Rocky has lost everything, his money, his license to fight and indeed his health (he suffers from brain damage) so Rocky is forced to go back to the basics and in doing so trains a new competitor named Tommy Gunn (Morrison) however when a promoter (Gant) turns Tommy against Rocky, the matter is settled in the streets. The thing about Rocky V that I think a lot of people hate about it (but not me, I think it’s one of the stronger entries) is that it doesn’t feel like a Rocky movie, so much as a kung fu flick with boxing. Indeed Rocky is told he can’t fight again, he trains a new competitor and then has to destroy him when said competitor turns evil, the only difference between that plot line and a Shaw Brothers movie is that Rocky would’ve trained his son to fight Tommy, that aside this film actually does seem to have heart.
Rocky V tries and often succeeds in bringing back the feel of the old neighborhood and I for one found the father and son subplot to be quite affecting. It’s sort of weird how Rocky V is hated so much (Even by Stallone) because it’s really not a bad effort, and Avildsen choreographs a great climax that is probably the best in the series. I think Rocky V could’ve worked better as a stand-alone film, as Rocky is such a likable character we don’t want to see him betrayed and back to where he began again, but as it stands Rocky V is a pretty decent flick and unfairly maligned, indeed it’s way better than Rocky IV.
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