Here's something surprising: I liked ROCKY V. I actually enjoyed it far more than the last sequel, that was nothing more than a retread of ROCKY III, substituting Dolph Lundgren for Mr T and achieving little else in the short running time. ROCKY V boasts a cracking story from Stallone that takes the saga in new directions, carefully avoiding the clichés and as a result breathing fresh life into what was becoming a tired series. To that end, director John G. Avildsen returns to the franchise for the first time since the original, and the film feels very close to that one in nature: there's a return to the gritty, on-the-street vibe that was missing before, and it's good to have it back.

Rocky's character has progressed since the last film. He's now a near-disabled man, disturbed by brain damage and past his prime. His relationship with his son (played by Stallone's real-life boy Sage) takes up much of the film, and it's an interesting one that's played to the hilt. Talia Shire and Burt Young don't have much to do again, but kudos for the return of Burgess Meredith for some genuinely moving and poignant flashbacks that brought a tear to this viewer's eye.

Some have cast doubt on the acting ability of newcomer boxer Tommy Morrison, but I found his acting suited the role perfectly: he's supposed to be a meathead, a jock, not some thespian. I enjoyed watching the storyline play out, the inevitable twist, and then I found the closing street fight simply refreshing: Stallone did well not to have his character return to the ring for yet another match. This way feels a lot better, a lot more real. Plus, it has one of my favourite Stallone moments, his classic "You knocked him down...now why don't you try knocking me down?" moment.

Rocky Balboa is back from Russia after defeating Drago. Sleazy promoter George Washington Duke wants Rocky to fight his fighter Union Cane. However Rock is suffering from brain damage and retires. Then they find out that their crooked accountant had lost all their money. Rocky only has Mickey's old gym and he moves back to the old neighborhood. Rocky Balboa Jr. (Sage Stallone) is having trouble with the mean kids. Neighborhood kid Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison) begs Rocky to be his manager. Tommy has some success and that's when Duke swoops in.

Stallone is trying to bring back every last bit of goodness from the original. It's part homage and part resurrecting the dead. They have Rocky flashback to Burgess Meredith. They even brought back John G. Avildsen to direct. They engineer Rocky to move back to the old neighborhood in a convoluted manufactured story. There's a younger version of Rocky. They got Sly's son to play Rocky's son.

On paper, this is daring attempt to bring back the glory of the first movie. It's as if everybody had a checklist of things to do. This is not inspired as much as it's constructed. The one thing that this does not have from the original is a sense of reality. The first one had a documentary style feel. A lower class Italian neighborhood is realistic back then. I can't help but notice that the run down place is still filled with mostly white people. There is one attempt at an old hangout that turned into something foreign. It just feels like very fake. It struggles to split the difference between the gritty documentary feel of the original and the glossy formulaic sequels. It needed to choose. It does not and fails to be either.

Personally, extending the Rocky franchise beyond the first three movies was probably asking for trouble, but that could just be me. "Rocky IV" struck me as a quick way to make a buck with a series of cobbled together scenes from the first three films with a resounding sound track pumping up the volume. This one has a bit more of a plot to it, with the strained relationship between Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) and his son (real life son Sage Stallone) at the center of the story. It works up to a point, but by the time it develops into an alley fight between The Rock and his protégé Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison),all semblance of believability just melts away in a flash of fists and fury.

For starters, you have to consider the length of time it would have taken Tommy to begin training with Rocky, develop into a preliminary fighter, and then compile a record of 22 and 0 to earn a championship match. Even if he fought every two months, it still would have taken a couple of years to get to the Union Cane fight. The way this story blazes by, it seems like it all takes place in a matter of days and Tommy suddenly finds himself at the top of the boxing world. And THEN, all of a sudden, Union Cane is outed as a fraud? That just made my head spin. No one becomes the World Champ by beating pushovers, what alternate universe would this have taken place in?

You know, the Rocky films played a nasty trick on me when they had his manager Mickey (Burgess Meredith) die in "Rocky II". For the longest time I couldn't figure out if Meredith was dead or alive when he showed up in the sequels. I know, it's easy enough to look up, but it's one of those things that keep you guessing. To save you the trouble, Meredith was alive when he made his daydream appearances in this film. For my money, the best sequence in the picture was the one where Rocky had the imaginary conversation with his former manager. That was very well done.

As I write this review, I'm stunned by the news that Sage Stallone passed away just a month ago. I never heard about it at the time, and as I read the links from the IMDb website, I'm reminded that life isn't like the movies where happy endings have a tendency to prevail. My condolences go out to Stallone and his family, and I hope the Rocky spirit gets him through this ordeal.