Review of Rocky IV (1985) by Alexander Z — 26 Aug 2012

Rocky IV seems to be telling me that lumberjacks should be boxers.

Rocky IV sacrifices realism completely for a ridiculous villain, which we were already in danger of with III's Clubber Lang. Yet, T gave Clubber dimension. By contrast, Lundgren is given absolutely no chances to act. Additionally, we get more montages than ever before (at least three times the time is spent on these), actors that are now just going through the motions, and a talking robot. Yes, really. This is not a good movie compared to the previous three. Stallone's direction is awful and the writing is bad. The biggest problem is that the series finally gave in completely to the 80s and simply features the music very prominently in a lot of scenes rather than the actors. Whatever drama there could have been is gone in a whizz of synths and guitar riffs. However, this doesn't change the fact that Rocky IV is fun as shit. Really it is. Worth watching, but you should have different expectations.