BEFORE: Since I don't have a copy of "Rocky Balboa" (aka Rocky VI), this will wrap up the franchise for me, at least for now. I'm eager to move on to other topics, anyway...
THE PLOT: Reluctantly retired from boxing and back from riches to rags, Rocky takes on a new protege, as the champ's son must adjust to his family's new life after bankruptcy.
AFTER: The plot picks up right after Rocky's fight with Drago, but in the real world 6 years have passed - I thought Rocky's son aged a few years while he was in Russia, but I guess the character was played by two different teens. Stallone's actual son, Sage, plays Rocky's son in part 5.
And that kid's going to need a lot of therapy - not only does he watch his father go bankrupt and retire without defending his title, but then he gets ignored in favor of Rocky's new protege, Tommy Gunn. (Seriously? Like a tommy gun? Well, he does act like a loose cannon...) But after falling into his new role as a boxing manager, Rocky gets betrayed when Tommy falls under the influence of a shyster promoter, George Washington Duke - who's like a thinly-veiled Don King. (get it, Duke/King?)
When Duke can't convince Rocky to step back into the ring, he signs Tommy and gives him a shot at the title. I didn't really see the method to his madness at first - if he hates Rocky, why give his protege a chance to be the heavyweight champion? But there are plans within plans, and the devil has his methods...
If this were any other "Rocky" film, the inevitable training montage would follow, and Rocky would step into the ring and act like a punching bag, one "last" time, and somehow find a way to come out on top. After 3 sequels that adhered to the formula, I'm sort of glad that this one went in a different direction.
Instead, Rocky has to reject his unfaithful disciple, and try to re-connect with his wife and son. But the "prodigal son" has a bad habit of turning up at inconvenient times, to call the ex-champion out. I won't ruin the ending, but it was very unconventional for a "Rocky" film, and I think I ended up enjoying this sequel a little more than the others.
The dialogue is really bad - I'm tempted to believe that the actors made up most of it as they went along - but at least the spirit is there, in a believable way. "Rocky IV" was practically a cartoon, by comparison. The void between Rocky Balboa and his son seemed like almost any other teen/father relationship - that point where a teen rejects what his father stands for, which for most kids is part of growing up.
With Talia Shire, Burt Young, and Burgess Meredith (duh!)
RATING: 6 out of 10 fur coats
No comments:
Post a Comment