and fails, it would be a near flawless saga. It would also allow for us to better digest the focus on Rocky Jr.’s life too, as the fans weren’t ready for so much time being dedicated to the kid. It was a natural progression for the evolution of the overall story of Rocky but watching the “rich kid” experiencing public school in Philadelphia just isn’t very compelling. Sage Stallone’s performance isn’t bad though. In fact, it’s an accurate depiction of how a child may react to his father giving all of his attention to someone else in a crucial phase in his life. Nevertheless, it’s not good enough to meet the standard of entertainment the franchise brings, though Rocky Jr. working on boxing, beating up his bullies, and then becoming friends with them was a unique development that should be noted. The “B” story of his son’s struggles would be a decent level of adversity for Rocky to face if there was still the outlet of a fight coming up, but since this element is removed from the equation and Rocky isn’t boxing anymore, it just becomes a family drama that the character isn’t equipped to handle, nor is the franchise ready for.

Again, had it been a plotline for a late 90s Rocky film, it would have been appreciated far more because it’s actually a solid movie when you factor in the overarching chapter book-styled story of the series. Plus, if it did come out later in the decade, it would still allow for 2006’s Rocky Balboa to be the exact same movie from a storyline perspective, so it would have all worked out.

Hindsight is a bitch. You get the point though.

Despite the point of Rocky V being the protagonist going back to his roots, the fifth film is too much of a departure from the previous movies. They can take Rocky back to his roots in spirit, with a heartfelt screenplay. They don’t actually have to make Rocky poor again and force him to live on the mean streets of Philly to accomplish this! He’s even smoking again, completely reverting to his old self, despite working from the ground up to become a millionaire Hall of Fame boxer previously. Was Stallone really surprised why the fans weren’t liking what they were seeing? Rocky fought too hard to hit this bad of a low. Bringing his family down with him is just depressing. The character and the series needed to continue to build on the protagonist, his family, and the problems they face along the way. It goes without saying that they need to face some sort of adversity because you wouldn’t have a movie otherwise. However, shoving everything he did previously into a garbage can because Adrian’s idiot brother called an audible and refused to take accountability is a major slap in the face to the viewer. It makes you question if they really had to go down this road to accomplish what Stallone wanted to do in this sequel. Thankfully, Michael B. Jordan took notes on why this sequel failed and made Creed III the excellent sequel it was. It follows the same idea of Adonis Creed retiring and being removed from the sport but finding a way to bring him back with another opponent that forces his hand. He doesn’t have to lose his entire fortune and nearly his family in the process because that would be too calamitous of a decision. Seems simple, doesn’t it? Instead of taking this simpler route here, Stallone takes too sharp of a detour, strips the main character of all his success so he hits rock bottom and is forced into retirement at the same time, and makes the results too definitive for the movie or the protagonist to overcome. In doing so, the ripple effect changes the character’s life, as we see how Rocky never financially recovers in the following three movies and just lives content with nothing much to show besides his basic ass house.

It’s all because of what happened in Rocky V and this asshole accountant whose face is never seen. That just doesn’t sit right with me or anyone. It’s true that it wouldn’t feel right if Rocky was living in a mansion by the time Rocky Balboa came along because his son moved on without him and he would be lonely in that house, but he could still live modestly in a decent home. At the very least, they could give the fans some inkling that he is financially secure and just chooses to live humbly. Unfortunately, we are left in the dark at the end of Rocky V, which was supposed to be the last movie of the series upon its release. We never know if he got his money back from the accountant who is surely burning in Hell, nor do we know if George Washington Duke sued them since Rocky punched him. Sadly, how things turn out post Rocky V implies that Rocky either lost his case to the accountant or the very little that he did win from it after his lawyer fees was used to create the restaurant, Adrian’s. Since neither is ever revealed, it’s hard not to assume the worst considering the somber state Rocky finds himself in Rocky Balboa and the Creed movies regardless of Adrian’s death. More importantly, it’s very possible that Duke did make good on his promise of suing Rocky if he touched him. It was a cool moment for cinematic purposes for Rocky to punch Duke in front of everyone and dare him to sue for what little he has left, but the consequences of this would be catastrophic. There’s no way Duke doesn’t sue Rocky after that, and it more than likely ends up with a jail stint for him. Why this is never touched on again is more baffling than what happened with the accountant because the George Washington Duke character is such a major part of this sequel that you can’t just ignore it. It’s probably the most burning question we have coming out of the film. Punching Duke with a thousand spectators and the news media covering every move would not have given Rocky a positive ending at all.

