Rocky V | | Cast : | Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire | | Director : | John G. Avildsen | | Studio : | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned | | Released Date : | November 16, 1990 | | DVD Released Date : | March 18, 2003 | | Language : | English (Dubbed) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 02, 2005 | | Summary | Rocky is back! | Content
 | I just bought the "Rocky-box-edition" (including all the five movies) and to be honest I didn't expect much. I bought it first of all because of the masterpiece of the first movie, a moving and oscar-worthy performance of the entire cast. The chemistry is to be touched between the actors, and "Rocky" has to be one of the best movies of the 70's. It's not mindless action, it's far more drama than it is action -and it has a fantastic story to tell. It contains more documentary than it dwells on sentimentality, and still the character-development is so overwhelming. Rocky Balboa, the boxer with a heart of gold -and he's a character you'd have a heart of stone not to like. I'm lost for words here, but let's put it this way; This movie (including its' five followers, perhaps with Rocky 4 as an exception..?) is unlike anything else Sylvester Stallone has ever done. And I think it's sad the way Stallone has wasted his talent on shallow-action-movies in the later years of his carrier. "Rocky" is the main proof of that Stallone is far more than muscles, this is a movie to take serious, and yes, it's deep.
Back to this final Rocky (so far). It was something moral and far overdone about Rock 4, however entertaining it somehow crossed the line where the previous movies had managed to be "the real thing". As in realistic to some level. And they perfectly matched eachother. Rocky 4 was Van Damme-material, which could have been ok if it hadn't been for that it didn't fit in anywhere in the Rocky-collection. Now that it's made I'm glad it's added to the box, but it's the weakest of the five. It doesn't contain the same inspirating storytelling, and unlike the others (including the fifth) it's in the typicall "sequel"-category. However entertaining it may be as mentioned. It contains good music as a plus.
Well, let's try again; With the same director of Rocky (the first) behind the wheels the spirit is back. Rocky is back! You might as well've skipped the fourth. It again gives a perspective of the chynical sports-business, and the subject is betrayal. And also the bound of family, and the things that really matters in life. All amazingly done, and the saga is somehow completed -without a final match in the ring which could have been too silly. The balance between reality and entertainment is back, and the movie is a joy to watch.
Incredible for a number five!
(Correction; Rocky 3 is the weakest of the five, I hadn't seen it before I wrote this review a couple of days ago, and now that it's done - I must say I didn't think it could be worse than Rocky 4, but I am sorry to say it is. Skip 3 and 4 and you have an impressive triology, I'm still glad I bought the box set.) |
| Rating | | | Date | June 08, 2005 | | Summary | The final Rocky movie | Content
| This movie should not be criticized somuch. It went along just right with the three other sequels. This is a little depressing though and goes kind of far when Rocky has to sell almost everything he has. George Washington Duke try's to be the Don King of boxing in this film and is a little annoying. Once you decide that's just the way the director wanted to go then you will see that this movie is and should be accepted to the Rocky saga. Tommy Morrison, the guy who plays Tommy Gunn, really boxed for a little while in his real life and was pretty good. I think they made the best decision by not having the fight between Rocky and Tommy in a ring and having it on the streets. Rocky put on a show for his old neighborhood and wasn't trying to inpress anybody, he was just fighting for his pride there. It sure is a little creepy when he has those flashbacks of Apollo Creed dying and Mickey screaming and talking to him but it was a nice touch. You must get this movie to complete the Rocky saga. God bless you and have a great day. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 07, 2005 | | Summary | Rocky- Whine All You Want- Goes Out the Way He Came In (yay) | Content
| ROCKY V is often considered the least favorite of all of the Rocky films, primarily because Rocky here becomes all washed up again and back in the low-rent South Philly neighborhood he grew up in. While that reason may be justifiable- few things hurt more than suddenly turning from a rich man to a broke man- that horrible event is also justified because it turns Rocky into someone he hasn't been since the second film: a regular, unassuming man.
Bringing John Avildsen back as director for this Rocky movie turned out to be a wise decision for Sylvester Stallone, since his hiring hinted that ROCKY V would finally be the film that veered back to the warm heart of the first Rocky, and that's more or less true. In the beginning of the film, the glory and accolades from the big victory over Ivan Drago are nicely underplayed, and throughout the rest of the movie, Rocky finds himself struggling to walk away from his job and to accept his return to his home neighborhood, which is quite a relief after watching Rocky's over-the-top reasons to continue fighting in the last two films. The movie even takes time to focus on Rocky's failure to be a father and role model to his son.
