60 40 !

Rating: Null/10 (5 November 2010)

OK, there is a good base here. A movie about Rocky as a father, trainer, with no fight in a ring at the end, only in the street, bringing back the champion to his roots, and his senses. But, it wasn't wholly flawless.
There are too many bad performances; the real-life boxer (Tommy Morrison), as (Tommy Gunn), looked like a moving wall, with bad acting yet I can't blame him alone while the script gave him so little to be convincing as a character. (Richard Gant) as (George Washington Duke) was bad, just bad, he lacked the soul to be that mean talkative merchant. And (Sylvester Stallone) himself showed uneven efforts; sometimes he's so fine, as in the movie's start, and sometimes he's annoying, with exaggerated moving and talking; at one of the basement's scenes he delivered a perfect Razzie material!
The script was doing so well, mostly during the first half, however many forced matters hurt the final product. The way that newcomer boxer hated his mentor seemed fast. The way the reporters smashed his win into pieces as fixed looked highly "fixed" itself (hard to believe the line of one of them: "Fight your cheap lady in the front row better"?!!). Then the way he went to challenge his trainer?? Obviously all of that was done by the writer, more than his characters. Therefore this is the first (Rocky) movie to lack persuasion.
I don't buy for a second that the old petulant coach (Burgess Meredith as Mickey) says that long sentimental speech in the flashback. This is not his stony personality, or his verbal dictionary. I even don't think that he, in his most intimate moments, talks for this long. He could have said all of that in one short line, or eloquent gesture. And finally there are too many montages, and too many "what's behind your ear?" brinks as well! Generally, while the script is smart at places, it's not in many others, and that's the main problem here.
The good side contains the preferential soundtrack of (Bill Conti). It brings back a sensitive side to the characters. True it isn't that intensive unless in the last 10 minutes, but that's due to the nature of this sequel. Notice well the way (Rocky)'s theme is heard at the climax, with techno / orchestral arrangement. That wasn't done only to avoid any bore out of reusing the old theme, but also to express that Rocky can be hip, and forever master, especially while he beats, rather chastises, a street kid who belongs to a more modern time than his.
(Talia Shire) as (Adrian), and (Burt Young) as (Paulie) must have taken the Oscar. They don't act at all, being too realistic to scary extent. Watching them "being" their characters is one of a kind treat.
The climactic sequence really sums up the best of the movie, or it is the best of it indeed. Despite being based on dramatically weak start, its outcome is a classic piece of cinema which I enjoy apart. And on a deeper level, it shows who the true (Rocky) is, as a very simple guy who wants to overcome the ugly circumstances, where his goal isn't money or fame; it is assuring his talent without questions, to defeat his shortcomings as "not so bright man", and have the victory of the pure gift when it wants nothing but the pure recognition.
(Rocky) here was sort of fighting an opposite young version of himself. The young (Rocky) was in love spiritually (his religiousness) and emotionally (his Adrian). However, that young champ (Tommy Gunn) is in love materialistically only. And while (Rocky) was driven by the desire of being somebody that matters with dignity, beating his dumb image, (Gunn) is driven by his anger and hate, beating the image of his dad endlessly.
That's why that sequence for me is, somehow, the whole movie. It showcased the title character perfectly, along with - maybe - the new generation of the talented ones, being bewitched by the wrong lights. It's only the remark of the promoter (George Washington Duke), "Only in America", that seems irrelevant. As if it is only a way to assure the connection between such a character and the real-life promoter (Don King), using his famous catchphrase.
It has one of the most brilliant moments, where the movie deepens into his character to discover a gem of a meaning. I'm talking about the final scene in which (Rocky) goes with his son to watch a (Picasso) painting, saying about that artiest: "I almost love everybody" as if the simple human, that (Rocky) is, can be, with his pure nature, as great as (Picasso), thinking the same way, saying the same quote, yet naturally and without much sophisticatedness. If only the rest of the movie was as good!
Yes, not that classic as the first, without as effective story. But (Rocky V) managed to beat its shortcomings, to be 60% good vs. 40 % not good. Let alone being so nostalgic for any fan of the classic, first 2, (Rocky) movies.