Yo Adrian, Did We Ever Leave This Place? (Rocky V (DVD))

Member Name: EnglishPatient

Product:	Rocky V (DVD)
Date:	16/07/01 (279 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Rocky goes back to his roots and so does the film, does away with the grandeur and OTT approach of III and IV, makes you root for Balboa again

Disadvantages: They say never go back, Could never really scale the heights of that original film despite return to same hunting ground and Avildsen back behind the camera, the Elton John track used over the closing credits

So what next? Where to go after the overblown symbolism of the fourth episode in the saga? To Stallone, the answer was....right back to the very beginning.

Rocky V can be seen as either a deliberate reclamation of the down-at-heel inspirational drama of the original movie, or as a desperate attempt at regaining the artistic credibility which III and IV so extravagantly jettisoned during the 1980s in the name of some fevered, blockbusting entertainment.

The end result definitely evokes some of the first film's ambience and sensibilities, albeit clumsily at times, but as the closing chapter on such an iconic story that spanned 15 years it's far from completely satisfying.

John Avildsen was brough back to direct, after Stallone had helmed the previous three Rockys, and while he does a fine job of both recreating the neighbourhood frequented all those films ago and of bringing that environment into the 90s and a new scenario for Balboa, you wouldn't fancy Rocky V's chances in the ring against its forefather. Avildsen himself, in the audio commentary featured on the 25th Anniversary of the Rocky DVD, reveals the contrasting experiences in the respective shoots, and some of the ways in which the latter film came up short by comparison.

Make no mistake, however, this is a better film than either of the two which preceded it. Gone are the chest-thumping ridiculousness and the nonsensical parallels between boxing and war. Rocky V takes matters back to a personal level, returns the narrative to Balboa's backyard and immediate family.

Dogged by the physical effects of so many blows to the head, our hero is dangerously close to ending up with more than just a mild form of brain damage. His accountant, meanwhile, has been less than honest in his dealings, and thus the champ's world comes tumbling down all around him.

The narrative comes full circle, often quite often pleasingly so, with the return of
the 1976 model Balboa - pork-pie hat, leather fingerless gloves and rambling drawl - not as awkward on the 1990 model Stallone as might be feared. He makes the reverse transition surprisingly smoothly, and it effectively carries the whole movie, along with - as ever - the faithful Talia Shire never far from his side. The battles are domestic and financial, mostly fought outside the ring and small-time compared to the glory of before.

Yet, because it's Balboa's own pride and dignity at stake - his struggle against this change in fortune, rather than some global statement filled with cliches - it's possible to root for Rocky once more, to will him to overcome the odds just like he did in the first two movies. III and, especially, IV simply didn't induce that, with their almost preposterous triumphs against brutal opponents at the expense of genuine drama or characterisation.

The climactic confrontation this time around descends into a pretty ugly slugfest that slightly tarnishes a generally thoughtful and considered entry in the Rocky lexicon. Its resolution left open the possibility of yet more sequels, but in truth Stallone did the smart thing by drawing a line under the franchise before any further dragging out of the story than was necessary.

In a nutshell, the journey had taken Balboa from zero to hero, down to zero again and then back to hero. He had nothing left to prove, and neither did Stallone.

As the end credits roll, a montage of seminal moments is reprised in black-and-white, capturing the essence of what made this quintent of movies worthy of their place somewhere in cinematic history while simultaneously bringing the final curtain down on the series once and for all.

Unfortunately, the lingering musical memory is of a turgid Elton John number called Measure Of A Man that plays over the images, and not the celebratory Rocky signature theme or Survivor's rousing but maligned Eye Of The T
iger. Not quite the fitting finale that Rocky deserved somehow.

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