Review of Rocky IV (1985) by Brian L — 24 May 2014

I don't get all the negative reviews for Rocky IV. It has a great villain (Drago), the death of a major character (Creed), a pounding, enjoyable soundtrack and some of the most inspirational training sequences you will ever see.

And James Brown's "Living in America" performance is iconic. Criticism of the Cold War element loses sight of the fact that, in the end, Rocky delivers a strongly apolitical message. The soul of the first film is still present here: that one person's resilience and will to go one more round can overcome seemingly impossible odds.

Maybe not the stuff of cinematic greatness, but the most entertaining Rocky installment since the original.