1985 | Dir. Sylvester Stallone | 90 Minutes
"If I can change, and you can change, everybody can change."
While participating in a politically-charged exhibition match against monstrous Soviet boxer Ivan Drago, Apollo Creed is brutally beaten to death. Feeling guilty for refusing to answer Drago’s initial challenge, and motivated by his desire to avenge Apollo, Rocky travels to the Soviet Union to face Drago in the ring before the eyes of the world.
Clocking in at a brisk 90 minutes, Rocky IV is an entertaining but surreal addition to the Rocky film series. Somehow, a robot servant, a musical number featuring James Brown, and not one, but two extended montage sequences make it into the film. The first montage, occurring roughly halfway through the film, cheaply makes liberal use of footage from previous Rocky films. The signature Rocky training montage is quite on-the-nose thematically, juxtaposing Rocky's utilization of old-world methods to strengthen himself against Drago's use of state-of-the-art equipment and chemical enhancement, painting Rocky as the undisputed humble moral superhero. Consistent with the inconsistent nature of the movie, Vince DiCola's synth-heavy film score is rather outlandish and distracting, running counter to the timeless quality of Bill Conti's work on the previous three films.
Sylvester Stallone, Carl Weathers, Talia Shire, and Burt Young remain consistent in the roles of Rocky, Apollo, Adrian, and Paulie. The breakout star of the film is Dolph Lundgren in a controlled performance as Ivan Drago, ice cold and laconic until his pride takes over during his fight against Rocky. Tony Burton, who appeared in the previous Rocky films as Apollo's trainer, has an expanded role training Rocky in honor of his fallen friend.
Jettisoning realism in favor of sensationalism, Rocky IV takes the Rocky myth deep into the realm of implausibility. Ultimately, the film is an over-the-top Cold War era superhero film with an idealistic if over-simplistic message, placing it squarely in the so-bad-it's-good category.
ROCKY VS. DRAGO DIRECTOR'S CUT
Released in 2021, Sylvester Stallone spent about nine months assembling a director's cut entitled Rocky IV: Rocky Vs. Drago that's a markedly improved, slightly more deliberate edition of the film. While the underlying Cold War era propaganda of the picture is downplayed significantly, it still intrinsically a part of the movie, the mostly subtle changes are significant enough to give the feature more genuine emotional content. Excised are all of the scenes with the robot and most of the Rocky Jr. scenes. In their place are a treasure trove of truly excellent character moments and alternate takes retrieved from the cutting room floor that highlight Apollo, Adrian, Duke, and even Drago. More attention is paid to Apollo's motivation for wanting to fight Drago in order to maintain his pride and recognition as a fighter, Drago is afforded a few more moments that emphasize his inability to speak freely which goes a long way to give the role more humanity, and there is more dramatic Rocky and Adrian material that grant the couple a more satisfying emotional arc. The fights are structured much better in that they don't feel nearly as lopsided as in the original 1985 release, and one key alternate take featured in the final minutes removes the impression that Rocky's speech somehow moved the Soviet Politburo in any meaningful way, doing a better job of grounding the overall narrative considering the global political landscape of the time. The director's cut also features selections from Bill Conti's Rocky scores mixed with the existing Vince DiCola music, giving the picture more of a sense of continuity with the rest of the series.
FRAGMENTS
- Brigitte Nielsen, Stallone's wife at the time of the film's release, plays Ludmilla, Drago's wife and promoter
- Bill Conti was unavailable to compose the score for Rocky IV at the time of the film's development, working on music for The Karate Kid at the time
- Before becoming an action movie star after his breakout performance in Rocky IV, Dolph Lundgren attained a master's degree in chemical engineering and achieved the rank 3rd dan black belt in karate
SUPPLEMENTAL STUFF
- Video: CollegeHumor - If Rocky 4 Happened For Real (30 for 30 Parody)
- Video: The Making of ROCKY VS. DRAGO by Sylvester Stallone
007 CONNECTIONS
- Dolph Lundgren (Venz in A View to a Kill)
MCU CONNECTIONS
- Sylvester Stallone (Stakar in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)
007 CONNECTIONS
- Dolph Lundgren (Venz in A View to a Kill)
MCU CONNECTIONS
- Sylvester Stallone (Stakar in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)
