One of the worst films of the 90s

Rating: 2/10 (14 December 2003)

The Rocky series proves the Law of Diminishing Returns: each sequel only gets worse and worse. Rocky IV was hardly even a movie, but more a long series of music videos. Rocky V is the last insult, an unpleasant and implausible return to Rocky's "roots."
All of the characters have been stripped of their good virtues. Instead of Rocky being endearingly dumb, he's now gratingly dumb; instead of Adrian being the silent but strong one, she's annoyingly shrill. As far as the new characters, Tommy Morrison has all the charisma of a leaky toilet. And don't even get me started on the ersatz Don King character!
Rocky's quick riches-to-rags story is so incredibly unbelievable. It's one thing to return Rocky to the setting of the first film, but you've got to wonder what made Stallone and Avlidsen think the fans would enjoy seeing the Balboas living in total squalor and ignorance. Like this would have ever happened anyway. Even in the pre-VH1 and E! days, Rocky could have stayed out of the poorhouse by selling his story to news and entertainment outlets.
This is just the tip of the iceberg in a film that asks the viewer to make so many leaps of faith (Rocky Jr. aged 10 years while Rocky was in the USSR?). Even if you can make these concessions, the story that remains is so very unpleasant. It's obvious they wanted to make it "gritty" like the first one, but by 1990 Stallone and Avildsen had none of the heart and soul that made the series work in the first place.