Franchise Retrospective- Rocky V and Rocky Balboa

Rocky V (1990)
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young
Directed by: John G. Avildsen


It had been 5 years since the last Rocky film had come out and the tone had completely shifted since the beginning of the series. The first Rocky film was met with immense critical praise and even won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The rest of the films began to descend into cheesy and cliched sports movies, so you can imagine there was a desire to restore some credibility to this movie series. Rocky V is NOT the right way to do it. This is considered by many to be one of the absolute worst sequels in history and even Sylvester Stallone has given this film a rating of 0 out of 5 stars. Now, I think it's bad, but not THAT bad. There's still some redeeming qualities that a lot of people don't get credit for. The first one I think that's worth mentioning is the return to root format that this movie has. Thanks to some money issues, Rocky and Adrian find themselves back where they were when these movies were all starting. Rocky's back at the old gym and Adrian's back at the flower shop. With Rocky retired (for now...), he steps into the world of training the next big boxer. And that comes in the form of Tommy Gunn, played by real-life boxer Tommy Morrison.

That's the other thing I really enjoyed because it showed a contrast in styles. I understood how Rocky trained in boxing, but the business had changed by this point. I understood where Tommy was coming from the whole time and I honestly gravitated towards his side when Rocky stopped training him. I saw how he could become the villain. He let the idea of fame and fortune get the better of him and it boosted his ego, but he'll always remain in Rocky's shadow. Hence, the big climax of this film in a great street fight between Tommy and Rocky. No rules or referees for these two. Anything goes and it was a nice way to give the film a fresh type of fight we'd yet to see in this series. Overall, there's a lot of messy points with Rocky V but I still get some entertainment out of it in that "so bad, it's good" kind of viewing. Watch for laughs and you'll probably have an ok time.


Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

Final Verdict: Rocky V is not for many moviegoers. Even the most diehard of fans dislike this one, but I think it gets a bum rap. The return to roots is interesting and I actually really enjoyed Tommy Morrison as Tommy Gun. The street fight at the end is also a pretty big highlight for the series, so give it a watch if you know ahead of time that this isn't a quality film.

Rocky V and movie images are copyrighted by United Artists


Rocky Balboa (2006)
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Milo Ventimiglia, Antonio Tarver
Directed by: Sylvester Stallone


The Rocky movies were a thing of the past in the new millennium and they didn't exactly have the proper sendoff it deserved. So, in the year 2006, Sylvester Stallone decided to bring Rocky from out of the shadows and tried for one more chapter in the series (for now...). Serving as director, writer, and returning to the big screen as the iconic boxer, Stallone gave us Rocky Balboa. And admit it, when you first heard this movie was getting made at the time...you laughed. Nearly everyone laughed. The idea of Balboa trying to fight one more time at his age was ludicrous. No one took it seriously, but I'm sure there were a lot of diehard fans of the movies that had hope. Hope that this was going to end these films right. And for the most part, it did. There's a few minor issues in the pacing and it can be a little talky at points, but it's still a solid effort to redeem the character of Rocky Balboa.

For anyone who is cynical at the idea of seeing a man way past his prime having one last fight for redemption, this movie can really suck you in and make you a believer. And if you're TOO skeptical for that, there's still an emotional center for fans of a good story. We get scenes of Rocky and his son, and scenes where Rocky mourns over Adrian (who they killed off between films). On top of that, this movie goes right for the nostalgia and brings you back into a world that feels familiar for all fans of sports films. Rocky Balboa is a good story for those who believe in the phrase "age is but a number," and serves as a feel-good movie for the fans who were begging for Rocky to get that proper chance to go out like a winner with critics and fans.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Final Verdict: Call me a sucker for these movies, but I do enjoy Rocky Balboa a lot. It was the first film that introduced me to the story of Rocky and in contention with the rest of the series, it's one of its more triumphant entries. The age story is so compelling that it allows me to sit through some of the more boring scenes so I can get to something glorious that makes me feel like I'm returning to a movie world that feels familiar.

Rocky Balboa and movie images are copyrighted by United Artists