Does not Pack a Punch (Rocky V (DVD))

Member Name: sewbizzie

Product:	Rocky V (DVD)
Date:	08/10/09 (108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: average end to the story, good acting

Disadvantages: weak, lack of boxing, Pauley was still annoying

Rocky has the good life now he defeated his last opponent and is now living life to the full in his big house and mounds of money, that is until they loose it all! Pauley signed over power of attorney to their accountant who has lost the money and now Rocky and family are forced to move back to their old house and lifestyle.

Rocky is challenged to fight but as he is ill from all his beatings he is in retirement and unable to fight on medical grounds. As he goes about setting up the old gym a new and keen boxer, Tommy turns up and asks Rocky to train him. Unsure at first Rocky sends him on his way but soon he agrees to the job and Tommy is soon part of the family. Tommy does well and soon he feels ready for the title fight but Rocky thinks he needs more experience. Tommy is getting a taste of the good life from a boxing promoter who offers him what Rocky wont.

Will Tommy betray Rocky and go with the promoter and just what consequences will Tommy's role in Rocky's life have on his family and career?

Personally I feel that this is definitely the weakest of all the Rocky films. The story was quite good but for me it was missing something. I found Stallone to be good in his role of Rocky and thought he did a good job. He managed to show a lot more sides to his character in this film and I think it did make him seem more human. The downside for me was he seemed to be talking worse in this film than in the previous ones and at times I did struggle to understand what he was saying. The character of Adrian was good and I loved how she was a completely different person in this film from when we first met her a
and she can across as a strong confident person who was prepared to stand up for her husband and beliefs. She worked well with Stallone and they had a good chemistry which did show on film.

The role of Rocky junior was a bit strange in this film as in the last film he was a young boy but he seemed to grow and age over night in this one. The film carried on immediately from the previous one and when Rocky left for the fight in the last film and stayed away for a few months his son seemed to age about 5 years! The role was taken by Stallone real life son and think he did a good job and liked how he was involved more in this storyline. He portrayed a son missing his Dad's attention very well and I personally found him a better character when he had attitude and stood up for himself.

The role of Pauley was again for me not a good one. I just could not warm to him and found him at times to be arrogant and uncaring. There were a lot of supporting actors in this film and they all did good jobs but for both me and hubby the highlight of the film was the return of Mick. He appeared in flash backs which Rocky had and it really was good to see him playing the father figure to Rocky as it gave us a little more insight into Rocky's character.

The film was set in the very late 1980's and this was very apparent from the fashions which the characters were wearing but I still think that it could hold its own in today's market with the other Rocky films. The music in the film was excellent and was really helped with the emotions and tension of the storyline. I liked how the tracks were all featured in the previous films as this did give some familiarity to the story. The fights in this film were all good and very well made but for me they were just not the same without Stallone fighting. I found Tommy to be too hard and despite being excellent in the ring they were all lacking the emotion which Rocky put into them.

The running time of this film is 99 minutes and it has a certificate of PG, there is some violence in the film but I think this is nothing which would upset of distress children. I managed to get this DVD for just £3 in Tesco which I felt to be a great price. There are no bonus features on this DVD.

Overall I will recommend this film as it does end the Rocky story in a good way, so we thought until Rocky Balboa came out! But there just wasn't the magic which the other films had and I think the lack of Rocky in the ring really didn't help try to improve this film.

Summary: Rocky is unable to fight and has no money so sets about training Tommy