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Rocky IV

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Rocky IV (2021)

November. 11,2021
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6.9
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PG-13
| Drama
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Rocky Balboa proudly holds the world heavyweight boxing championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Ivan Drago, a six-foot-four, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Union.

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Mjeteconer
2021/11/11

Just perfect...

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KnotStronger
2021/11/12

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

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Ariella Broughton
2021/11/13

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

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Philippa
2021/11/14

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

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jordanthomas_2009-346-914758
2021/11/15

Rocky 4 Review 3/5Rocky 4 or (Rocky IV) see's Rocky Balboa coming out of retirement to go up against the steroid addicted Ivan Drago (and the whole of Russia) For the most part, it's poorly acted and the actors just look bored. It's clear Stallone has lost enthusiasm for the franchise writing a cliché script that just copies the best bits from the previous films whilst throwing in cheesy moments of its own. It has got to the stage now where it's in goofy guilty pleasure territory. The Rocky films were so much more than this and evidently should have ended by the third entry. The performances are wooden all round especially from Sly Stallone and Brigitte Neilson. However the last act is where the film sort of redeems itself. It's a real crowd pleaser from the training sequence to the final fight. Thankfully Rocky 5 and 6 put the franchise back on track by abandoning the silliness of this. It's not the best film in the series but it's certainly the most enjoyably stupid, cheesiest fun you'll probably have.

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mmallon4
2021/11/16

Rocky IV is one of the most entertaining movies ever made. If there was ever a movie I can turn to for just 90 minutes of pure, immense, adrenaline filled, inspirational entertainment, it's Rocky IV. The run time is the shortest of the series, but those 90 minutes are perfect. The poster for Rocky IV is displayed proudly in my bedroom, and every now and then I look at it in all its majesty with Rocky sticking his glove up in the air while draped in the stars and stripes. I feel the Rocky movies had the ideal lifespan for a movie franchise; start off serious, goof out for some fun, but then end again on a serious note.There's no question about it, Rocky IV is the most 80's movie ever. Case in point: Synthesized rock soundtrack.-Cold war propaganda. -Conservative, Reagan era values. -MTV music video style montages. -Larger than life villain. -It's a sequel of a long running franchise. -There's a robot. -Rocky drives a sports car. -Display of decadence. -Brigitte Nielsen, star of other very 80's movies Red Sonja and Cobra. -Action movie revenge plot. -Full of cheesy/corny quotable lines ("If he dies, he dies", "Whatever he hits, he destroys").Stallone's inspiration for Rocky IV came from the two fights between Joe Louis and Max Schmeling in 1936 and 1938 respectively; two fights which embodied the political and social conflict of the time - an African American taking on a supposed representation of Aryan superiority. Thus in Rocky IV we get Ivan Drago, the terrifying Aryan superman Rocky must challenge to avenge the death of his friend (could that sound more 80's?). Ivan Drago is a terminator; the strongest opponent humanly possible; however is Drago an interesting villain? I say yes; one of my favourite screen villains of all time as a matter of fact. In a memorable Siskel & Ebert moment, Roger Ebert described Drago as a "moderately interesting villain" but complained "how come he never has a single scene alone with his wife" and "why does she have nine times more dialogue than he has?". Drago doesn't speak for himself as there is no individualism in communism. I feel Dolph Lundgren gives a great physical performance, playing a character who is the opposite of Clubber Lang in that he speaks few words; succeeding in being an intimidating monster with his physical presence alone. I also love Drago's reaction to Apollo's entrance at the exhibition fight; that of a soviet being welcomed to America. Ivan Drago is a product of a state that sponsors his training as exemplified in the movie's two training montages. Drago's music theme is cold, intimidating and mechanical, just like his training. He is given steroids by his trainers and at a press conference an American reporter says "There have been rumors of blood doping and widespread distribution of anabolic steroids in the Soviet Union"; feels like an eerie foreshadowing to the state operated Russian doping scandal of 2016. Following the boycotts at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics, Rocky IV couldn't have come at a better time when sports and politics where going hand in hand. Drago's fit of rage near the end of the fight in which he proclaims "I fight to win. For me! For me!", is clearly a jab at communism as he wants to work for himself and not for glory of the country. Likewise when he lifts up and throws the Russian official who criticises him, it's a classic Frankenstein moment; the monster turning on its creator.Apollo Creed's entrance on the other hand is one of the most capitalistic things ever put on film, with James Brown singing Living In America among Belly Dancers and Apollo Creed dressed in stars and stripes; and to top it all off, it's in Las Vegas. A stark contrast to the Russians who open the Rocky-Drago fight later in the movie to their national anthem (yet another awe inspiring musical highlight in the film). Did Apollo's ego untimely kill him? Apollo's patriotic egotism clouded his better judgment and no idea just how strong Drago would be. The sheer power of Drago's punches during the fight with Creed (if you could even call it that) is exemplified by the sound effects. Also why does Drago receives no punishment for throwing the referee aside, but if I was going to point out every little thing in this movie which makes no sense I'd be here all day. There's such brutality to Creed's death; such slow motion brutality. I'll never forget my mum's reaction the first time I watched Rocky IV, a gasping "oh my God!".When I was studying for my GCSE examinations, the Rocky IV soundtrack was one of my primary sources of music listening. Whenever I have a stressful day of work I listen to the Rocky IV soundtrack when I need that extra bit of adrenaline to make me go on. Feeling down? Rocky IV soundtrack! Need inspiration? Rocky IV soundtrack! Having a workout? Rocky IV soundtrack! 20% of the Rocky IV or 23 minutes is comprised montages with songs which can make anything look epic in one of epitomes of the 1980's soundtrack; everything you would expect from a score which won the Razzi for worst music score. The score by Vince diCola has been officially released but copies are not easy to come by. The actual Rocky IV soundtrack features different versions of War and Training Montage than those which appear in the film, although these variants are good in their own right. If there is one word associated with Rocky IV, its montage. I can watch these montages over and over again and still be enthralled by them. The first training montage is heavy on it's symbolism of nature vs. machine and showcases the beauty of the Russian wilderness. Ok it's actually Wyoming but I can buy into it being a vast frozen expanse of the Soviet Union. But its training montage number 2 which has to by my favourite training montage in film history. This is partly due to John Cafferty's Hearts on Fire - a motivating, pumping song if there ever was one. That synth, god I love it! In the spirit of everything in Rocky IV being larger than life, instead of running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the montage ends with Rocky climbing a mountain.The editing of Rocky IV also contributes to the film's bombastic nature. The transitional shots of magazine covers and newspaper articles makes the film play out like more of a comic book than it already is. Likewise shots such as that of Rocky's Russian chaperone looking into binoculars gets repeated three times within a few seconds but zoomed in further each time and edited to the rhythm of the score; it's just so cool. On the other hand I even recall a review I heard for Star Wars: The Forces Awakens refer the final shot of that movie as a Rocky IV shot, in reference to the aerial shot of Rocky on top of the mountain. Is Rocky IV a more influential than the history books say?Rocky IV is incredibly distant from the first movie but this is appropriate as Rocky is out of his element and in a foreign land. This in the only film in the series not to take place in Philadelphia, unless you include the scene in the Balboa mansion although it's never made clear where the mansion is located. The No Easy Way Out montage provides you with clips from the first movie, so it the film itself allows you to bask in the stark contrast between the movies; a man who used to be a not very intelligent nobody and made money from prizefighting and working for a loan shark is now at the center of international politics.Even the sheer predictably of Rocky IV is wonderful, such as when Adrian shows up in Russia to support Rocky; it's all cliché but in the best sense of the word. The build up to the final fight and the atmosphere is so immense; there could never be a Rocky film more epic than this. By this point I'm actually scared for Rocky and fearful for his life, and Paulie's emotional out pour before the fight, it gets me every time. I don't care what anyone says, this is the greatest fight in film history. Rules don't apply and Rocky somehow lasts the 15 rounds and even wins over the crowd ("Suddenly Moscow is pro-Rocky!"). This isn't just Rocky against another opponent, this is Rocky against a superhuman, a hostile crowd, a Mikhail Gorbachev lookalike and an entire world superpower. Keep your superhero movies with their city destroying battles; this is what I call a duel! Rocky's final speech is naive in the most wonderful way. The words of the speech are so juvenile, yet when I hear Stallone utter them in the movie; it brings a tear to my eye. Did Rocky IV really help end the cold war? Who knows? Oh, and the end credits provide us with yet another awesome montage!Rocky IV embodies the essence of capitalism the American Dream; if you work hard, success is attainable. I know many would just look at the movie and scoff at it as a simplified look at the Cold War with an "us and them" mentality. But as a piece of propaganda does it work? Oh you bet it does. Rocky IV, I salute you to your over the top, cheesy 80's perfection. Rocky IV > Citizen Kane

