Another masterfully told tale from Stallone

Rating: 10/10 (20 September 2018)

I'd say this film has more depth than 3 and possibly 4, in my opinion.
So we start our story with the champ losing all of his money because of a bad investment decision from Paulie. He moves back to the ghetto where it all began (they made it look great and run down). He is left with a little bit of money left after he liquidated his assets and cars. He is faced with the decision of keeping his health and brain or keep fighting.
He chooses to train an up and coming boxer. He invests all of his time into him all the while ignoring his son who is facing issues since moving into Philly and attending the public school. So this story is more about family and priorities in life more than anything. Eventually he gets abandoned by Tommy when he starts working for the sleazy promoters who were harassing Rocky. Tommy didn't want to take the long route, he wanted the quick route to money and fame. The promoters didn't have Rocky's health at interest. They only wanted money and thought money could satisfy Rocky. But with brain damage, what is money? He wouldn't have been able to raise his son. Rocky begins to bond with his son a bit and we can see their relationship beginning to go back where it used to be, a 'hometeam'. I think the street argument scene with Adrian is one of the best and touching scenes in the film; It shows how Adrian grounds Rocky and will always be there no matter his success or health.
The final fight is great, you basically have Rocky giving it to this loud, obnoxious, unclassy kid who thinks he is better than him because he has money and has won a few fights. Tommy will never have the class and heart that Rocky and Mickey did. Tommy is like the new breed of fighters, loud but no heart.
The plot is simple but Stallone manages to make it emotionally charged and makes us care about the characters. Very humanizing film.