I was so surprised by this movie. I'm making my way through the Rocky films in anticipation of the seventh installment coming this fall and I was expecting V to be terrible based on the reviews. I was blown away! This film gets back to the character development and writing of the first two movies and is much better than the two before it. Maybe the reviews at the time were bad because people thought this was the last one? I could see why that may make it feel unsatisfying. But give this film a chance. It's brilliant.

Rocky couldn't get licensed in America, so this means being hit by a good punch(OR A FEW GOOD PUNCHES) by a fighter in boxing gloves(HANDS COVERED IN EXTRA PADDING AND BY FAR SOFTER THAN FISTS) could make him an invalid or dead. So, near the end, Rocky takes several almost bare knuckle punches from heavyweight champion and heavy-hitting protege Tommy Gunn(Morrison).So, maybe a realistic direction for the movie to take was for Rocky to come out and win like he did at first. After that, Tommy fights dirty like he did in the movie and hits him with a couple of punches, but puts Rocky away. Rocky keeps his sanity. Life's great for Tommy Gunn over a wonderful career. Rocky trains his son gradually over time--after Adrian's invitation to be there for his family. His son eventually goes through the rankings motivated to avenge Tommy's dirty beating of his dad. Just as Tommy's set to retire, his undefeated son challenges Tommy just as Tommy did his dad years earlier. His son makes the Balboa name golden once again by outboxing Tommy as his dad once did Clubber Lang, but KO'ing him in the late rounds. This also ties all of the Rocky movies together: there's a boxer, a croucher, and power. At the end, Rocky and Adrian get their wealth back through their son instead of through Tommy! Most everybody has seen this movie; it's almost 30 years old! These are just some changes that I feel were warranted. Sylvester's ego was just too high in this movie; he always had to be the hero.

1hr44mins 242reviews I gave it 7/10 as its good but not great dirJohn G. Avildsen eluctantly retired from boxing, and back from riches to rags, Rocky takes on a new protege who betrays him, as the champ's son must adjust to his family's new life after bankruptcy Rocky Balboa is forced to retire after having permanent damage inflicted on him in the ring by the Russian boxer Ivan Drago. Returning home after the Drago bout, Balboa discovers that the fortune that he had acquired as heavyweight champ has been stolen and lost on the stockmarket by his accountant. His boxing days over, Rocky begins to coach an up-and-coming fighter named Tommy Gunn. Rocky cannot compete, however, with the high salaraies and glittering prizes being offered to Gunn by other managers in town. Sometimes it gets annoying to me how critical people are of the Rocky series. It's like they feel like they have to say terrible things about it, probably because people can be so negative that they can't find it in themselves to believe that a 'less than intelligent' person with heart, drive and passion can move mountains and achieve success. I personally thought this, and every other Rocky movie, was fabulous. I thought Sage Stallone was amazing in his debut as Rocky's son. Also, this movie showed a more real side of boxing, the business side, with exploitative agents and corrupt business tactics. Some may think the Rocky series is an unrealistic saga, but Rocky IV proves it isn't. The person we saw struggle, fight, and grow rich is now back to square one.. .minus all the money but still with the heart.

This is 1800 reviews for me and I usually try to pick something important to me for these milestone reviews. There isn't much more important to me than the films of Sly Stallone for a number of reasons, some more personal than others. I just went through the Rocky Series again for the umpteenth time loving them as much as I ever have but I had yet to review Rocky V so here I am. And the irony is that this is considered the worst of the series and rightfully so. It is definitely a departure from the franchise. There are some good things about it but the problem is that it doesn't feel like Rocky. It doesn't have the same heart or style and the fact that it ends in this street fight just feels so un-Rocky like. However, it does definitively show a huge arc in the character we all know and love. Truly thank goodness, Rocky Balboa came out 16 years later to do justice to the franchise and not leave it on this note. The positive thing is that this is still about rising above. It's watching Rocky struggle as he loses everything and has to start from the beginning. It also sets him up basically for the rest of his life as we find out in Rocky Balboa and later Creed.I'm sure I've said this before but anyone who claims Sylvester Stallone can't act or is untalented needs to look again. He is an incredible Oscar-winning writer who created this indelible character who has lasted forty years successfully. Even in Rocky V which is disliked greatly, he is still the hero he always was and the character that is perfectly crafted by Stallone. He literally turns into Rocky and you're mesmerized. The scene with him watching Gunn fight and his brain issues is disturbing almost bringing tears to my eyes. Stallone is a powerhouse even if this is his worst script for writing. Happy 70th Birthday Mr. Stallone, my hero, my larger than life idol. The entire cast returns, Taila Shire gives her final Adrian performance and definitely has some great scenes and still has incredible chemistry opposite Stallone. Burt Young almost plays a bit of an accidental "bad guy" as he is the cause of Rocky losing everything. This is a toned down performance for him but he is still an integral part of the series. Sage Stallone is actually the scene stealer in this film. Sage is fantastic as the young Rocky Jr. The best part of this film is the dynamic between Sage and his real life father Sly. This film revolves around father and son and does that one aspect of it well. More or less his only film credit, real life Heavyweight Boxer (briefly) Tommy Morrison plays Rocky's protégé turned nemesis Tommy Gunn. Morrison doesn't hold a candle to any of other Rocky's nemesis in the films and certainly not to the first 4. He doesn't even seem to be in the same boat. Morrison and Michael Anthony Cane who plays a blatant attempt at Don King are both very cheesy and B-Movie quality which drags down the film significantly.Besides Rocky being the underdog and a force of nature the thing fans love about this series are training montages and the final fight. Rocky V has neither of this. And not only do you not get an epic final boxing bout in a the King of Boxing epics but it's reduced to a street fight that is okay at best. I am actually floored that this was directed by John G. Avildsen who directed the original Rocky. But maybe he got lucky with that one? If you look at all his other films over 4 decades, nothing else stands out as being impressive or a work of art. He certainly knows how to give Rocky and his Philadelphia world that grit and poor look but this is a weak script with very little to be impressed by or remember in this series. Still as a huge fan, I watch it every time I go through the franchise because it belongs and it has it's plus' (the Stallones' for one thing) and it's important for Rocky's story because this was his real life down and out before he came thundering back 16 years later with the incredible Rocky Balboa. 6.5/10