Clearly, it was inserted to satisfy the audience so Rocky could get a comeuppance on an obviously evil character. Plus, we can’t get this satisfaction by Rocky just beating Tommy Gunn in a boxing ring because of how the story turns out, but it’s unrealistic because Duke would win this battle in court. It’s just too big of a moment to ignore. The only way they could have made up for such drastically awful decisions involving the Rocky character was the third act. Even though the risk of brain damage is made well known early in the movie and Rocky navigating life through his legitimate retirement earlier than he expected is the focal point of the sequel, the finale needed to end in the ring. Yes, Rocky came from the streets, is the embodiment of the grungy, city-life of Philadelphia, and used to rough people up as a collector for a loan shark in his 20s. Additionally, he has been described as a street fighter and a brawler more than a boxer, but this never should have been taken literally. He’s still a professional fighter regardless of his style, which is why Rocky’s climactic battle being a street fight just isn’t “Rocky”. It doesn’t feel right, even if it was meant to show Rocky being a man of the people and to give him a chance to have a final fight, despite being retired from the ring. It should have never gotten this far. Even though it was actually one of the better fight sequences of the Rocky franchise and the tension and unpredictability was there with Tommy Gunn being an unexpectedly good antagonist, it didn’t click like it would have had it been in the ring where it belonged. Not to be an armchair screenwriter, but Stallone should have known that this wasn’t what the people came to see, no matter how much was built upon in the previous hundred minutes. Yeah, Rocky is from the streets, but the character has never been in a street fight onscreen. The one time he was supposed to rough someone up in the first movie for Gazzo, he decided against it because he had too good of a heart. Now, they want us to believe his ring is “outside” after we’ve only seen him fight in a boxing ring?

Yeah, I don’t get it either.

It just doesn’t align with what we know through the 14 years and four movies of backstory. Considering Rocky just took an unsanctioned bout in Russia in Rocky IV, there’s no reason he couldn’t bypass the commissions again since they have already established that the character is willing to go this far for a fight that’s worth it. Had the match with Tommy gotten this personal, Rocky deciding to take another unsanctioned bout for unprecedented money in a prizefight against Tommy Gunn is the rightful response. In fact, it’s downright logical because it’s less of a health risk for Rocky than a street fight where anything could happen, it satisfies the tastes of fans, and it’s flat-out more entertaining. The hero moment could have Rocky bring his lawyer to the contract signing to ensure Duke doesn’t screw him on the money for the Tommy Gunn fight, which would allow their main event battle to be for all the marbles. After Rocky wins and gets his family out of poverty, he could reconcile with an apologetic Tommy Gunn who understands now what Rocky was trying to do for him. With this, he could be the guy to punch out Duke instead of Rocky. Truthfully, Rocky was right about Tommy. He was just misguided. There was an angle there for redemption if they wanted to pursue it. The fact that he was going to deliver that message to Rocky that he was picking Duke over him but decided to talk to him in private outside, instead of in front of Adrian, shows that he still respected Rocky. Furthermore, keep in mind that Rocky wasn’t that far removed from retirement, he again just had the greatest fight of his life against Drago, and the way they depict Tommy Gunn as an inexperienced headcase who was able to beat a series of tomato cans on the way to knock out pretender and puppet champion Union Cane allows for Rocky to believably come back into the fold and wipe the floor with him out of love, anger, and frustration. Paulie getting decked to the ground in the bar should have been kept in, as we’ve been wanting to see someone do that to him since the first Rocky, and an enraged Rocky taking on Tommy in an initial street fight that gets news publicity should have followed.

That part was done correctly, mostly because a pissed off Rocky telling Tommy, “You knocked him down. Why don’t you try knocking me down now?” was a great line. However, Duke was right. It should have been in the ring after this moment. He should have had his entourage separate the two, and Rocky could say that he accepts their challenge while the news media cameras are everywhere.

