Rocky at zero

Alexey Alyokhin talks about the worst movie about Rocky Balboa and finds something fragile and beautiful.

In films about the most famous movie boxer, boxing is surprisingly bad. But Stallone himself was of little interest in boxing as such. “The hero could bake bread or repair bicycles. — said Sly about the first part of the franchise. — Boxing is a metaphor. Life is a fight, life is a race."

The first "Rocky" was a good story about a little man who proves that he is not empty space. Thanks to the motivating charge and the rise of Sly himself - a loser who, like his hero, unexpectedly rose to stardom - the Rocky films are perceived by many as exemplary boxing films. At the same time, it’s difficult to remember fights staged worse than in parts I-V. As boxing films, Fat City or Play It to the Bone work better because they were made by people who understood and loved boxing. They have more precision, more halftones, but... Sly's frontal method is so effective that even boxers love "Rocky", despite all the mistakes.

Rocky V is considered the worst film in the series. This is the only part that failed at the box office, it was criticized the most, and Stallone himself later admitted that he made the film (he is the screenwriter and leading actor) out of greed. Who could resist a $15 million check? In 2008, journalist Jonathan Ross asked Stallone to rate each part on a scale of one to ten. The first received a 10, the third with Mr. T received a nine, and II and IV received 7.5 each. And the fifth was granted 0 by Sly.

Each part, through the hero's story, recorded Sly's condition at a certain moment of life. The fifth came out in 1990, when Stallone's popularity began to decline. He was 44 years old, a critical age for an action hero in those days. Rocky in the film loses his fortune, returns to live in a poor area, but comes back to life when he begins to train heavy prospect Tommy Gunn. However, because of this he neglects his family and his 14-year-old son. Before "Creeds", this is the only "Rocky" where the hero does not box in the ring, but, hmm, he kind of fights on the street.

The film shows how Sly works with boxing texture. Here comes a powerful promoter - George Washington Duke, modeled after Don King. Don had been in the public eye for more than 15 years, but in the 80s he finally became one of the most famous people in the United States. The hairstyle, however, is different, but the hero repeats Don’s catchphrase “Only in America!” several times. Rocky's apprentice Tommy Gunn (even though he's played by white Tommy Morrison) is clearly inspired by Mike Tyson. Gunn even becomes "the youngest heavyweight champion of the world." And in flashbacks, Rocky's old trainer Mickey Goldmill suddenly starts talking about fear. And this speech is very, very similar to Cus D'Amato's 1985 interview, shortly after Tyson's pro debut. In short, Sly simply takes the most popular stories from the media and slightly adapts them to suit himself.

The world of Rocky V, like most other parts, is a conventional space, like a musical or ballet. Neither Stallone nor director Avildsen bother with precision. The film begins almost immediately after the fight against Ivan Drago from the previous part, but in a few days Balboa's son has grown by 5 years, and the house Rocky returns to is not the same one he left. The street fight between Stallone and Morrison was filmed using the same logic, when the heavyweight boxer begins to use throws, suplexes and strange sweeps as if from wrestling. The explanation is simple: the fight was choreographed by pro-wrestler Terry Funk. In all five films, Sly passed off either a fight between bodybuilders or wrestling as boxing.

How bad Is Rocky V? Well, it is certainly bad, but from the point of view of boxing and general logic it is not particularly inferior to the previous parts. The story itself is, of course, bad, but no worse than the hit “Rocky IV”. And in some places it’s even good - because Sly tried to get away from the “Rocky versus an absolutely unrealistic supervillain” formula. I think the movie failed because the dark and traumatized Rocky doesn't really fit with the optimistic spirit of the franchise, where even if you lose, you kind of win.

But no matter how much I grumble about mistakes and absurdities, the Rocky series "remains a grandiose thing that is interesting to write about. Over the course of 47 years, it has developed its own universe with cameos from boxers from Frazier to Andre Ward and situations taken from reality. Yes, Sly's artistic method resembles conducting an orchestra with a sledgehammer, but simple moves help to imprint his films into the public consciousness. And even the most unsuccessful “Rocky V” has its successes.

In- first, Richard Gantt does a great job portraying Don King. Yes, the style of Rocky V is quite cartoonish, but in reality, the public image of the cunning King was modeled as a caricature. Secondly, there is Tommy Gunn, played by Tommy Morrison - a stupid and cruel guy from the outback with a sweet face and hairstyle like a singer from a boys band. Not the rarest type for American boxing in the 80s, but a curiosity for Russia, where boxers are almost always gloomy.

Morrison himself was a talented and out-of-touch type. At the time of the film's release, he was 24-0 as a pro; he later defeated George Foreman, but lost the rest of his major fights in his career. Morrison was in prison, was a bigamist and, like many boxers, often got into absurd stories. For example, in 1994, he went to the police to pay bail for a friend, but got into a fight near the police station and was arrested. Tommy's main passion was women. There were legends about their number, but the boxer was not known for his caution. Already at the age of 19 he was the father of two children, and in 1996 his fight was canceled due to a positive test for HIV. However, Morrison fought MMA on Indian reservations and had three boxing fights. He also became interested in pseudoscientific theories: he insisted that HIV does not cause AIDS and refused to take medications. He got breast implants to look more muscular, and said about the ulcers on his arms that he was bitten by mosquitoes. Tommy died at 44, and spent the last year of his life bedridden.

Well, the last detail. In the film, Rocky's teenage son is played by Sylvester's real-life son Sage. Another proof of the strong connection between the author and the character. When in 2006 Sly releases the much more successful and boxing-accurate Rocky Balboa, the role of his now adult son will be played by actor Milo Ventimiglia. Stallone was afraid that people would take Balboa Jr.'s resentment for "living in his father's shadow" as a reference to his real relationship with his son.

In 2012, Sage's body was discovered in his home. In general, Sly’s first-born was a fairly quiet guy, but 60 empty cans of the opioid hydrocodone were found on him, and theories began to circulate around his death that he was selling illegal substances. However, the official cause is heart attack due to coronary artery disease. The deaths of Sage Stallone, 36, and Tommy Morrison, 44, make their scenes sadder and more fragile than intended.