Rocky V - The 80's Remix

Rocky V is a movie I consider more mediocre and a missed opportunity than utterly terrible. I appreciate the attempt to get back to the roots of what was once the story of an underdog before getting lost in the worst of Hollywood excesses, but aside from what others have pointed out (awful central performance, horrid hip-hop, uncharismatic rival, no Rocky in the ring...) it has all the feel of a failed pilot for Rocky the TV Series, with all the son stuff and the general blandness. But still, there's something strangely endearing about it. And the Burgess Meredith scene is simply wonderful.

And I also love anything 80s. It's the decade I grew up in, and its music gets me back there. Even the kitschiest tunes of the era do so. So, this edit was a winner for me from the get-go. Gone are the worst offenders in the acting, musical, and narrative department, and with the new songs this is about the best version of the movie it's likely to ever exist unless deleted scenes in usable quality surface. It still has much of that TV feel, but it now feels more Rocky than ever. In fact, in this form it would be a really solid entry in the series if it weren't because of Tommy Gunn's complete lack of charisma (maybe Carl Weathers, Mr. T, or Dolph Lundgren weren't the greatest of actors, but they oozed personality.)

The editing itself is flawless. I doubt anyone who had not seen the original would notice this is edited. The only "off" bit happens near the end when Robert Jr. tells Adrian about the street fight, the audio levels aren't completely right there and the music "eats up" the lines slightly, but I understand it had to be that way because of the original music bleeding into the dialog track. Still, the rest is perfect. Too bad it's 2.0 and not 5.1, but good enough. As for the video quality, just as good as the commercial DVD.

A big plus is Last Survivor's feature-length audio commentary. One can feel his passion for the Rocky saga and Stallone movies in general. And I appreciate this sort of bonus feature in an edit, I wish more releases included them.

If you like Rocky and/or the 80s, in my opinion you can't go wrong with this one. Even if you hate Rocky V with a passion, as a lot of people do, I'd say this is worth one watch at least. Someone send Stallone a copy! Vocal as he is about his hatred for the movie, I think he'd like the edit.

To me Rocky 5 always was a flawed movie, but a flawed movie with a heart.
This edit keeps the heart and polish the flaws with success.
It feels a bit short though but nothing feels like missing (maybe a final a bit longuer, because this new version was so great you wanted more, so it's a compliment in a way)
And the winner is.... Last survivor!

I am not a editing expert on anything like that (I would not dare to attempt some of the great stuff you guys churn out!), but I watched this Rocky V edit this afternoon with the missus, and all I can say is WOW!
The change of soundtrack really makes a massive difference, and the choices of the music fit perfectly to the scenes IMO.
The editing is seamless from what I can tell, Last Survivor has certainly made the weakest of the Rocky films so much better to watch......so a massive thumbs up from me!

Winner and still champion.... Last Survivor!!!!

....cue Tom Conti Rocky fanfare!

I was privileged to watch the work print of this edit a few months back.

And it was very, very good.

But this final version?

WOW!

IT IS FANTASTIC!!!

This the Rocky V fans deserved. Thanks LS!

This edit gets to the core of what makes Rocky work as an iconic character and jettisons the over the top, caricature moments.
This FEELS like a Rocky movie!
While the original version just felt like it was suffering from an identity crisis... not quite a throw back/tribute to the original and not a true fleshed out worthy next chapter either.

The edited story is kept tight and focused, continuity issues are addressed and corrected, and the 80's rock style soundtrack infuses the new narrative with the perfect uplifting and inspirational energy!

Once again, Last Survivor has demonstrated his superior ability with sound replacement. The new opening titles, the two training montages and closing fight are all brilliant work. In fact, the new version of the street fight is so vastly superior to the original, I can not even imagine it being staged any other way.

All the new music choices work wonderfully, both in terms of sound and lyrics. I am glad LS stuck with the 80s rock sound and did not pursue the Electro Version soundtrack idea. As a bonus feature, an electro version of one the training montages is included, and I have to be honest, it left me completely cold.

In other bonus features, LS includes one of his famous commentaries. His passion for Rocky and Sylvestor Stallone is evident, and it was a joy to listen to his insights. It is a great commentary.

There is also a very cool teaser trailer for Last Survivor's next project, which he talks about briefly in his commentary. Not to spoil anything, but it looks awesome!

Needless to say, technically this edit is excellent. The picture quality is almost equal to my dvd version and sound work is exceptional.

So if you have been wondering whether to download this edit or not, wonder no more -- this is a MUST SEE fan edit!

Pure Popcorn Fun!
Thumbs way UP!

Thanks for the great entertainment LS.

Having never seen the original film all the way through but hearing horror stories, I thought it’d be better for my sanity to watch a fanedit of this one that had the intention of making it better. They’ve replaced a hip hop score with one that reflects the original films. And the fact that this film originally had a hip hop score shows how misguided some of the decisions were.
Yet honestly, it’s not entirely misguided, with the third and fourth film they had turned into fun but formulaic films that resembled music videos and lost quite a bit of the character drama that made the original film such a masterpiece. Rocky V tries to return to that, there’s a lot of interesting ideas in here, the brain damage, the corruption of the boxing leagues, the mentorship, and of course Rocky having to balance his familial duties and return to his masculinity and purpose. Yet it’s just not well written, feeling forced rather than a natural progression of the story. I know the final fight is often criticized because people wanted a boxing match in an arena,, yet I enjoyed the street fight as something different, a small personal victory rather than one that’s in front of the whole world. Thankfully all the missteps would be corrected in the next film, yet this film almost feels necessary as at least an explanation of why Rocky lost all his money.

As for the fanedit itself, Excellent Audio and Video Editing throughout. A lot of excellent choices here, the film certainly improves in it's shorter runtime and the more nostalgic score. There's one narrative hiccup that bothers me, as Rocky's son as an artist comes out of left field and we don't get the build up to that before the end.