Then, the follow-up could have been the prizefight scenario that I mentioned before. Naturally, some things would have to be cut and restructured for timing purposes, as well as the inevitable argument with Adrian, but it had to end in a ring. Everything said between Rocky and Tommy Gunn could have happened when they met in the middle of the ring before the bell, with Tommy talking about how he doesn’t want to be in Rocky’s shadow and Rocky telling him, “I loved you, man. Me and you were supposed to be like this Tommy. You blew it!”. Once the fight commences, the visions Rocky gets of Drago’s punches when Tommy hits him could still happen, along with the quick montage of the casket, the towel drop, Rocky falling, and Mickey saying “You’re the champ! One more round. Get up! Don’t lay down. Fight this guy hard. He’s no machine! I didn’t hear no bell. Get up you son of a bitch, cause Mickey loves ya!”. With all of this happening in the boxing ring instead of on pavement, Rocky standing up to the “Gonna Fly Now” theme and telling Tommy “I didnt hear no bell” and then saying, “One more round” before busting his ass, the finale would have been a thousand times more effective. Stallone tried to get too 90s with it instead of staying true to the foundation he built. They even tried to throw in some hip-hop to try and stay relevant, but it did the opposite and made the franchise look dated when it didn’t have to come to that. The idea of central antagonist George Washington Duke being the greedy boxing promoter taking advantage of up-and-coming fighters to make money for himself is a relevant one, but Richard Gant’s performance is too over-the-top to be taken seriously. He’s obviously trying to channel Don King, but it’s a lazy, on-the-nose imitation, turning what could have been a unique antagonist for Rocky to face into an unoriginal cartoonish villain. It stands out in all the worst ways because Rocky V is SUPPOSED to be the grounded sequel that harkens back to the authenticity of the first two movies. However, this is very much a character that would fit the direction of where the third and fourth movies went, which is why it doesn’t work here.

The script was solid, but Gant was trying way too hard to be King, and it was excessive for a Rocky movie of any kind. If you want to see the “devilish promoter” supporting character handled in a realistic manner, look at what they do in Creed II with Russell Hornsby’s Buddy Marcelle. That is how you do a character like that correctly. Michael Williams did a good job in portraying the paper champion Union Cane that Stallone wanted, but the issue is with Stallone’s writing. Coming up with that good of a name and getting a real boxer to play Cane was cool, but they didn’t have to make him a clown. This was a missed opportunity for a tertiary antagonist if I’ve ever seen it. Tommy Gunn could have still been the guy to take him out as it happened, but making the character a buffoon rather than giving him a stronger personality was another bad call, as he could have helped in strengthening the dangers Rocky could face (“Bottom line is Tommy Gunn beat a second-rate fighter with so much glass in his jaw he oughta be a chandelier!”). On the other side of the fence, Tommy Morrison did a great job for being an inexperienced actor and real-life boxer in the middle of his career. From exciting rookie looking to learn from Rocky, to frustrated success who wants a title shot badly, to eventual villain after getting a taste of the finer things in life once he’s taken advantage of by the devil in Duke is a well-done story overall. Morrison’s dynamic performance wins the audience over with his eagerness just as quickly he pisses us off when he turns his back on Rocky. The press conference scene where he’s furious at the ballsy reporters talking about how Cane was a bum and Tommy will never be Rocky Balboa, along with him finding out from Duke publicly that Cane wasn’t healthy going into the fight was very well done by Morrison. You can see the envy and subsequent fury develop in his eyes when Duke agrees with the reporters that Tommy will never be a “people’s champion” like Rocky, but he might be able to fill his shoes. Again, if Cane was a stronger personality and Duke was a more grounded character, a lot of the events that unfold would be looked back on much more fondly than how they are.

The private conversation after the press conference between Tommy, Duke, and Merlin where they influence the extremely jealous Tommy to call out Rocky for the prizefight could have been a game-changing moment with shades of The Devil’s Advocate years before it came out, but the over-the-top monologuing of Duke just kills what could have been (“If he refuses, then you gotta insult him! You gotta dog him! You gotta humiliate him! Do whatever you got to do to get him in that ring, but that’s what you got to do!”). The lack of subtlety in their meetup on Christmas, with Duke bringing up how there is no formal contract between Rocky and Tommy and how “it must be damn difficult living in Rocky’s shadow, people calling you his puppet!”, knowing how annoyed Tommy has been over the press calling him things like “The Clone Ranger” was just a tad too overt, especially when Merlin doubled down with “I don’t know anybody who could have done it as long as you have”. Either Tommy is not nearly as smart as we give him credit for, or Stallone wanted to make it this painfully obvious to the viewer as to what was happening. It’s probably the latter, but it just adds to the disappointing presentation of the villain side of things.

