MovieChat Forums > Rocky V (1990) Discussion > ROCKY V (better than people think)

ROCKY V (better than people think)

posted 8 years ago by leiney1987
3 replies | jump to latest

I personally think ROCKY V is much better than it gets credit for. In my opinion it feels much more like a ROCKY movie than III and IV did. I know its been said that the ROCKY movies kind of coincided with Stallone's career, which is kind of cool i guess, but I just have a hard time watching ROCKY trying to be smart and well spoken. I always found the Tommy Gunn Character interesting, I always wondered what would of happened to him and his career after the movie. That could have been an interesting spin-off or sequel but i'm sure Tommy Morrison was more interested in boxing at that point. I like the darker feel to ROCKY V, I thought the story was pretty good, some of the scenes with Rocky's son were a little boring, but I feel like it was important to show how important family is to Rocky.
The Biggest problem is of course the aging of Rocky's son once he get back from Russia at the begining of the movie, I sometimes cant over it be honest. The only major issue I have with the entire franchise (Creed included) is the timeline doesnt seem to add up correctly . I wish they would have put things up on the screen at different points in the movie just say something like "3 months later" or even "Christmas 1989" because he comes back from Russia in late December of 1985 and later we see Christmas Vacation on the tv. I like the Duke promoter character in the movie, we really didnt see much of that side of boxing in the other sequels.

The one major point that I wanted to point out is that if it hadnt been for ROCKY V, I don't know how ROCKY BALBOA could have been made (and then Creed). I'm sure a different ROCKY movie would have made at some point. But really without ROCKY V, Rocky would not have lost all of his money and returned to old neighbourhood. I feel like that had to be a hard decision to make , I mean really, what a ballsy move to take such a beloved character and make such a drastic change. ROCKY V and ROCKY IV couldnt be any different, which is awesome in my opinion.

This movie is not for everyone, I didnt like it the first time I saw it, I was 10 at the time. Now watching it as an adult I enjoy it alot more, more so than III and IV which i really like when i was 13 and didnt know any better. ROCKY BALBOA was fun and I was happy that i could see at least one ROCKY movie in the theater, but I think ROCKY V ended the series just fine

[–] Philip_90 8 years ago

I for one really enjoyed Rocky V because it offered a lot more than "train, battle, win" like Rocky III was and here, we got to see Rocky's family and his life as well as he taught Tommy but got backstabbed by him. In the end, Rocky still came out as the victor and the street fight Rocky Vs. Tommy was pretty awesome.

This is how I'd rank Rocky films:
Rocky I
Rocky II
Rocky V
Rocky VI
Rocky VII (also known as Creed: The Legacy of Rocky aka remake of Rocky I)
Rocky IV
Rocky III

The spin-off film franchise "Creed" can't really live off without having Rocky around so if they write off Rocky then they're also auto-cancelling any possible sequels.

[–] RockyBalboaV 8 years ago

I've always thought Rocky V was underrated. I like it because like you said it was something different and we we got a rocky movie that wasent all about training and action. Have either of you seen the directors cut of V? In my opinion on that form it's the best sequel

[–] Benihime 8 years ago

I agree, too, that Rocky V gets dissed way too much because it's actually a really good movie... until the very end.

I just rewatched it today for the first time in several years because I didn't like it for so long. I decided to pop it in and watch it, as I had just purchased the 40th anniversary edition. I was shocked to find myself really enjoying it until the last 15 minutes of the movie!

One thing that makes it refreshing is how it has, as pointed out already, a different plot compared to the four previous films. Rocky isn't just fighting and training. He's training someone else for a change and his son even gets a nice little subplot because he's finally reached an interesting age. It's also nice to see Robert looking like he could be Rocky's kid, since, other than the infant Robert (who was played by Sly's second oldest son), the other two seemed too non-Italian.

I think the idea for this story was really perfect to follow up Rocky IV because Rocky didn't need to prove anything else as a boxer and retirement made the most sense. Why he was so resistant to Tommy Gunn at first made no sense, but of course, he finally comes around and he and Tommy have a great relationship. It's sad to see how Robert is left out, but it's a way to create tension. Even Tommy's eventually seduction to the dark side is a good development, since that whole slimy side of the sport was never explored before. We never see Rocky bombarded by groupies who don't care if the guy is married, but we finally see them hanging all over Tommy!

And, how Tommy gets angry at the fans not accepting his defeat of Cain because Cain didn't win the title from Rocky is a legit way to get him to want to fight Rocky. The problem I have with this movie comes when Rocky says to Tommy, "My ring is outside." That is when the entire story derails and becomes something other than a Rocky movie. These movies are not about street fighting, so to suddenly make the last and most important fight outside in the street with TV cameras blaring in everyone's faces is disingenuous to the franchise. It's out-of-character for Rocky and simply not true that his ring is "outside." No, Rocky, your ring is not outside. When has it ever been outside since we met you back in 1975 (story-world timeline)?

I think this is why the movie left such a bad taste in people's mouths. Even Tommy Morrison thought the last fight shouldn't have been in the street. It's just a way to make fighting about being angry and not about the glory of fighting in the ring, which each movie has always stayed true to. I do think a fight between Rocky and Tommy was a good idea, but only the way the promoter wanted it--in the ring. Surely, there could have been a legit way to get Rocky to agree without resorting to pushing Paulie into a jukebox.

But, and this is a big but, if this film hadn't sat so poorly with Stallone because of how it ended (which is the reason why he wasn't satisfied with the movie), the sixth installment, Rocky Balboa, and ultimately, Creed, would have never been made. I just can't see myself being happy with only five Rocky movies, and the last one being made way back in 1990. The last two Rocky movies are TRUE gems and keep Rocky's story going and going. I, personally, only want to see them end when Rocky is getting buried next to Adrian after dying a cute elderly man who walked around outside in his bathrobe in the middle of winter because he couldn't be arsed to wear pants any longer.