Heck of a time to come back, Avildsen

Rating: 5/10 (28 December 2016)

This is the first time I've agreed with the most common vote since II. If I ever accept that the last one got a 7, I'll feel like Lundgren looked by the end. We're back to Rocky(Sly, charming) being an low-on-money underdog, because IV was ridiculous. Of course, him losing all of it just like that isn't much better. They were running out of reasons to get him to fight, and/or delay doing so without it being out of the question. He actually has physical consequences to the climax of the one before this. Though Adrian(Shire, sweet) early on insists that he's in the best shape. "His strength and physical stamina are extraordinary. He has had a complete medical examination that showed only positive results. Actually, his blood pressure and lab results were astonishingly excellent." "He will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency" ...wait. Still, if it were realistic, this really should open with with the funeral sequence of the previous major character. That's what Francis Ford Coppola threatened to do to to Pacino. And if you think he wasn't serious, just look at his Dracula flick. Clearly, he is, or was at the time, capable of inflicting severe harm with his directing.
She wants to keep him away from that, because they don't know what else to do with her. George Washington Duke is clearly Don King. There's a brief rant on his ethics. It's got the subtlety of a jab. Paulie is actually utilized this time, so that's something. Mickey gets a little emotional bit. It's nice. More so than he used to be. Of course, that could be the brain damage speaking. We get comedy with growth-spurted(9 to 14 in mere days. Must be Canadian) Jr.'s smarts and his puberty... burgeoning. I realize now it may have been a mistake to not take French. And he also has to deal with going into a bad neighborhood, after growing up rich. Just a matter of time before he'd get training montages, too. Can he get his father's attention, or will it all go to a new protégé? It'll be difficult if that man is a real-life boxer, a first for the series. Well, not "is", was. Freaking HIV. At least he didn't die *this* year. I'd almost bet money that before 2017 starts, at least one more celebrity will kick the bucket. And we should add "spar" to the list of words people in this series don't understand. Also, since it's now the 90's, there's rap on the soundtrack. A lot of it, actually. I'm relieved the flashy 90's editing was kept to a minimum. This is 96 and a half minutes without credits, and 100 with.
There is a lot of violence and a little mostly mild but occasionally strong language in this. I recommend this to those who feel they *must* make it through the series. 5/10