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ROCKY V
Just
like the three sequels before it, ROCKY V opens with a
rehash of the last chapter. We see the robotic Russian
Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) beating up on Rocky
(Sylvester Stallone), before Rocky finally gathers the
mental fortitude to snap back and floor the
perfectly-conditioned giant. The sequence is extremely
contrived, of course, the chronology of the fight
tinkered with so that all of Rocky's comeback punches
seem to come in an awesome few seconds.
This is one of the pluses that the underrated ROCKY V
brings to fans of the series. Director John G. Avildsen -
who collected an Oscar for directing the very first
installment - along with script writer Stallone, borrow
liberally from the foundation built by the four other
outings. We get to see everyone and everything again -
manager Mickey Goldmill, opponent-turned-friend Apollo
Creed, even the black hat and duds worn by Rocky during
his days working for a loan shark on the Philadelphia
docks. We see Rocky's staunch supporters peopling the
streets of the Italian market, as well as the statue
(from ROCKY III) atop the steps of the temple-like
Philadelphia Museum of Art. It's not necessary to have
watched numbers one through four in order to understand
this closing chapter, but it makes for more enjoyment.
Here's the story: Rocky is injured in the battle with the
rock-faced Russian Drago, invoking late manager Mick's
memory that something is "broken inside."
Mysteriously, Rocky never seeks a doctor's help. (In
fact, there is always a scarcity of promoters and press
and especially medical personnel around Rocky's fights,
considering they are supposed to be huge spectacles.) Not
until wife Adrian (Talia Shire) coaxes Rocky into a CAT
scan does he discover the brain injury that could end his
life. Meanwhile, Don King-like promoter George Washington
Duke (Richard Gant) attracts loads of attention with his
mouth and his challenge for Rocky: give a title shot to
my contender, Union Cane. Rocky is sorely tempted, but
Adrian keeps him from committing to any further matches.
What's especially hard, though, is Rocky's financial
condition, a key component in the plot. It seems Paulie
inadvertently had Rocky sign a paper giving power of
attorney to Rocky's accountant. You guessed it - the guy
invests the champ's millions and quickly loses them.
Predictability aside, Rocky's monetary ruin opens the
story to compelling originality. His estate auctioned
off, Rocky moves his family into the South Philly
rowhouse that he and Adrian bought as newlyweds. We see
some charming scenes with son Robert and Rocky kidding
around, the boy showing great intelligence to Rocky's
punchy and slangy style. But Rocky is a good father,
warning Robert about ways to act in the public school he
must attend in the new neighborhood of "urban
blight."
At least Rocky is a good father until a new young fighter
comes all the way from Oklahoma to ask Rocky's guidance.
At first reluctant, Rocky grows to like the chance at
still being in the ring, at least vicariously, through
Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison). The retired champ is
flattered that he might establish a father-son
relationship like the one Rocky had with Mick. And they
are successful together, much of Rocky's gut-punching
greatness rubbing off on the young blonde pugilist. The
main question we want answered is how long can Tommy
stand being called Rocky's boy? How long will it be
before the honey-tongued Duke lures Tommy over into his
own slick side of the boxing game?
Humor contributes a lot to ROCKY V. We still have Burt
Young as Rocky's brother-in-law, a rummy hanger-on, a
clichéd bumbling but lovable uncle to Rocky and Adrian's
son Robert (Stallone's real-life son Sage Stallone). And
there's the wonderful exaggerated tone created by
characters like George Washington Duke, the biggest ham
since Apollo, and some over-the-top fight scenes that
create as much laughter as fascination.
One of the most engaging parts of any ROCKY film is the
montage. "V" uses the technique well to tell a
number of stories within the subplots. We watch Rocky
with protégé Tommy Gunn, training and coaching and
mentoring, while Rocky's son Robert seeks attention but
is shunned. Because we've seen how close father and son
really are, this drifting apart forms a serious threat to
Rocky's success story: it's clear that his family, such
as it is, has always been more important to Rock than
anything concerning the square circle. Yes, it is
overkill when Adrian says, "You're losing your
family," but sometimes the big palooka needs a
message to hit him square in the face. My favorite
sequence happens during a street fight. Rocky is down and
apparently out, flashes of memory adding to his trauma:
Ivan Drago's glare, his mouthpiece looking like steel
teeth; Mick's gravelly voice belting out words of
inspiration; a grainy shot of Rocky, eyes swollen shut,
bright red blood poured suddenly over his face. Avildsen
has added some artful and gritty images here to explore
Rocky's plight. Even though Rocky's most dangerous weapon
has always been his heart, how will he overcome the
twinges of fear - and more directly, the brain damage -
inflicted during combat with the Russian in the climax of
ROCKY IV?
A brilliant stroke brings back Rocky's deceased manager
Mickey; Burgess Meredith does a memorable cameo that ends
up being one of the strongest scenes in the piece.
Bankrupt and disheartened, Rocky returns to the old gym
where Mick first tutored him. Mick willed it to Robert
years before, and now Rock stands in the great dusty room
and goes back into his memory to conjure Mick during a
private moment just before Rocky fought Creed in the
fluke title bout. One can tell Meredith is 14 years older
than he was in the 1976 ROCKY, but his veteran skills
save the scene from being too sentimental, and help to
provide Rocky with the incentive he needs to enter the
other end of boxing.
Even though this final installment of ROCKY is ten years
old, its themes strike home as very relevant. Many of my
students are inspired not only by Rocky's attitude and
gutsy styles of training, but also by Bill Conti's music,
an essential part of each film. There's something
mythical about the whole thing, the main plot lines
involving glamorous rises and heart-breaking falls,
underdogs overcoming high odds, father-son relations that
are fatal or benevolent. For fans of the ROCKY franchise,
ROCKY V should be viewed carefully and not discounted as
one of the best.
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