Not great  but a good story about father and son relations

Rating: Null/10 (14 May 2002)

Immediately after his American/Russian bout, Rocky finds he has the shakes and discovers he has the beginnings of brain damage. He is challenged to a further fight by promoter George Washington Duke however he turns it down for retirement. A error by brother in law Paulie loses all Rocky's money to an accountant and the family move back to the streets of Philly. Rocky goes back to training at the old gym of his manager and finds a hot new hope in the shape of Tommy Gunn. However their relationship puts distance between Rocky and his son, and Duke shows a lot of interest in Gunn.
This final (probably!) film in the Rocky series finds Rocky back where he started and looking after new talent. The story line is a mix of two main threads, the first is Washington trying to get Rocky back into the ring, while the other is the breakdown of the relationship between Rocky and his son. Both stories are component enough to entertain and actually this has more depth to it than some of the others (certainly this is much better than part 4).
Stallone is dopey here  but he does well in a role he knows well. Again Shire and Young have little to do  although Young is good comedy value. Tommy Morrison is good as Gunn  although the change in his character is a little too sudden. Richard Gant is good value in a big send up of Don King.
Overall this is not brilliant, but it has many levels  the father/son thing, the animosity between Rocky and Duke and a comment on the modern boxing world. It isn't fantastic but it's miles better than the woeful Rocky 4.