Rocky Collection

Sylvester Stallone

Dolph Lundgren

Carl Weathers

Talia Shire

Burt Young

Brigitte Nielsen

Tony Burton

Michael Pataki

Stu Nahan

R.J. Adams

Al Bandiero

Dominic Barto

Danial Brown

James Brown

Rose Mary Campos

Jack Carpenter

Mark De Alessandro

Marty Denkin

Lou Fillipo

James 'Cannonball' Green

Dean Hammond

Rocky Krakoff

Sergei Levin

Tony Maffatone

Sylvia Meals

Dwayne McGee

LeRoy Neiman

George Pipasik

George Rogan

Barry Tompkins

Warner Wolf

Robert Doornick

Richard Blum

Gerald Berns

Ray Glanzmann

Julie Inouye

Patrick Pankhurst

Jean Thoreau

Jim Bullock

Frank D'Annibale

Rose Dursey

Richard A. Kelley

Craig Schaefer

Jeff Austin

Leslie Morris

Bob Giovane

Julio Herzer

George Spaventa

Rolf Williams

Jim Hodges

Robert Chartoff

Irwin Winkler

Vince DiCola

Bill Butler

John W. Wheeler

Don Zimmerman

Bill Kenney

Tom Bronson

Stephen Abrums

Leonard Engelman

JoAnn May-Pavey

Howard Jensen

Gene LeBell

Robin Garb

William Ladd Skinner

James R. Connell

John J. Connor

Michael Genne

Johnny Walker

Kenneth Zunder

Walt Fraser

Paul Mindrup

Dave Friedman

Charles M. Wilborn

William Gocke

Colin J. Campbell

Robert Jason

Jim Sheppherd

Tom D. May

Barbara Lorenz

Robert H. Lemer

William Chartoff

Chriss Strauss

Louis S. Fleming

Bill Wells

Roger Irvin

Michael J. Long

Linda Henrikson

Murray Lantz

James R. Symons

Tim Board

James D. Young

Frank E. Warner

Bill Wylie

Gary S. Gerlich

Victoria Martin

Andy Patterson

Mary Andrews

Gregory M. Gerlich

Barbara Gandolfo-Frady

Patrick Magee

Martin November

Leslie Gaulin

Paul Cichocki

Rosemarie Urioste

Markus Schaub

Barbara Harris

Wayne Fitzgerald

Michael J. Kohut

Aaron Rochin

Jay M. Harding

Ray O'Reilly

Michael McKensie Pratt

Eric D. Andersen

Jack N. Green

Robert Ennis

Philip Linzey

Rod Parkhurst

Brenton Spencer

Tony Westman

Marti Wright

Wayne McLaughlin

Thom Wells

George Erschbamer

Ben Rusi

Susan Malloy

Jayne Dancose

Donna Bis

Candice Field

Karen Stewart

Ron Lambert

James D. Brubaker

Arthur Chobanian

Amanda Mackey

Rick Gentz

Mary Eilts

Duncan Henderson

Janet G. Knutsen

Christopher Ryan

Julie Pitkanen

Drama

Rocky IV

United Artists

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Chartoff-Winkler Productions

United States of America

The Movie Mob

**The greatest Rocky movie? I think it could be.**

It's hard to pick a favorite Rocky movie, but Rocky IV definitely makes its case for first place. The epic showdown with Ivan Drago drips with emotion, heart, and motivation in ways the other movies can't match. Add the restless conflict between USA and Russia at the time, and it just doesn't get better. Getting the final fight perfect was so crucial that Sylvester Stallone recommended actually boxing and ended up in the hospital after getting knocked out by Dolph Lundgren. Ivan Drago is, without a doubt, the franchise's best villain. The development of Rocky and Apollo's relationship in Rocky IV is a beautiful credit to excellent writing and four movies worth of growth. The added Christmas spirit gives the film more character. If you had to watch only one Rocky, I would say pick this one, but it's only as great as it is because it stands on the shoulders of the movies that came before.

I liked it and then I didn't like it and now I like it again. I have a serious love/hate relationship with this one.

The hate comes from Rocky and Rocky II and a little bit, just a little from Rocky III. This was a film focused more on the fight than the Rocky story and, just like Rocky III, and, honestly, I miss the heartfelt Rocky family part of the franchise.

Mickey, Creed, Adrian, Paulie, they were the real heart behind what made the Rocky movies great and.... this focused more on the fight.

However, it was inspirational and that is what you ultimately sit down to watch a Rocky movie for. You want to see the little guy, the under dog struggle and work hard and give it his best win or lose... and the best part about the Rocky franchise is that he doesn't always win, you see him hurt, you see him lose, and you see him get back up and fight.

And that is what Rocky IV delivers.

Nathan

Unfortunately, Rocky IV is the first film in the series that has disappointed me.

This film had major tonal conflicts. For starters, the film is trying to have a very tragic story that motivates Rocky with the death of Apollo Creed, but at the same time has goofy scenes of a robot housewife. I did not like the ungroundedness that began to take shape here. This film also drew the least amount of emotion from me. I felt that Apollo Creed’s character regressed in this film, with him underestimating Ivan Drago the same way he underestimated Rocky in the original film. He no longer had the humble wisdom that he portrayed in Rocky III and was all about the spectacle and show. Additionally, I thought this opponent was the weakest of the series. This is probably due to the main connection between the two boxers being the death of Apollo, and that aspect fell flat for me. The final fight was the least exciting of the series, mainly due to the lack of buildup.

The acting is pretty similar to the third film, with Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, and Carl Weathers all doing an excellent job. But the same complaint I had in Rocky III remains in this film, with the main antagonist being extremely corny and poorly acted. The silent, stoic figure of Drago was intimidating but lacked any emotional connection that the previous antagonists had.

I would like to note that this film had a little too much 80s music for my liking. I really enjoyed the track "Eye of the Tiger," like in the third film, but I felt that there were not enough of the classic Rocky themes that really boosted the training segments.

Overall, I still enjoyed this film, even with all of its flaws.

Score: 57% | 
Verdict: Decent