Rocky V (1990)

Genre: Drama

Directed by: John G. Avildsen

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Sage Stallone, Tommy Morrison

Time: 104 minutes

As he’s coming back from Moscow, after defeating Ivan Drago, Rocky Balboa is still feeling the ill-effects of multiple punches to the head. His celebration is short-lived, as the Balboa family finds itself broke, due to mismanagement by their accountant. Rocky wants to fight again to pay his debts, but a doctor confirms that he has suffered brain damage. So, he retires, and the family moves back to the old Philly neighborhood. Soon, Rocky starts training Tommy Gunn, a young up-and-comer looking for coaching, but George Washington Duke, a boxing promoter, is there to cause issues.

This is where the Rocky franchise truly fell apart, until it rose from its ashes. All along, we could root for the ultimate underdog, Rocky Balboa. In this fifth installment, all you could do was pity the fool, in the immortal words of Mr. T, and feel bad for him. The script felt empty and went nowhere, and the acting was mostly uninspired. A few good scenes saved this from being totally awful, but it was still not enough to make it good.

It is also sad to think of Sage Stallone and Tommy Morrison both finding untimely deaths years later.

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