[YT Edit] Rocky V

BALBOA marks a real return to the grittier, more intimate tone of the original Rocky.

Stick Figure Studios

Yes, the monolog is epic.

Joseph Rardin

Gotta watch Rocky Balboa next! It’s one of the best ones to me, and Rocky gives a pretty powerful monologue in it that’s one of my favorites!

Gilbert Gonzalez

In fact, I have given up all "meant" for Lent.

Happy Hanukkah

"A sly joke" was not meant as a Sylvester Stallone joke.

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"Oscar-worthy performance" was not meant as a sly Will Smith joke.

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He was a very good professional boxer who actually held a world title. His personal life seems not to have been ... particularly disciplined, and he sadly died of AIDS. As many people here have made clear, Rocky V is the least favorite of the movies, and Morrison got some of the blame. To repeat my customarily humble opinion, he unsurprisingly did not turn in an Oscar-worthy performance, but I think he delivered adequately.

Happy Hanukkah

I have not seen this movie since I saw it back in the day and did not care for it, but Cassie and Carly always do the impossible and watching any movie with them is a delight. On to Rocky Balboa!

Obie Brown

From what I remember he was a boxer in real life as well and it was maybe ten years ago he passed. Far too young at 44. He wasn't an actor persay so even if he was bad, you can't get mad at him for something he wasn't professional at but I am sure Stallone very much helped him along the way.

GamerGal8684

James Flack: "How many more of these beatings can poor, sweet, adorable Carly endure?" You're talking about Cassie using her hands as a speedbag, right? :-)

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Tommy Morrison did a perfectly adequate job as Tommy. Fight me. :-)

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"They can't do anymore to us!" - Oh, Cassie, buckle in, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!

Orcagirl78

I liked the basic premise that Rocky has transitioned to training boxers, but I guess Stallone felt that there still needed to be some type of physicality between Rocky and the new antagonist. IMO, a better plot would be if there were 2 contenders. The clear favorite being Tommy, and another less physically "talented" boxer that Rocky would decide to train at the end to go against him, the same way Mick trained him.

ArsTropica

Sylvester Stallone's original intent was to kill off Rocky in this film but he eventually changed his mind. The reason his son is so much older in this film (loved "How long were they in Russia?") was that Stallone wanted to include his son Sage in the film. So Sage played his son in the film. Sadly, after becoming a successful distributor of classic grindhouse films, Sage passed away a few years ago unexpectedly. It was initially believed to be connected to drugs (an autopsy showed that he was clean) but turned out to be due to coronary artery disease. For a look at the fare he was distributing, check out Grindhouse Releasing's website.

Just Plain Bob

Uff da, there's a LOT about this movie I don't like, but it was still fun watching with you guys! Thank you, Cass 'n' Car!

Shaun Ganyo

Hopefully that day for a discussion comes sooner than later. I am REAL interested to see how Creed III turns out. Makes me a little nervous...

Stallone was cleary taking aim at the entrenched corruption in boxing at the time. George Duke obviously based on Don King. Of course corruption was nothing new in boxing. But the flamboyant King turned it into a malignant cancer. He ripped off and destroyed the careers of boxers all over world including here in Australia. So many great fighters went one fight too many and suffered the consequences. Muhammad Ali the best example.

Darren Hill

Sly has indeed expressed regrets regarding this movie. Yes, Creed was the first movie Sly did not write. (He co-wrote Creed 2.) It was written (and directed) by Ryan Coogler, who earned a lot of respect from me for not falling into the treacherous pitfalls involved. But I will leave that discussion for another day.

Happy Hanukkah

Yep! You're right...I spoke too quickly. He did not write the first Creed, correct? I was also thinking about how much he ended up regretting Rocky V as if he sold out or got a little too greedy. It's also interesting that he regrets how Rocky IV turned out and wishes he did not kill off Apollo. I believe he said that if he could do it all over again, Apollo would have lived, but would have been injured so badly that he would have been disabled. He then would have become Rocky's trainer from a wheelchair.

Sorry, but that's not a fact; Stallone did write this one. Perhaps you are misremembering that this is the only (pre-Creed) sequel that he didn't direct? (Then again the director is John Avildsen, who directed the original...)

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Burgess Meredith may have looked frail but he lived for another 7 years after the release of this movie. Loved him as Mickey but loved him even more as the 'Penguin' in the Batman TV series. A classic actor who could do it all. Watch 'Grumpy Old Men' Cassie.....he's hilarious. Another great reaction gals.

Darren Hill

So! Rocky 5.... This was by far my least favorite one of the whole series. Fun fact: This is the only movie out of all the Rocky movies that Sylvester Stallone did not write himself. He has later said that he regrets letting someone else write this movie. I am excited for you to keep going. These are my favs!

Looking at this movie today, it is quite obvious that they intended for this to be the last one and for Rocky to die at the end (all the signs in the film just point to it). John G. Avildsen who directed the original only agreed to come on to do it if they killed Rocky at the end, but right before release the studio chickened out and had them change it so that Rocky lived (Avildsen has since more or less disowned the film). Obviously I'm glad Rocky didn't die because if we wouldn't have BALBOA and the CREED films, but when you watch V with that knowledge, you see it all over the movie.

Stick Figure Studios