1. People seem to have an issue with the fact that when Rocky loses his money that he doesn't just do endorsements. When watching a movie, you must live with the rules of that universe. In Rocky V, they explain that because of the investigation into the accountant that stole his money, it would come out that Rocky used to work for a loan shark and had ties to the mob. People didn't know about his past, but now it would be made public and no company would be interested doing business with him. You have to remember this was before the internet and social media, so celebrities were on pedestals.
When Ali was banned from boxing between 1967 and 1970 for refusing to be inducted into the military, he faced extreme financial hardship. During this time, his finances basically went broke. No one would sign him to endorsements, so it can happen.
In the real world in 1990, Rocky would have likely still been able to do endorsements. But the movie tells us in the world of Rocky, he wouldn't be able to do endorsements. So we as the audience have to go with this. Also Rocky wasn't very smart. If he is told by his lawyers he can't get endorsements he'd likely just believe it. He'd likely assume they know better.
And another hot take on this subject is that George Washington Duke could've paid off the lawyers to lie to Rocky. Heck the lawyers might be working with him. Remember Duke somehow had Rocky's medical records. Mickey told Rocky in the the first and third movie that his job was to keep him safe. Without Mickey it is possible Rocky was just being taken advantage of by the dirty side of boxing.
2. Rocky V actually has a good story. It is about a man on the top and then loses everything. But in he pursuit to get it back he starts to live through someone else. And while doing that he neglected his family and especially his son. It is in a lot of ways a movie about how family is more important than material goods.
3. The movie could have been better if the acting was better. Tommy Morrison and Sage Stallone were not good actors. If Stallone had gotten better actors it could've made a huge difference in the movie. Also while the actor who plays George Washington Duke is a good actor, the character is too over the top. He becomes a caricature and just doesn't fit the Rocky universe. I think a guy more the Jergens from the first Rocky movie who felt sleezy, but you weren't sure about is motives could have been better.
4. The 2 scenes with Mickey especially during the fight are 2 of the most powerful scenes in the Rocky franchise. Mickey telling Rocky, "Get up you Son of a bitch, because Mickey loves you." is peak.
5. Rocky V is extremely important in the Rocky/Creed Franchise. Without V, we likely don't get the 6th movie Rocky Balboa. Balboa is one of the best endings to a franchise and had one of the best speeches in movie history with Rocky's Keep Moving Forward speech to his son. And personally it's my favorite movie.
Also I'm not sure if the Creed movie works. We need to see a humble Rocky. He is living a peaceful life. He isn't dirt poor, but he isn't living in luxury. This grounds the character and allows Creed to live in a more grounded world.
Without V, if we just get the Rocky Balboa or Creed movies with Rocky having lost everything without knowing why it doesn't work as well. And just telling us isn't as good. We need to see the story of what happened.
Rocky V has a lot of flaws, but it is better than what people including Stallone himself give it credit.
