Very Good Movie!

Rating: 8/10 (23 April 2014)

People seem to forget that in the entire Rockyverse, Rocky V is the only one to have these important new elements:
1. A serious look at the brain & neurological damage which boxers suffer. In the opening 5 minutes Sylvester Stallone scared me with his frank stark portrayal of the brain damage & hallucinations fulltime boxers can suffer as a result of their sport.
2. Rocky mentoring a new boxer.
3. A street brawl, rather than a standard boxing match in the ring, for a finale. The only slight downside is that this street brawl at night could not possibly have the same dramatic tension & triumph as a professional boxing match.
4. The sleaziness of some boxing promoters, as personified by George Washingoton Duke.
I admit: I felt that the plot device of having Paulie accidentally lose all of Rocky's & Adrian's assets by giving some lawyer or accountant full power of attorney felt very contrived and very inconsistent with the streetwise smarts of the character Paulie.
But this plot silliness was nowhere near enough to damage the overall drama of the movie.