Much maligned sequel needs a re-visit (Rocky V (DVD))

Member Name: BlackSwan

Product:	Rocky V (DVD)
Date:	25/09/09 (20 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Dares to be different

Disadvantages: Somewhat unbalanced and the differences aren't alwaus good

The fifth instalment in the Rocky series sees the Italian Stallion suddenly suffer the after the effects of his war in the ring with the seemingly indestructible Ivan Drago. Upon returning home he shuns a public challenge by another boxer and his flamboyant manager, Washington Duke (a very obvious caricature of real-life fight promoter Don King) and suddenly finds he has been made bankrupt by his corrupt accountant. He is advised by his solicitors to return back to boxing to make the money back, but advised against it by his doctor who reports that he has serious brain damage following a career of taking so many heavy punches to the head.

Rocky and family are forced to return back to Philadelphia, where they try to rebuild their lives. This proves particularly difficult for Rocky's son, who is used to a life of luxury and high class education and now is easy prey for the local school bullies. Meanwhile Rocky re-opens his old trainer, Mickey's gym and tries to run the place off his reputation. It draws a dedicated fan, Tommy Gunn (real-life boxer Tommy Morrison), who convinces Rocky to be his trainer/manager. Rocky is originally reluctant, but is soon won over by the enthusiasm and raw talent of Gunn, so much so that he neglects his son's problems. Rocky Jnr. is forced to find help elsewhere and his road to new strength is paralleled with his father's attempts to re-live his youth through Tommy Gunn. Meanwhile Washington Duke, having failed to convince Rocky to fight, watches the ascent of the retired boxer's protégé with interest. As Gunn wins more and more fights his ambition grows, and this exploited by the sly Duke who begins to lure him over into his camp and away from Rocky. Soon Rocky will have to face some uncomfortable truths about his student, resulting in the film's climatic streetfight, and the way he has estranged his own son through his blind selfish desire to re-live the past.

Okay, I am going to go out on a limb here and say that Rocky V is technically no worse than parts III and IV. I understand that this is a contentious view, as even Sylvester Stallone said in his interview on the Jonathan Ross show that he considered the fifth installment to be the worst in the series. There is something about the film that leaves Rocky's fans very cold and what made it both a financial and critical underachiever. I think I know what it is: It dares to be different. It chooses not to simply tick all the boxes that made every other entry in the franchise successful. The film takes off the gloss and glamour that coated the previous two entries, and returns Rocky back to his roots never to reclaim the monetary highs of the previous two installments. The storyline is less simplistic than any of the other films, featuring a reasonably well-executed sub-plot involving Rocky's son, the very different Rocky Jnr., played by Stallone's real-life son, Sage. Rocky's opponent is very different from any of the other films in the entire franchise. Tommy Gunn comes from an entirely different direction that makes their confrontation much more personal, even more so than the vengeful battle against Ivan Drago.

A key criticism of Rocky V is found in its differences with the other films. This extends into the characters. The retconned flashback with Mickey inspiring Rocky as he gets ready for his first fight with Apollo, for example, shows a far softer version of the character. It seems hard to imagine the grouchy and hard-edged old trainer actually coming out and telling Rocky that he loves him is a clumsily dealt with. However, it is almost forgivable as we get return of Burgess Meredith in this fan-favourite role and especially with the absence of Apollo Creed. Rocky himself is criticized for suddenly becoming selfish, but this is not such a giant stretch given the situation he finds himself in. Boxing is a selfish sport and if we are to believe that Rocky can suddenly become a natural celebrity in Rocky III and a political public speaker at the end of Rocky IV then this sudden mid-life desire to want to re-live his youth is not really such a stretch.

Despite the obvious differences in Rocky V, however, there are still signs of the common formula. The film begins with the closing moments of Rocky IV, albeit in black and white with some arty freeze framing. We have training montages, but again with a different spin by focusing them not on Rocky but on his protégé and his son. They are definitely the worst in the series, just behind Rocky Balboa's, with the only "imaginative" sequence being Rocky and Tommy punching soap bubbles! The music features a lot of rap, the theme song being "Go for It". This doesn't tend to sit well with Rocky fans, but let's look at it in perspective. The computer driven pop rock of Vince DiCola and Stan Bush of Rocky IV had little in common with Bill Conti's "Gonna Fly Now" of the original film or Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" for that matter. Interestingly although Rocky IV clearly has the greater number of memorable tracks, despite not featuring Conti's most famous track, it doesn't use the title of a song to promote the film's theme. Rocky V takes a leaf out of the much-loved Rocky III's book and does exactly that. In Rocky III the main point of the story is that Rocky has to regain "The Eye of the Tiger", which Apollo Creed keeps reminding him. In Rocky V "Go For It" is in the promotional posters and also said by both Rocky and his son. Unfortunately it is little more than a slogan in this film when "Eye of the Tiger" actually did mean something in Rocky III.

The "Rocky Steps" are there, having been absent from Rocky IV, as is the Adrian versus Rocky confrontation used to bring the hero to his senses. In Rocky III, IV and V she seems to have taken on the role of our hero's subconscious. Her early concern and fears, seen in Rocky II and to a lesser degree in Rocky IV, are directed more towards to Rocky Jnr in Rocky V; although from the word go she is clearly uncomfortable with Tommy Gunn. This time Adrian is all Rocky III with the straight talk she gives Rocky as he feels his world falling around him.

In conclusion I think Rocky V should be cut some slack regarding its differences. Giving the directorial position back over to the man who steered the original to an Oscar wasn't a bad idea. Stallone's script was evidently changed and the film extensively re-cut before its release, marking a lot of uncertainty that comes across in the film. It seems that, like the original Rocky, Stallone intended his fifth instalment to be much darker and also to be conclusive. The former was eventually steered from for commercial reasons, but the whole film still retains a certain gritty edge not seen since Rocky II. Although clearly not as good as Rocky II and Rocky Balboa, Rocky V does accomplish something that neither achieves. It returns Rocky back to Philadelphia under similar circumstances as the original instalment, but doesn't re-tread the same plot. Rocky II is like a revisiting of Rocky and Rocky Balboa is like a celebration of the original. The message, it would appear, the fans of Rocky gave to Stallone after Rocky V's financial failure was don't try to fix the franchise, it ain't broke!

Summary: This is a decent sequel that is technically no worse than parts III and IV