It was never the intention, but the quick rise and fall of Tommy Gunn eerily mirrors the real-life tragedy of Morrison’s story too. How Morrison played this character and still got distracted by the women and everything else in real life just like how he did in the movie is kind of baffling. It’s a shame he didn’t accept the angel on the shoulder that Rocky was trying to be for him.

The continuity issues are glaring too. When Rocky gets off the plane in the first act and has his media scrum, he’s being asked about defending the title, even though he was forced to vacate the title to accept the fight against Drago in Rocky IV. They could have referred to him as the “lineal world champion”, but they just forget this part entirely and don’t offer an explanation. Furthermore, they age up Rocky Jr. five years, despite the timeline between Rocky IV and Rocky V being only a few months. Besides this, the inclusion of Mickey didn’t work. It makes sense for Rocky to reminisce about the wise words of his former trainer at his lowest, but only the words were needed. His quips are electric, but that’s the only thing needed from him at this point in time. Having a decrepit Burgess Meredith return for a flashback where we’re supposed to act like he still looks like how he did in the 70s is hard to buy. On top of that, they do this just to establish a new MacGuffin into the story of Rocky Marciano’s cuff link that he turned into a necklace. Despite it never being mentioned previously, it’s now the most important thing Mickey owns, and he gifts it to a young Rocky. It serves as a plot device for Rocky to think about gifting it to an unworthy Tommy Gunn as a passing of the torch, but it doesn’t hold the effect Stallone thinks it does because it was only created for this sequel and never mentioned again, even though he tried to shoehorn it into canonically existing the whole time. When he gives it to his son in the epilogue, we just kind of shrug because we forgot it existed. Speaking of which, though the epilogue of Rocky walking up the famous “Rocky Steps” with his son was a sweet ending (“Look at this, you know? I’ve been running up and down these steps for 20 years and I never knew there was valuable pictures in this building, you know?”), it was written and acted better when they did the exact same thing in Creed with Adonis encouraging an older Rocky to make it to the top with him. Had the Creed movies never existed, the ending of Rocky V would have been highly memorable, but it pales in comparison to what Creed did now.

In addition, Elton John’s “Measure of a Man” was the movie trying way too hard to be sentimental in letting the audience know this is a final goodbye to the character. If the song didn’t suck, it might have made us feel something, but it was too overt in its intentions to warrant the response.

If you have read the reviews of the previous Rocky films, you know how detestable the Paulie character is. He’s one of the worst “best friends” potentially ever. In Rocky V, he hits the point of no return. They make him the root cause of fucking up the entire fortune Rocky built by literally fighting his way through life purely because Paulie is a fucking idiot and didn’t have a lawyer present, signing a contract that allowed for the family accountant to essentially take all their money. Instead of Paulie reflecting and being overly apologetic for the mess he caused that ruined everything Rocky has done since 1976, he refuses to take accountability and blames everyone else but himself. It makes my blood boil just thinking about it. When they are meeting with Rocky’s lawyer to get the details on how much money was lost and the financial hole they are in, he literally says that he refuses to take the fall for this. IT’S ALL HIS FUCKING FAULT!!! How Rocky doesn’t beat the ever-living shit out of him in this moment is INSANITY! Then, Paulie has the audacity to tell Rocky he should fight again to make money while he sits on his ass comfortably? How can we ever feel for this character ever again? Seriously, I couldn’t muster up one iota of sympathy for the character after this moment, especially following his doubling down of his refusal to admit that he screwed up. Rocky has given Paulie everything he’s ever wanted money-wise, he has found him work, he kept him around way longer than he should have despite Paulie regularly disrespecting Adrian, he bailed Paulie out of jail and bypassed Paulie trying to fight him in a parking lot right after in Rocky III, he bought Paulie a fucking robot in Rocky IV, and he LET HIM LIVE IN THEIR MANSION WHEN HE DIDN’T HAVE TO FOR FREE! Paulie flushes it all down the toilet because he’s a fucking idiot, and then he refuses to admit he’s a stupid asshole that screwed up all of their lives and the future of Rocky’s son purely because of his own pride?

Fuck that. Paulie is fucking awful.

