Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Rocky V’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

‘You don't own me! Nobody does! I want my respect!’
‘Well come and get it!’
- Tommy Gunn and Rocky Balboa

The word legacy means a lot to all of us, simply because we want to leave something behind in this life. For some it's about doing something special that everyone will remember them for before they take their last breath, for others it is about making sure they leave a lasting impact on the career of their choice.  

Yet it is safe to say the desire to be remembered is something we see more often in sports, since every pastime features athletes who wish to be regarded as the greatest of all time once they’ve retired, and they also hope that everything they have contributed to their respective sport will serve as inspiration for generations of players to come. It is the importance of a legacy, and what it means to us that is explored in Rocky V. 

After the fight of his life against Ivan Drago, Rocky Balboa is suffering from lingering health issues and it turns out that Rocky is suffering from minor brain damage, effectively ending his boxing career. Adding insult to his injury is the fact that Rocky's accountant turned out to be as crooked as they come and after getting Paulie to sign off on a blanket power of attorney, he robs Rocky blind. Now destitute, Rocky and his family move back to central Philadelphia to start over, but Rocky cannot completely escape boxing. A young and talented boxer named Tommy Gunn seeks out Rocky, in the hopes of being trained by the legendary boxer. Rocky agrees, but he will have to now find balance between his love of the sport and the love of his family.

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So, let's get the obvious out of the way, this is by far the most downtrodden and depressing of all the Rocky motion pictures. I mean, Rocky had it all. The fame, the fortune, and respect and in the blink of an eye, everything but the respect is taken away from him. Yet, that completely and utterly works for the story. Because by heading down this route, we return to the wonderful formula of taking Rocky on a journey and it's done here in impressive fashion. 

After all, Rocky was larger than life in the last two films, but here, Rocky is once again just a man. A family man for that matter, and he is also a man who is respected, and a man now haunted by the sport he so loves. It makes for a film that well, is uncomfortable to watch at first because of the cruelty that comes with stripping him down once again. This is a character that worked so hard to become the best, to win at everything in life. Yet here we are, back where we started and that was how the franchise was originally supposed to end. It's something that instantly gave the film a bad rap because well, fans felt robbed. They didn't like the fact that he didn't go out on top. Rocky was everyone's hero, and now he simply walked off into the sunset with no belt, no glory, just respect. But if you ask me that's not a bad ending, it's a satisfying one. 

As an added bonus the film also takes a hard, long look at legacy and what it means to be a true champion and how some morons simply want to exploit a title, and the fame that comes with it, for money. Something that is explored by George Washington Duke, the film's damning satire of Don King. Since he is clearly a firm believer that money means more to the sport than the fighter, and his beliefs serve as a trap that Tommy falls into by signing with Duke. But that's the beauty of the film. Rocky is and always will be a champion and as he walks off into the night, he is still just that while Tommy is nothing more than a greedy punk. It's a deeper philosophical ending that lightly echoes the first film, but it simply wasn't enough to satisfy. But that's okay, since Stallone later realized that there was a way to keep the grit of this film intact and give the fans the ending, they wanted for Rocky since this film ended up being nothing more than the setup, for the grand finale. 

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