10 Movie Sequels That Didn't Go The Way They Should Have

The original Rocky is an undisputed classic, a powerful underdog story and a masterclass in indie filmmaking. The first three sequels are watchable, enjoyable and daft in equal measure, but many fans would agree they can live without Rocky V.

The fifth entry in the series was a failed, contrived attempt to take the series back to its street-level roots, a film Sly Stallone once admitted he made purely out of greed. After the over-the-top thrills of the fourth film, there was scope for more Rocky, but this ill-advised attempt to recapture the original's working class grit wasn't the way to go.

It's for the best that Stallone chose to revive the character further down the line, first for Rocky Balboa and later for the excellent Creed, because Rocky V was far from a satisfactory endgame for the former heavyweight champ.

Nothing about Tommy Gunn made him a worthy final adversary for Balboa and the ending, which was originally supposed to kill the protagonist off, felt like a low-key fade-out compared to the epic conclusions of the previous films.

When watching the Rocky series in chronological order, skipping the fifth chapter is recommended as the only thing it contributes is the continuity error that arises when his son suddenly goes from nine years old to his teenage years in the space of days.