Rocky should have let Tommy Gunn give him a concussion in the third act with three or more punches on the ground. If there is anyone in this series that deserved what was coming to him, it’s fucking Paulie. I don’t care if he felt sympathy for Rocky after Tommy gave Duke credit after his title win instead of Rocky nor that he stood up for Rocky and pushed Tommy in the bar (“He got you here. He’s the real champ! You’re just a goddam joke! Get out of here before I break your face”). His past sins just can’t be forgiven. Moreover, the one time he could have put on a tough guy act where it was actually needed, he fucked that up too. When Duke came to the house with Tommy and his girl, Adrian tells Paulie to deal with them. What does the asshole do? He lets them in the house and tells Rocky that he has some “friends” to deal with!

Again, FUCK PAULIE!

A major positive of Rocky V is Stallone’s acting. Once again, he reminds the viewer that he can put on one hell of a performance when the situation calls for it. Him reacting to the effects of fighting Drago while shaking in the shower teased an Oscar-worthy performance. The tears, the confusion, his calling out for Mickey, and Talia Shire’s worried Adrian responding was a mesmerizing opening sequence that really showed the dark side of boxing. Seeing Rocky that vulnerable was scary, and it set up the rest of the story nicely. The follow-up being Rocky almost reverting to his primal self that was the first movie because of how punchy he has become right following the Drago fight was quite the wake-up call. At first, it seems like Rocky is trying to be overly cool just for the media and to downplay his injuries, but when the camera flashes a look at a confused Rocky Jr., the viewer starts to realize that they are right to be concerned with how Rocky is acting. Thankfully, they didn’t go too far down this route, and it was only temporary. Actually, one of the best moments of this sequel is Rocky throwing his nice guy shtick to the side to get real with Tommy Gunn, proving that he isn’t the idiot audiences tend to remember him as. Walking alongside the car looking desperate, he pleads with Tommy to not fall for Duke’s promises and how they will use him until he is worth nothing, which is why Mickey helped him to avoid it and how he was trying to do the same for Tommy. Tommy angrily responds how he’s not Rocky and Rocky isn’t Mickey, bringing up the importance of business. Rocky realizes that Tommy is trying to say that he needs brains for such a thing, which Rocky assumes Tommy is trying to say Rocky doesn’t have them, and it pisses him off. Tommy arrogantly tells Rocky that he can still train him if he wants, but he’s riding with Duke because he gave him the title shot before speeding off. Still dealing with the effects of Drago, Rocky holds his head after trying to chase Tommy’s car, and it’s a powerful moment. He can’t believe what all of this has come to. Adrian tries to tell him that it’s not worth it, but he thinks it is. He still believes in Tommy and just thinks he’s confused.

Adrian feels the need to point out the reality of the situation to him about how he can’t turn back the clock and how this is where they live now, and it just sets him off like never before. In one of the most raw and emotional moments of the series, Rocky has a breakdown yelling, “Hey, Adrian I know where we live! What do you think, I’m stupid? I’m not as dumb as you think I am! I look! You don’t think I can smell it? I see where we are! I don’t want this no more! I want something good for the family! I don’t want this! I don’t want this! Did I come back here and get my brains beat out for these guys to say, ‘Hey there goes Balboa, just another bum in the neighborhood!”. He slams his coat onto the street and yells once more how he didn’t want this. For someone as calm and collected as Rocky is and how close he plays things to the chest, this is a huge moment to show how low the protagonist is at this stage of his life and it’s unrelenting. When someone as strong as Rocky admits these feelings like in the famous beach scene in Rocky III, it’s hard not to sympathize with how life has turned out for him. He doesn’t deserve this, and it’s difficult to watch him go through it and not know how to overcome it since he can’t fight anymore. When Tommy was winning, he felt like he was winning again, and it made him happy. It gave Rocky a last chance to get the respect he wanted. Adrian reminds him how she respects Rocky, how she took those beatings with him, how Tommy isn’t him, and how he doesn’t have Rocky’s heart. Still, Rocky doesn’t want to hear it. Continuing, Adrian reminds him how he beat all those fighters with heart, not muscle. Mickey knew it, and that’s why they were special. Nonetheless, Mickey is dead, and it’s time for him to come to terms with it. It’s a wake-up call that was needed for Rocky because his priorities were all screwed up. It was for us too, as we wanted Rocky to make this mentorship with Tommy to work, and he did to as he tried to save Tommy from the evils of boxing. If it didn’t work, the viewer wanted to see them across from each other in a ring. Yet Adrian slapped us all in the face with the reality check we needed.