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marieltrokan
2021/11/17

Antagonistic mission is safe non-missionNon-mission is non-objectiveNon-objective is non-separationNon-separation is non-selfNon-self is non-observationSafe is separationSeparation is observationObservation non-observation is hypocritical non-observationHypocritical non-observation is non-observation hypocriticalNon-observation hypocritical is hypocrisy of non-intrusionNon-intrusion is non-abuseNon-abuse is toleranceTolerance is implied dangerImplied danger is danger of implicationDanger of implication is danger of possibilityDanger of possibility is safety of impossibilityImpossible safety is certain dangerCertain danger is safetySafety is hypocriticalHypocrisy is safeHypocrisy is good

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John austin
2021/11/18

Leave it to Hollywood to take a good concept and run it right into the ground. Rocky IV is even more overblown than Rocky III, which, while being a fairly decent movie, was a monument to everything that was tacky about the 1980s.You'll get the idea here pretty quick. Rocky vanquished all the domestic competition in the first three movies, so now he has to take on a Russian superfighter, a communist giant with no conscience and trained with cutting edge, high-tech 1980s Soviet boxing methods. (This movie came out during abrief period in history when there was a popular belief that the Soviet Union possessed advanced scientific training methods that enabled them to beat the rest of the world in Olympic sports. After awhile we all figured out they were just shooting everyone up with enormous amounts of steroids). By the fourth movie, Rocky is little more than a flawed, rough edged boxing themed superhero, and the whole thing has degenerated from Oscar caliber material to action movie status. It looks real good, I'll give it that. They spent lots of money on it. But if you watch the original Rocky and then watch this, you'll just be depressed with where they decided to go with the thing.

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