Despite these nice returns in the series, that doesn't mean that ROCKY V can comfortably stand next to the first ROCKY in terms of quality, for even though Stallone would later regret not making ROCKY V in a way fans would expect- you know what that would be- it's still a little obvious that this movie is still trying to please those fans who wanted Rocky to stay on top, which isn't bad when Rocky's new protégé, Tommy Gunn, knocks out one opponent after another, since it shows Rocky's reluctance to walk away from his job, but the same can't be said for the silly street fight near the end. Plus, the George Washington Duke character may have been at least interesting to see, no matter how unscrupulous he was, but his similarities with Don King are simply way too obvious. The pedestrian hip-hop soundtrack, complete with another unnecessary rendition of "Take it Back," sounds more awkward and mediocre with each passing year. Flaws aside, the main theme of the movie is clear: Rocky has once again become a man in this movie; he is no longer an icon. And it's all for the better, too- this type of everyday man was what made Rocky so appealing in the fantastic first film, and despite the beliefs of the majority of the audience and Stallone, it's the ideal way for Rocky to end the series.
Unfortunately, this DVD is treated the same way as the DVDs for the second through fourth Rocky films- all the film gets is a 1.85:1 widescreen transfer that has not been cleaned up and a theatrical trailer. Granted, ROCKY V isn't transcendent like the first ROCKY- but it's not hard to wish MGM had put at least a few extra bonus features into this film. (DVD Features: 2 out of 5.) |
| Rating | | | Date | May 17, 2005 | | Summary | "V" Likable, But, Lacks Ambition | Content
| "I just want some respect."
"Well, come get it."
- Tommy Gunn tries to get out from under Rocky's shadow, but, Rocky has a Christmas gift in the form of an ass whoopin' in "Rocky V"
Formulaic third sequel that seems like a walk down memory lane than actually trying to tell a story.
After the events in "Rocky IV", the Rock, with Adrian, Paulie and Duke return home to find out that while they were in Russia, the family's attorney has skipped town with all of Rocky's money (Paulie had mistakenly signed power of attorney over to him before leaving).
Now broke and all of their belongings being auctioned off to pay for tax evasion, the good times come to a close, as Rocky finds out the only thing he owns, finacially, is the gym that Mickey gave to Rocky Jr. in his will. Rocky & the Balboa family move back into the old Phillie neighborhood that they fought their out of all those years ago.
Things get grim when Rocky finds out he has irreversible brain damage, meaning that one more fight could kill him.
Whats even worse is a scruplous fight promoter, George Washington Duke, hounding Rocky trying to get him back into the ring, for a mighty payday no matter what the cost to Rocky's life.
A small glimmer of hope for Rocky turns up in the form of Tommy Gunn, a promising young fighter who is a big fan of "The Italian Stallion". Rocky decides to take the young fighter under his wing and train him much the same way Mickey trained him. But, as Tommy gets better & heads up to the top of the rankings, fans & the media nickname Tommy, "Rocky's Shadow", a nickname that Tommy doesn't take kindly to.
Whats worse is that George Washington Duke is slowly moving in and steering Tommy into his direction, enticing the kid with money, cars, women, etc. Things that Rocky couldn't give the kid. Tommy signs a contract, practically ditching Rocky.
But, the one thing Tommy doesn't have, & wants more than anything else, is respect and Tommy has none of it. Its up to Rocky to teach the kid a lesson & know his role.
"Rocky V" is easily the weakest link in the saga. It trys to capture the spirit of the earlier films, but, somehow doesn't quite grasp it. The problem here is in the first 2 films viewers watched Rocky as a hungry fighter going the distance, twice, and beating the odds, while, in this film it just seems like a been there, done that attitude blankets the film.
It does suck to see Rocky lose it all & move back into a place that he thought he would never have to go back to.
The fight at the end is o.k., at best (again, I would rate it dead last in the saga, as far as the fights go). When I first realized this was the big fight of the movie, it really was a dissapointment (no training montage?! no "eye of the tiger"!?!)
"Rocky V" is a decent enough movie, but, I always thought the saga should've gone out with a bang, than a whimper.
As for "Rocky VI", its highly likely that it will ever hit the big screen ("V" was released 15 years ago). There is a script treatment that is worth checking out in Stallone's own magazine titled "Sly".
In the script an aging Rocky realizes that nothing lasts forever. Its been roughly five years since the death of Adrian, Paulie finally gets a girlfriend and moves in with her, Rocky Jr. has grown up & become a busy businessman & for the first time in a long while Rocky is all alone. But, when the current heavyweight champ is dissed on a ESPN style cableshow, in which a daily feature has a current sportstar going up against a sportslegend of the same sport (its all CGI & computer enhanced), in this case, he went up against Rocky & lost badly, he calls Rocky out of retirement to see if he still has The Eye Of The Tiger.
Not bad. On paper. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 08, 2005 | | Summary | Good Way To End the Series | Content
| This time Adrain's brother Paulie makes some bad money decisions making the Balboa's go bankrupt and forced to move back to there old neighbourhood in Philadelphia where Rcoky meets a young fighter named Tommy Gunn and trains him to fight for the heavyweight title against a guy named Union Cane, who rocky gave the title to. It has a good street fight at the end between rocky and tommy and is a good way to end the series. There is some flaws though, it is set right after number 4 which was made 6 years before, so every onehas noticeably aged, like Rocky's son, rocky jr. (Sage Stallone) who learns how to fight against some kids here. Apart from the aging problem this is a very good movie despite what some fuKKers say. |
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