Hopefully the End of a Series That Got Progressively Worse

Rating: Null/10 (29 July 2000)

"Rocky V" is the biggest downer of the series. This time Rocky (Stallone) loses everything thanks (or no thanks) to brother-in-law Pauly (Young) and his poor decision-making in economic affairs. Now Rocky is forced back to the unsavory life which was shown in parts I and II. He finds a second chance when he runs into young boxer Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison) and decides to train him. However, Gunn has dreams of stardom and does not believe that Rocky has the brains to lead him to the promised land. He falls in with a Don King-like promoter and soon his relationship with Rocky falls apart. Rocky meanwhile is slowly showing signs of permanent brain damage as he reverts back to being a moron and sees visions of his former manager (Meredith) in his daydreams. By the end a showdown between Rocky and Tommy Gunn, in Rocky's neighborhood, is the only solution to this film's under-achieving script. The direction, by John G. Avildsen, never does take off and the film is grounded throughout due to this fact. Once again the characters keep the interest of the audience, but in the end they cannot save this disappointment. Overall this was probably the weakest of the entire series. 2 out of 5 stars.