Review of Rocky IV (1985) by Jason D — 11 Nov 2009

Sylvester Stallone writes, directs, and stars in yet another entry in the ever-so popular Rocky franchise. In Rocky IV, best friends Rocky and Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers again) are considerably old-timers in the game of boxing, however Creed cannot accept this and goes after one last big ticket boxing promotion in the form of Russian boxing machine Ivan Drago (powerhouse Dolph Lundgren in his film debut) whose secretive (as well as illegal) training has turned him into a force to be reckon with, which Creed finds out first hand in a boxing match that proves to be fatal.

With the death of Creed, Rocky is determined to get back at the Russians, not just for Creed, or himself, but also for America overall. Forced to box in Russia, Rocky and his crew head up to the snowy terrains to train vigorously for the ultimate fight.

That corny 80's look and feel is even more prevalent in this fourth entry to the Rocky series, however, the film STILL manages to deliver a rousing and entertaining movie that inspires and brings back a little bit of that underdog story.

Lundgren proves to be a formidable antagonist (his few lines are great) in this film as does his wife and speaker Brigitte Nielson (in her prime, before she totally lost it and became disgusting), and the rest of the returning cast does a bang up job.

There's a little bit of that old school timidness that Adrian's character used to have in the first two, but its only minor to her massive character change that took place between parts 3 and 5.

The inclusion of the robot (not to mention the music) in the film definitely tops any type of corny 80's moments in the previous sequel and probably stands throughout the entire franchise. Makes me laugh every time.

Still...a fun film!