Rocky IV (1985) Review

"I must break you."

-Ivan Drago

Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), a Soviet boxer, comes to the United States and faces Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) in an exhibition match, with Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) working as Creed's trainer.  The match goes horribly wrong and Creed is beaten to death by Drago.  Motivated by revenge, Rocky travels to Moscow to face off against Drago himself in the toughest match of his life.

What Works:

Ivan Drago is another fantastic villain to go up against Rocky.  He is the polar opposite of Clubber Land (Mr. T) from the previous film.  Clubber was loud, obnoxious, and in your face.  Drago is emotionless throughout the majority of the film, has very little dialogue, and just comes off as cold and brutal.  He's very different from anything Rocky has faced before.  He is also a massive guy and extremely intimidating.  He's a great foe for Rocky to face especially with the added personal conflict of Drago having killed Apollo.

Their final battle is also really epic.  Apart from the Balboa vs. Creed fight at the end of Rocky II, this may be my favorite fight so far in the series.  The sheer brutality from Drago against the determination from Rocky is extremely satisfying to watch.  It's an exciting match that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

One of my complaints about the previous film is the roles of Paulie (Burt Young) and Adrian (Talia Shire).  Paulie is much more likable this time around and they don't make Shire go outside of her acting range.  She doesn't yell at Rocky this time and it's a much more believable performance.

Finally, while there are probably too many montage sequences in the film, I really did like the ones showing Rocky and Dragon training.  They have some really nice parallels and interesting match cuts.  Drago is training in a state-of-the-art facility, while Rocky is out at a snowy cabin in the woods.  It's a cool montage sequence and the filmmakers got very creative with it.

What Sucks:

This movie is only 91 minutes, but there is a bunch of filler.  As per usual, we see a good amount of the fight from the previous film to start to movie off.  Fine.  Later we get a montage sequence of Rocky driving his car and having flashbacks to all of the previous movies.  There is no point to this sequence.  There is also the robot, which is kinda fun, but ultimately doesn't add anything to the story.

I think the movie could have used a couple more scenes to increase the tension between Rocky and Drago.  Maybe add something in after Rocky arrives in Russia.  Like I said, it's a short movie with a lot of filler.  A few more scenes with substance would have been nice.

Finally, having all of the Soviet spectators cheering for Rocky during the fight came off as really silly.  I get that during the Cold War this probably played really well with American audiences, but I was absolutely rolling my eyes.

Verdict:

Of these first three sequels, Rocky IV is my favorite.  Ivan Drago is a fantastic villain, the final fight is brutally epic, the supporting character are more likable, and some of the montage sequences are fun.  The movie is too short, it has too much filler, and it is a bit silly at times, but I'd still say that Rocky IV has got it going on.

 7/10: Good