rocky returns to the streets!

Rating: 7/10 (9 October 2008)

There is much pessimism surrounding this film...and i think its mainly because it doesn't show everything as rosy in the life of rocky balboa...the viewers of the previous 4 films were just so used to seeing rocky winning, they couldn't handle it when this film was released and slated it. However their criticism holds little ground in my opinion, Rocky 5 is an all round good film.
The most notable difference is that the makers have decided to opt for something different this time. It would have been easy enough to just put rocky in the ring again for another 15 rounds against a different opponent,but they haven't which I'm all for because,i think if we're all honest, it was getting tedious. Rocky 3 and 4 epitomised the word 'cheesy'...they actually gave deeper meaning to the word. It was especially pitiful listening to the speech at the end of rocky 4, because it was trying to hard and failing to include deeper morals within the script (if you remember the word "change" was used a lot.... blah blah).
Rocky 5 however does have a solid script whether its everyones cup of tea or not. I think that had rocky 5 been a completely independent movie and the previous 4 were not made, it would have had rave reviews. Rocky 5 gives us character development that no other rocky film does (aside from rocky 1 which Adrien is the main source). Tommy Gunn changes a great deal throughout the film (at first hes a young talent who idolises rocky, and slowly is manipulated by a boxing promoter, and becomes jealous of rocky). I think this development shows the script has had thought put into it.
Another main criticism put forth by fans of rocky is that Rocky's trainer isn't in the film for more than five minutes at the beginning. Yes he isn't in the film long, but this also works out for the best. It would have been ludicrous to have had him come live with rocky or something while hes bankrupt.
Overall rocky 5 is a good film that should be given a chance, albeit Rocky's 1 and 2 are still the most superior made.