The Rocky series has experienced great highs and lows in its nearly 50-year history. What started as an underdog story about a working-class Philadelphia boxer is today a multi-generational franchise that's accumulated millions of fans and a spin-off trilogy following the son of Rocky Balboa's greatest rival, Apollo Creed. However, the Oscar-winning boxing saga was once nearly canned after the release of the critically and commercially panned Sylvester Stallone gave it the lowest score of his personal ranking of the first five Rocky films.

After the enormous success of the Ivan Drago-led Rocky IV, Stallone returned to the series five years later with a lackluster follow-up that's to this day still the lowest-grossing Rocky film. The film follows a recently retired Rocky Balboa in the midst of financial ruin as he mentors a volatile young boxer named Tommy Gunn, who eventually betrays Balboa. This protégé-turned-rival storyline wasn't enough to hook audiences in, however, as Gunn is rarely found high on lists ranking all the opponents in the Rocky series. Ultimately, it's a miracle that this franchise is in the place it is today.

Why Rocky 5 Was A Mess

In Short, The Series Descended Into Over-The-Top Cheesiness

In the film, the Italian Stallion makes a less-than-grand return that picks up almost directly after the Ivan Drago fight in Rocky IV; though Rocky was victorious, he's incurred permanent brain damage that forces him into an early retirement. To make matters worse, Rocky also discovers that his corrupt ant has blown his fortune, forcing him to move back to his old Philadelphia neighborhood. As Rocky works to get back on his feet, he reopens Mighty Mick's Gym and begins mentoring young Oklahoma boxer Tommy Gunn.

Even though Rocky is triumphant, his victory feels hollow and unearned, especially since the film undercuts the heights of Rocky IV.

Trouble ensues when Tommy starts to grow frustrated with being perceived as Rocky's "shadow," and things come to a head when the ambitious fighter is booed after winning the heavyweight championship for changing managers and abandoning Rocky. Things culminate not in the ring, or a title match, but a poorly-edited street fight where Tommy initially gets the best of Rocky but is ultimately defeated after the latter is spurred on by memories of his late trainer Mickey (Burgess Meredith).

Even though Rocky is triumphant, his victory feels hollow and unearned, especially since the film undercuts the heights of Rocky IV. Plus, instead of a final climactic battle, the film concludes in a cheesy, underwhelming street brawl whose absurdity feels miles away from the emotion of the 1976 classic.

How Rocky Managed To Turn The Franchise Around

The Series Looked To Capture The Original Film's Heart

Rocky V was so bad that Sylvester Stallone wouldn't come near the boxing franchise for over 16 years, finally reprising his role as the Italian Stallion in 2006's Rocky Balboa, which, for many, was a bold return to the series' roots that injected the much-needed lifeblood of heart and true stakes to the series. While Rocky Balboa was originally meant to be Stallone's final film, he would once again act as a seasoned mentor in 2015's Creed, which es the torch to Adonis "Donny" Creed (Michael B. Jordan), the son of Rocky's greatest opponent-turned-friend, Apollo Creed.

Indeed, the Creed trilogy has breathed new life into the saga and reinvented it for a new generation, so much so that it's hard to believe that the Rocky series was nearly dead in the water after the failure of Rocky V. At the end of the day, the success of the decade-spanning franchise comes down to each film's commitment to preserving the heart and authenticity the original introduced, and it's refreshing to see that the Rocky series is in a far better place than at the beginning of the '90s.