FIXING SCENES: ROCKY V

Passing the torch

Tommy Morrison and Sylvester Stallone in Rocky V. Copyright: 20th Century Fox

In Fixing Scenes, we look back at films that should have been better and pitch new directions for them abiding by the following rules:

• We cannot change anything that came before or after the film if it is part of a franchise

• We cannot change real world events that impacted the production of the film

Spoilers for Rocky V (1990)

There was a very simple formula to the first four Rocky films. Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is the perpetual underdog who refuses to stay down despite a barrage of faster opponents, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), stronger opponents, Clubber Lang (Laurence Tureaud, aka Mr T), or chemically enhanced opponents, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren).

While the first film ended on a more downbeat note – Rocky goes the distance with Apollo but loses the match on a split decision – by the time we had got to the fourth film, Rocky was no longer the underdog, and the film suffered because of it. It also made the mistake of killing Apollo, who had stepped into the shoes of Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith) to train the titular fighter after Mickey was killed in Rocky III.

Characters like Mickey (Burgess Meredith), left, were a huge part of the success of the first four Rocky films. Copyright: 20th Century Fox

Because while Stallone is great in the role, Rocky was never the most entertaining part of the franchise. He was a punching bag brought to life by the characters around him. By the end of the fourth film, we’re left with his wife Adrian (an increasingly absent Talia Shire) and his brother-in-law Paulie (Burt Young, who is given little more to play with than crass drunkenness throughout most of the franchise).

By the time we get to the maligned fifth film, Rocky is an undisputed dominant force, trying to carry the film without some of its most entertaining characters.

What happens…

After the fight with Ivan Drago, Rocky starts to show signs of head trauma, diagnosed as cavum septum pellucidum, and is forced to retire from boxing. This is despite goading from promoter George Washington Duke (Richard Gant), who wants Rocky to take one more match against heavyweight champion Union Cane (Michael Williams).

To make matters worse, Paulie has accidentally signed over the power of attorney to Rocky’s accountant, who subsequently squanders the money on bad investments. Due to this, the family are forced to move back to their working class Philadelphia neighbourhood from the first film. Inspired by memories of Mickey, Rocky decides to make a living by reopening the gym.

Rocky’s son, Robert (Sage Stallone) is being bullied at school but Rocky fails to help his son because of a new boxing prospect called Tommy Gunn (real life boxer Tommy Morrison in his last film appearance). Tommy wants to go after Union’s title but Rocky refuses to get involved with the promoter, leading to Tommy walking out.

Tommy Gunn and Rocky Balboa in the street fight that ends Rocky V. Copyright: 20th Century Fox

Tommy wins the title under the tutelage of George, but the crowd refuse to acknowledge him as the real champion. At the same time, Rocky mends his relationships with Adrian and Robert, pulling Robert away from the bad crowd he has fallen in with.

While out at a bar, Rocky is approached by Tommy who tries to bully Rocky into one more fight. After Paulie is knocked down by Tommy, Rocky challenges the younger boxer to a street fight and finds the strength to beat him after a series of flashbacks.

What we’d change…

Stallone has gone on record saying that Rocky V is a terrible film and was the reason for his returning to the franchise for Rocky Balboa in 2006, which he also wrote and directed. One of the most interesting parts of that film is the difficult relationship he has with Robert (Milo Ventimiglia).

Now a lot can happen between family members in 16 years, so it’s believable that the two would have drifted apart, especially in the wake of Adrian’s death, but I think the key to fixing Rocky V is to make the differences between them less superficial.

So, we keep the head trauma following Rocky IV and keep the diagnosis the same because if we turn it into something more severe then there’s a chance that Rocky Balboa can’t happen. Instead of forcing Rocky to reopen the gym due to financial woes, let’s have him do it in Mickey’s memory. Paulie doesn’t have to be a complete joke in this film. The extended Balboa family can continue to live comfortably, while Rocky passes on his experience to a generation of boxers.

Tommy is shown to be a powerful fighter, and we’ll still need that for our story. Copyright: 20th Century Fox

Now, for the next part to work, we need to steal a little from Creed (2015, Ryan Coogler). This shouldn’t impact the Creed films, as they have happily taken from the original Rocky franchise – notably Creed II which essentially retells Rocky IV.

We jump forward a few years so that Robert is older. Having seen how successful his father was, Robert is desperate to become a boxer but Rocky discourages him. He and Adrian sit their son down and describe the head trauma that Rocky has suffered, and the deaths of Apollo and Mickey, all caused by the sport. Robert ignores this and joins another gym in the area, one run by a new character who had sparred with Rocky when Mickey was training him.

As an aside, you could bring back a previous character like Clubber Lang for this role, to build tension between the trainers

While trying to handle this, Rocky meets Tommy Gunn, and like in the original Rocky V, Tommy shows great promise as a boxer. The relationship between Rocky and Robert continues to erode as Robert questions why Rocky won’t train him but is happy to see Tommy put himself at risk. Robert moves out of the Balboa home and continues to improve as a fighter.

Both Tommy and Robert start to move up the rankings, starting in local fights. Unlike his father, Robert is shown to be adept at avoiding punches, wearing his opponents down over multi-round fights. Tommy, like in the original, is a heavy puncher and beats his rivals quickly. Eventually – predictably – it comes down to a fight between Tommy and Robert, with a shot at the title on the line.

Rocky meets with the rival trainer before the match and expresses concern that Robert won’t be able to withstand Tommy’s assault, but he is ignored. He tries to speak with Robert himself, but Robert verbally attacks his father, saying that Rocky doesn’t care about him and doesn’t want him to have the same success. Dejected, Rocky goes back to Tommy.

Rocky coaching Tommy in the ring. Copyright: 20th Century Fox

During the match, Robert appears to be doing well. He dodges Tommy’s biggest punches and bloodies the larger fighter with a series of jabs. Rocky catches himself occasionally reacting positively to Robert’s performance, leading to strange looks from the rest of the corner crew. Things go wrong in the fifth round though when Tommy lands a brutal hook and follows it up with an uppercut. Battered and stunned, Robert struggles to his feet but he is battered again, taking a barrage of shots in the corner.

Adrian runs down to the front row and screams at Rocky to stop the fight. Rocky doesn’t know what to do and tries to temper Tommy’s attack at the end of the round. He says that Robert is done, and he can relax now, but Tommy rejects this and says he’s going to finish the fight his way. The bell rings again and Tommy comes out swinging. Robert tries to defend himself but cannot.

Rocky screams from the apron for the fight to stop but can’t do anything, so he goes around to Robert’s trainer and pleads for him to throw in the towel. When he refuses, Rocky throws a punch and knocks him to the floor, inciting a brawl between the two corner crews. The referee sees this and throws the fight out. Tommy throws his mouthpiece at Rocky and storms to the back, while Adrian and Paulie tend to Robert.

Rocky and Robert have reconciled at the end of the original, but there’s a more interesting story to be told by continuing to break down their relationship. Copyright: 20th Century Fox

Rocky approaches Robert and tries to apologise to him but Robert rejects him, saying that he shouldn’t have gotten involved. Robert is helped to back by Adrian, while Paulie tries to comfort Rocky.

It’s not perfect – and there’s a good argument that Rocky V didn’t need to be made at all – but to build that tension between Rocky and Robert, which isn’t fully resolved until Creed II, I think this does a lot more than the original Rocky V. It also enables the franchise to move beyond Rocky as a competitor, without completing destroying the premise of Rocky Balboa.

Director: John G. Avildsen

Writer: Sylvester Stallone

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Sage Stallone, Tommy Morrison, Burgess Meredith