Aside from the rap music — I was used to power ballads in the Rocky films by that point — I really enjoyed it. The only Rocky movie I disliked was II and I thought V was a stronger film than that. The flashback with Micky was a total Tear Jerker and I thought Stallone's teary-eyed nostalgia was as good as Burgess Meredith's passion.
Also, I thought Sage Stallone was surprisingly good. He was good enough to make Rocky Jr. seem unlikeable, which I think was the point.
Rocky V is one of those movies where the premise and ideas were fine but the execution floundered. The biggest failing is ultimately that a street fight makes no sense in context of the movie other than the fact the Rocky series is about boxing. Can you imagine any professional athlete getting into a street game to prove themselves to the public at large?
It does hit some of the right emotional notes but Rocky Balboa serves as a much better coda to his story.
"Get up ya bum! 'cuz Mickey loves ya!" That scene alone makes the film worth a watch.
Just want to say RIP to Tommy Morrison who played Tommy Gunn. I hate being so late to these kinds of things but....eh, better late than never.
First Sage now him...well they were both great in my book and helped make a great film.
Hadley
Personally, i think it would have been better if instead of making Rocky broke, they made it more of a drama about him struggling to adjust to life outside of boxing. You can even keep the Tommy Gunn character, but it should end with Rocky realizing that its time to walk away and let the new generation of boxers take over, while Rocky becomes a family man.
I first saw "Rocky V" in 1992 or '93 on WGN, having only seen "Rocky III" and "Rocky IV" at that point. I absolutely loved it. Straight loved it. Still do. I, too, was disheartened to discover that everybody and their brother on the internet hated the film, which I don't quite understand. "Rocky IV" is eight music videos with some dialogue thrown in every so often. "Rocky V" has an actual story and plot and good acting (In "Rocky IV", Burt Young turns in a better performance when he talks to Rocky just before going to the ring than Stallone does the entire 90 minute run time). Everything about "Rocky V" is unequivocally better than what's found in "Rocky IV" (except Adrian's looks). But people whine "Oh, he's broke. Oh he fights in the street, not the ring." So what? It still turned out to be more exciting than the plodding, seemingly rule-less Moscow bout.
For the longest time, I truly felt "Rocky V" was the best of the sequels because it was the one that was the closest in tone to the first movie (i.e. it was actually about Rocky). But then "Rocky Balboa" came along and against all odds managed to blow all the sequels out of the water.
And I still defy anyone to find a better end titles sequence than "Rocky V."
edited 4th Jul '14 12:57:34 AM by MeYouFools
So I'm really weird. I grew up in the 90s and the first Rocky film I ever saw was my grandmother's taped copy of Rocky V she got off some TV channel. I freely admit this is probably why I have a strong affection for the movie. It was actually very disheartening to get on the internet way back when and learn that so many people revile this movie....
After seeing I-IV, I simply appreciate that V was trying to go back to the series' roots. Stallone just wasn't perhaps the best writer or director or whatever and he couldn't quite manage it. Nevertheless, I appreciate his efforts to do so more than I appreciate the cartoon character Rocky became in III and IV. I liked that this was all a more personal story again with Rocky trying to live vicariously through Tommy while neglecting his own son only to later understand his folly.
V also had the best fucking song and ending. Balboa was a better movie no doubt but this just felt like such a perfect conclusion and I'll always stick by it.
I guess, overall, I'd say I prefer V to III or IV.
So that's me. How about you all?
edited 18th Jul '13 2:40:08 PM by NIkkolas