Rocky V - Plot

Plot

Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and his trainer Tony "Duke" Evers (Tony Burton) are in their dressing room after the Drago fight. Tony praises Rocky for his victory and for honoring Apollo Creed's memory, but Rocky, seen to be in some form of severe physical discomfort, asks Tony to summon his wife Adrian (Talia Shire). His hands are shaking, and he cannot make them stop. In distress, he mistakenly calls out for "Mick", the name of his deceased former trainer, Mickey Goldmill.

Rocky returns home from the Soviet Union and is greeted by his son, Robert (Sage Stallone). At a press conference, a promoter named George Washington Duke (Richard Gant) tries to goad Rocky into fighting Union Cane, the new #1 contender for the world heavyweight championship in Tokyo, but with Adrian insisting on her husband's retirement, Rocky decides, at least for the time being, not to take the fight with Cane.

Rocky, Adrian and Paulie (Burt Young) return home to find that Paulie had unknowingly signed a 'power of attorney' over to Balboa's accountant, who had, in turn, squandered all of Rocky's money on bad business deals (it is also revealed the accountant had not paid Rocky's income taxes in 6 years). Now bankrupt, Rocky decides to take the fight with Cane, but having suffered significant brain damage during the Drago bout, he can no longer fight without further risking his health and officially retires. Rocky is then forced to move back into his old working-class Philadelphia neighborhood, where he and his family must try to start their lives all over again. The only thing Rocky doesn't lose is Mickey's gym, which Mickey had willed to Robert. Rocky then begins training boxers at Mickey's gym, Adrian gets her old job back at the pet store across the street and Paulie goes back to the meat packing plant.

Things start to look up when Rocky meets a hungry young fighter from Oklahoma named Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison) and takes him under his wing. Training the young fighter gives Rocky a sense of purpose, and Tommy fights his way up the ladder to become a top contender. Rocky eventually becomes so distracted with Tommy's training that he winds up neglecting Robert who becomes withdrawn and angry. He falls in with the wrong crowd at school and as a result, he begins acting out at home.

Meanwhile, Tommy's impressive rise through the ranks catches the eye of Duke, who uses the promise of a title shot against Cane (now the champion) to lure him away from Rocky. Duke pulls up outside the Balboa house with Tommy in tow, who has now been deceived into thinking that Rocky doesn't have his best interests in mind. When Rocky tries to convince him otherwise, Tommy drives off in a huff, leaving Rocky for good.

When Adrian attempts to comfort him, Rocky's frustrations finally boil over. He confesses his life had meaning again when he was able to live vicariously through Tommy's success. She reasons with him, telling him Tommy never had his heart and spirit – something he could never learn. When this realization hits him, Rocky embraces his wife and they begin to pick up the pieces. After finding Robert hanging out on a street corner, Rocky apologizes to his son and they mend their broken relationship.

Tommy wins the heavyweight title by knocking out Union Cane in the first round, but is booed by spectators and hounded by reporters after the fight. They insist Cane was nothing but a "paper champion", because Cane didn't win the title from Balboa. Therefore, the public would never consider Tommy the real champion unless he fights a worthy opponent. With Tommy enraged by the press's reaction, Duke convinces Tommy he needs to fight Rocky man to man. Duke and Tommy show up at a local bar to goad Rocky into accepting a fight. But after Tommy hits Paulie, Rocky challenges Tommy to a street fight on the spot. Despite Duke's warnings to keep the fight in the ring, Tommy accepts.

As the fight goes on, Rocky is eventually beaten down by Tommy and is seemingly out for the count. He then hears the voice of his old mentor urging him to get up and get back in the fight, to go just "one more round". Rocky gets back up and, utilizing his vast street fighting knowledge, is able to knock out his former protégé. Afterwards, Duke commends Rocky, trying to appeal to him. Duke threatens to sue if Rocky touches him, but after a brief hesitation, Rocky punches Duke in the gut anyway, knocking him onto the hood of a car. The crowd cheers as the bankrupt Rocky shrugs and quips "Sue me for what?"

The next day, Rocky and Robert take a trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Rocky gives his son Rocky Marciano's cuff-link, given to him years ago as a gift from Mickey. The film ends with a shot of Rocky's statue looking out over Philadelphia.