Preteen girl looking at a cell phone with her parents

Personalized picks at your fingertips

Get the mobile app on iOS and Android

Parents' Guide to

Rocky V

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Unnecessary, lazy sequel is overly violent.

Movie PG-13 1990 104 minutes
Rocky V Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 10+

Based on 3 parent reviews

age 9+

Not Great

Even Rocky/Sylvester Stallone said it was his worst movie.
age 10+

GOOD MOVIE

see directors cut!

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (8 ):

There was really no credible reason for this sequel to be made, and it shows in the forced storyline. Every plot point seems a little too convenient. Convenient, but also a jumbled mess of three stories happening at once -- Rocky adjusting to his new life while vicariously living through a protégé, Rocky Jr. learning to stand up to bullies while also struggling to get the attention of his father, and a corrupt boxing promoter stopping at nothing to get Rocky back in the ring, despite his old age and brain damage. This chaos especially manifests itself in the inevitable montage sequences. So much is happening, and yet, none of it really needs to happen, because it's beyond redundant by this fifth movie in the franchise.

At times, Rocky V feels like little more than an excuse for Stallone to spend time with his son Sage Stallone, who plays the young teen Rocky Jr. Messages on the exploitation of professional athletes and also the effects of concussions and brain damage on aging athletes could actually have meaning to the story but are basically mentioned in passing and only seem to exist to give Rocky a reason to move back to Philly and not step in the ring. It's the proverbial "shark-jumping" sequel if there ever was one, and one of those sequels that cheapens the legacy of the original classic Rocky.

Movie Details

Inclusion information powered by

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate