Rocky V (1990)

Director:

John G. Avildsen

Writer (WGA):

Sylvester Stallone (written by)

Release Date:

16 November 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Tagline:

Go for it!

Plot:

Reluctantly 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.

Plot Keywords:

Boxing | Boxer | Training | Riches To Rags | Hero

Awards:

8 nominations

Cast

Sylvester Stallone	...	Rocky Balboa
Talia Shire	...	Adrian
Burt Young	...	Paulie
Sage Stallone	...	Rocky Balboa Jr.
Burgess Meredith	...	Mickey Goldmill
Tommy Morrison	...	Tommy 'Machine' Gunn
Richard Gant	...	George Washington Duke
Tony Burton	...	Duke
Jimmy Gambina	...	Jimmy (as James Gambina)
Delia Sheppard	...	Karen
Mike Girard Sheehan	...	Merlin Sheets (as Michael Sheehan)
Michael Williams	...	Union Cane
Kevin Connolly	...	Chickie
Elisebeth Peters	...	Jewel
Hayes Swope	...	Chickie's Pal

Also Known As:

Rocky Five (International: English title) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Canada:14A | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Mexico:A | Canada:14A (Ontario - 2006) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:12 | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

160 San Rafael Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Chartoff-Winkler Productions

Trivia:

According to Sylvester Stallone, pro-wrestler Terry Funk helped choreograph much of the street fight between Rocky and Tommy Gunn.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Rocky has his first press conference at the airport, after returning from Russia, he is approached by Duke who is forcefully challenging him to fight Cane. At one point Adrian stands to protest and after an immediate retort from Rocky and Duke the camera shows a wide shot and Adrian in still in her seat beside the podium.

Quotes:

Tommy Gunn: I'm nobody's puppet! Nobody's boy!

Movie Connections:

References Christmas Vacation (1989)

Soundtrack:

Take You Back (Home Sweet Home)

Give it a chance.

For some reason or another, certain movies achieve a reputation as being worse than they actually are. Rocky V is one such film that is affected by the – as I call it – Phantom Menace syndrome. This refers to Movies that are interesting in their own way but fail to live up to the hype or expectation of previous instalments, or simply do not follow the formula that everyone derided for being too predictable anyway. For me, Rocky V is the best of the sequels to the 1976 original, as it does not follow in the Rocky tradition of simply having a bigger guy to fight than in the previous film. Rocky IV was a great spectacle but it was more comical than anything to think that an entire Russian government could be funding one over-sized boxer who could kill a man with one flurry of punches, not to mention turn a blind eye to illegal doping. The fifth instalment in the anthology goes back to the more personal story of the character, and deals much more realistically with the aftermath of loss and the twisted nature of professional prize fighting.

Stallone recruited his own son for the role of Robert (Rocky's son) and the result is one of the best father son relationships ever committed to celluloid. The scene where Rocky realises that he has been a negligent father and must make his peace with the boy is affectionate and heartfelt and could never been as realistic without the real life history behind these two people.

OK, there are some flaws and I am not too naive to suggest this movie is worthy of an Oscar. The casting of Tommy 'The Machine' Gunn could have been better as real life boxer Tommy Morrison sometimes appears wooden and is never really threatening enough to Rocky for the final fight to have any tangible tension. Similarly, aside from the final tune of Elton John's 'The measure of a man' the music does not measure up to the awesome and inspirational anthems that have accompanied previous instalments. Any Flick in the early nineties that used rap music as its primary soundtrack has ultimately dated for a modern audience.

My advice would be to watch this movie in full before you judge it. There are some sad moments in this fall from grace story as well as few goofs in terms of weak acting. But it's not as bad as people say and as the sixth instalment nears completion it's about time everyone got back into the Rocky spirit for one more round.

A good film. 7/10