Review of Rocky V (1990) by Kai82 — 19 Oct 2020

The weakest movie in the Rocky franchise. It is more of a misstep. For example: Can you summarize the story of the movie so others would be hyped or interested to see this movie? Yes without a doubt. This is an indicator as everything in this movie can work if done correctly or with a different approach.

Lets start with the story: Rocky is back at the USA after the events of Rocky 4. His health has however suffered terribly. Because he was fooled by an accountant he lost all his wealth and is back were he began as his health prevents him from boxing.

He decides to become a trainer like Mickey and meets a young aspiring boxer named Tommy Gunn starting to train him. There are also side stories about his family but I stop here as more would ruin the story (Yes, many will claimed it is already ruined by default).

From this alone it looks like an awesome movie. It fails in delivering the impact, emotions and characters. It is like doing stuff on a to do list without (enough) care or knowing how it works. Even Sylvester Stallone did not like the movie.

It was nominated for 7 or 8 golden raspberries if I remember correctly. The characters again are diluted or weakened by the script. For example there are great scenes that show the potential but then there are others that feel like poorly scripted attempts to get it over.

I think I am moving in circles so lets get to my final rating. Overall this is a misstep that had great potential but failed to deliver. Not near the worst movies of all times but also not recommendable.

May be compared to Star Trek 5 as it is also the worst in the series but had also great potential. Bonus knowledge: The mentioned Rocky Marciano (Rocco Francis Marchegiano) is a boxer you defiantly should know.

He is the only heavyweight champion that finished his career undefeated (49-0). He was not only an excellent boxer but also spent his money the smart way and stopped a potential comeback when he realized he was not as good as before.

Remark: Rocky is not inspired from him. Chuck Wepner inspired Sylvester Stallone for Rocky.