Rocky V was an attempt to return to the origins of the great Philadelphia fighter, Rocky Balboa. Five years after the release of the last issue of the series, which by the way was the one that collected the most at the American and worldwide box offices, Stallone promoted yet another fight for the career of his most famous character. But they did not warn the star that the public and critics would not approve the result of the feature, being released as the definitive ending for the story and characters.
In this fifth episode of the franchise, Stallone's script seeks to bring a certain novelty, completely changing the focus of the narrative and addressing others who are part of the boxing show business and who had not been previously addressed in the franchise, but misses when taking the lead Rocky. In 1990, there was not much that Rocky Balboa could do. He had fought Apollo Creed twice, trained with the former opponent, faced the fierce Mr. T and practically ended the Cold War with his own fists by defeating Ivan Drago in the Soviet Union. For Balboa's fifth theatrical appearance, Sylvester Stallone turned to his old friend John G. Avildsen, who started it all by directing the first Rocky.
After all these events mentioned above, it is more than understandable that Rocky starts the movie by announcing (again) his retirement from boxing. In the first four films in the Rocky franchise, the fighter played by Sylvester Stallone was seen as a potential champion, from his amateur phase in the first two productions, to the professionalization of the third and fourth films. Now, the novelty is no longer the opponent or the scenario in which the battle takes place, but the theme of the franchise: the fifth film decides to debate the issue of the transmission of knowledge between generations, as Rocky ages and retires. This chapter significantly transforms the saga. Before, the goal was victory or personal overcoming (of Rocky, of Apollo), now, history questions the impact of people on each other. This is probably the most psychologically complex film, but also the novelist, in the worst sense of the word, which ends up confusing the boxer's realistic melancholy in the first film with pure cheap drama.
A sudden turn of events is created about the loss of money: suddenly, the rich fighter suffers a financial blow, being forced to return to the old house with his beloved Adrian (Talia Shire), his son (Sage Stallone) and his brother-in-law Paulie (Burt Young). It may be an unconvincing change in narrative terms, but it's great for the dynamics of Rocky as a whole. The return of John G. Avildsen to the direction is a decision made especially by the different moments that seek to honor "Rocky", building a nostalgic atmosphere that certainly finds echo in the feelings of the fans. Rocky V takes on the clear mission of evaluating the character's entire journey as if the boxer were on the couch. Following a good part of the classic narrative structure of the franchise (the beginning recalls the previous film, we have a fight at the end, etc.), "Rocky V" also bets on the return of the melancholic tone when bringing the protagonist facing health and financial problems, returning to a difficult life and, mainly, noting the passage of time and the decay of important places for him, like Mickey's abandoned academy, so while Steven Poster's photography direction helps to create this atmosphere through the choice of dark colors and gloomy environments, John G. Avildsen takes the opportunity to also insert the mentioned nostalgia, rescuing several elements of the first film that establish an immediate connection with the most nostalgic viewer, as when Rocky puts his black hat and glasses on Adrian.
Confirming this strategy, Bill Conti's soundtrack also recalls "Rocky, a Fighter" by bringing the song "Tack it back", the slow chords of the classic theme song that pack his memories of his early career, among other moments. On the other hand, in "Rocky V" we don't have the famous training sequence accompanied by the exciting soundtrack present in the other films in the franchise. In fact, the soundtrack appears only occasionally, contradicting the presence so marked previously. Perhaps the excess of clips in "Rocky IV" motivated the choice of an economical soundtrack in "Rocky V".
Unfortunately, the script ends up slipping at several unconvincing moments. First, the explanation for the loss of fortune is extremely forced and nothing justifies anyone looking for it to invest in advertising. Stallone realized that he should bring that naive air back to his series, showing a character of strange wits and conversations, as well as his little advanced intelligence. This was the original Rocky. Melancholic, emotional, tough and charismatic and not just a war cannon, as was being shown in the third and fourth parts of the series. One of the problems of this film is precisely its forced characterization, considering that the central characters completely change their personality, returning to the one explored in the first films, losing everything they conquered and acquired over the other films.
Stallone shows the weight of age well in the expressions of pain that accompany him, making Rocky even more fallible and human. In addition, his affectionate relationship with his son reinforces his charisma, especially when he realizes his joy at reliving stages of life through the boy, in simply beautiful moments. Even when he's nervous, Rocky doesn't lose his humanity and his good heart, as is clear from his first dialogues with Tommy. Not even the media and its voracity for controversial news can take him seriously. However, the possibility of reliving the adrenaline of boxing and being able to play the role of Mickey excites Rocky, who finds himself in that young boxer - or at least tries to see in that boy's struggle his struggle to find a place in the sun. So the disappointment is even greater when Tommy leaves him behind to take the easy way. At the same time, he neglects his biological son, who has no vocation for sport.
This turning point in the script is extremely predictable. We imagined long before Tommy will leave Rocky and give in to the harassment of the greedy businessman experienced by Richard Gant through signs that are not as subtle as the family conflict that his arrival causes - and, mainly, because of the performance of Tommy Morrison. Contrary to what we might imagine, Rocky starts to ignore his own son and wife (Talia Shire, in his farewell to the series) and to focus his life only on Tommy, in an attitude that he certainly would not have and that disagrees with the human character that we knew until then. The relationship between father and son (Rocky and Robert) changes suddenly. And later on it is resolved as if in an act of magic. In addition, Stallone's character returns to his naive and funny personality. Like much in the film, there is no time for events to unfold. Without nuances or details, the whole results without a more elaborate construction. And that is a fatal mistake. Add to this the son's natural revolt, the businessman's sneaky approach and the young fighter's evident ambition and we have the recipe ready for the change of character.
Equally predictable is the confrontation between them, which obviously appears in the final act, but at least it rescues the energy that was lacking in the confrontation with Drago in "Rocky IV", still bringing an air of novelty precisely because it happens on the streets, in an almost primitive way. Keeping the camera agitated and close to the characters' faces, Avildsen manages to create the desired atmosphere without making us lose the geographical notion of what we see on the screen, which is very important. The confrontation is raw, full of repressed feelings that are thrown out and, therefore, it works. The expected outcome with Rocky's victory and his reconciliation with his family only confirm the idea of ending his film career in a simple but dignified way. Rocky V is so committed to regaining the amateur and raw aspect of the sport that he leaves the sporting scene, almost mandatory in a boxing film. The long-awaited fight represents the overcoming of the Oedipus complex: Tommy is forced to symbolically attack his father to become independent. On the one hand, this is the most important fight in the saga, because it pits the creator against the creature, as if Rocky were fighting against himself, younger.
About 20 years after the film's release, Stallone said Rocky V, who he said was the biggest mistake of his career and only agreed to make the film out of greed. "I'm very greedy. What else can I say? Rocky V was a big mistake, because the audience didn't want to see the character's decay. They wanted to remember Rocky at his best, and I should have thought about it. I think the movie ended for being more comical, "said the actor in an interview. In fact, Rocky V is not among the best films in the series, along with the fourth episode, however it rescues some important aspects by returning to focus on the development of the characters and by bringing the melancholy atmosphere and the human facet so present in the best moments of the franchise. It was conceived as a golden key to the franchise starring Sylvester Stallone. In addition to the narrative seeking to complete the character's story arc, the final credits pay tribute to the previous works and all those who were part of Rocky Balboa's life in some way. If he had ended up here, he would have been honest - after all, Stallone did not imagine at that time that Rocky would return 16 years later with the great "Rocky Balboa". I'm glad he gave up on the idea.
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