ROCKY V REVIEW!!! (ROCKY/CREED MARATHON) ***IT WAS JUST OK***

Initial release date: November 16, 1990

Studio: United Artists

Plot: Recently retired boxer Rocky Balboa falls on hard times after his accountant mismanages his finances. He stages a comeback of sorts by mentoring fiery young boxer Tommy, while also trying to mend his shaky relationship with his own son, Robert. These challenges prove to be at least as tough as any fight Rocky has faced in the ring. He wonders if he will be able to meet them and raise his arms in victory again.

Cast

Sylvester Stallone - Rocky

Talia Shire - Adrian

Burt Young - Paulie

Sage Stallone - Robert (Rocky Jr)

Burgess Meredith - Mickey (filmed a new flashback)

Tommy Morrison - Tommy

Richard Gant - George W. Duke

Tony Burton - Duke

Jimmy Gabina - Jimmy

Delia Sheppard - Karen

Writer: Sylvester Stallone

Director: John G. Avildsen

Rated PG-13 (104 minutes)

Finally made it to the fifth entry of the main Rocky series. I kept an open mind to this one for sure since I read that this was the worst entry in the entire franchise. I generally thought it was just okay. Definitely wasn't the greatest Rocky story ... far from it.

I liked how they went back to it being a small grounded story like the first two movies. The movie dives into the dangers of brain damage, which is where we see our beloved boxer retired and sadly broke all of a sudden. It seems the being broke story was quickly thrown in just to add another emotional element.

It does try to be emotional when it needs to be, but this installment does seem to be very slow-moving and definitely not the best way to end the series (before Rocky Balboa brought it back in 2006). The story line of Rocky mentoring a boxer is an all right idea for the franchise but it ends up leading to a street brawl between the two and isn't really that great. And some of the dialogue can be really cheesy and cliched as well!

Sometimes the story doesn't make a whole lot of sense and they just wanted to try to find a way to wrap up the series in one way or another. One thing that doesn't make sense (which many reviews that I read also caught on to this) is Rocky's son was 9 when Rocky IV took place and in Rocky V he grew up a few years already. Yea the movies are released a few years apart, yet the fifth movie takes place immediately following the end of the fourth movie. Now, if there was a time jump then it would make sense!

Anyhow, Rocky V is definitely the weakest of the franchise. But, there are a couple moments here and there that are just alright. Next up - the 2006 movie Rocky Balboa, which re-vitalized the franchise!

Here are a couple interesting tidbits for Rocky V:

• In an interview with Jonathan Ross, Stallone was asked to rate each of the Rocky movies out of 10. He gave this movie a 0.

• Stallone originally toyed with the idea of killing Rocky off at the end of the film. The plan was that Rocky would die in an ambulance on its way to the hospital with Adrian by his side. At the hospital, she would've announced to the world of his passing and his spirit would live on with a final flashback of the famous scene of hum running up the steps. Stallone ultimately abandoned this concept and rewrote the ending.

• This is the only film in the Rocky saga to have lost money at the box office.

• Anticipated to be one of the big hits of the 1990 holiday season, Rocky V finished third in its opening weekend, trailing Dances with Wolves and Home Alone and never recovered. The film earned $14 million domestically on its opening weekend and $41 million in total in the US and Canada, about one-third of its predecessor's take.

https://youtu.be/C2_k8p3RQx4