Fuck Tommy Gunn. As soon as he had the first whiff of success, he threw Rocky to the side.

The movie isn’t about boxing. Really, it never was. It’s about Rocky Balboa and now, the evolution of his familial relationships as he gets older. At this stage in his life, if he has life lessons to pass on, “Pass it to your son for God’s sakes! Your son is lost! He needs you! I know Tommy makes you feel great. He makes you feel like you’re winning again, but you’re losing us! Rocky, you’re losing your family!”. It’s a moment of clarity that is so strongly delivered by Stallone and Talia Shire that it actually saves the movie. It’s one of the most important scenes of the franchise and is pivotal in setting up the post-retirement life and character arc of Rocky through Rocky Balboa, Creed, and Creed II. The Christmas blow-up scene with Rocky and Rocky Jr. was just uncomfortable, and Rocky not seeing why his son is pissed off is heartbreaking because it shows you how blinded he has become with his mentoring of Tommy. Even so, it all needed to happen for Rocky to understand that what is important now is life after boxing. Whenever Rocky had problems, he would fight, just like how he tells Adrian when they get the news of the money lost. The curveball of Rocky V is trying to see how Rocky faces adversity when he can’t fight for the first time in his life. Though it’s not as good as the previous entries in the series because of the decision to go this route, it’s still intriguing enough to keep the viewer’s interest, albeit frustrating.

Even though it’s a throwaway line, Jewel asking Rocky if he’s going to hit Rocky Jr. when he finds him hanging out on the street corner and Rocky assuring her that he would never was great. To be fair, that’s a solid question for a professional boxer, but it was also a great line to show the reality these city kids are living in because they assume Rocky as a father would abuse his family. Going along with this, the screenplay showed flashes of greatness when he reconciles with his son in the street corner scene. It shows how well Stallone knows this character, how he thinks, and how he’s able to write for Rocky in the way that he speaks as this hood from Philly, while still performing it in such a heartfelt manner that it’s eloquent and authentic in its own way. He’s emotional and real with Rocky Jr., but since the character isn’t good with his words, Rocky goes on with his raw speech about how he’s made mistakes, how it bothers him, and how he forgets things, before swearing to God that it’s just going to be him and Rocky Jr. this time (“Home team?” – “Yeah, home team.”), and it’s phenomenally done. I’ve said it before, but I will say it again. If you have seen Stallone in these Rocky movies and watch him in some of his regular action fare, you will see how great of an actor he is because he’s a whole different person as Rocky Balboa. He knows this character inside and out and does not miss an opportunity to put on a wonderful performance as the beloved character. Regarding the sequence of events though, the odd placement of Rocky making up with his son and then going back home to watch Tommy Gunn fight Union Cane on PPV and cheering for Tommy heavily in his win felt wrong. Considering the emotional state of Rocky Jr. at this point in the story, this could have been the tipping point where he saw Rocky as a liar who went back on his word. He saw how invested Rocky got into it by hitting the bag while he’s watching Tommy bust up Cane and looked shook. Thankfully for Rocky, he didn’t revert into his annoyance with Rocky’s focus being on Tommy, as he saw how heartbroken Rocky was when Tommy gave Duke all the credit for his journey.

Even so, he had every right to get mad because of the timing of Rocky’s excitement over Tommy again. On a side note, Rocky telling Tommy to not eat the jab when watching the Tommy/Cane fight on TV is rich considering Rocky ate every single fucking jab thrown at him for four movies.

Rocky V is the worst of the series. It’s misguided, there are too many illogical choices and bad decisions riddled throughout, there are loads of missed opportunities with the story and the new crop of antagonists, and it was just too early to retire the character from the ring. With all of this being said, it’s still a good character study, a decent surface-level depiction of the politics of boxing, and Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, and Tommy Morrison all help bring it across the finish line. Though it leaves Rocky fans unsatisfied, what many don’t realize is that this sequel was actually a blessing in disguise. It had to happen the way it did. Without it, there would have been no reason Sylvester Stallone had to make Rocky Balboa, and it could be argued that the Creed spinoffs wouldn’t have happened without it as well since its story carries on from Rocky Balboa. So as much as Rocky V failed, it serves as the bridge that had to be made for the series to continue.

Considering this, I’m glad the film exists. It’s just a shame it couldn’t have been better.