Genre: Drama
Directed by: Sylvester Stallone
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Dolph
Lundgren
Time: 90 minutes
Ivan Drago, a Russian boxing
champion and super athlete, arrives to America with his wife and a team of
trainers and promoters. Drago is being sold to the public as the personification
of Russian superiority. Incensed by that arrogance and wanting to prove
something to himself, Apollo Creed challenges Drago to an exhibition bout.
Sadly, Creed dies in the ring after a series of blows, under the eyes of his
friend Rocky Balboa. Balboa challenges the Russian boxer to a match, which will
take place in the USSR.
At this point, the Rocky franchise
was really starting to lose steam. Stallone, who wrote and directed the film,
all the while playing the title role, still manages to make you root for his
underdog character. That being said, the level of cheesiness and clichés is
increasing and we are going through the paces of a recipe at this point.
Rocky IV is truly a product of its
time. It is emblematic of the feeling Americans had about Russians then. The Russian
characters are over-the-top and exaggerated. Still, Dolph Lundgren, without
saying much, manages to make Drago a truly menacing presence on screen.
The training part is pretty cool,
though it feels more like a long music video than a movie. In spite of its
flaws, I will give a passing mark to this one, for the good scenes included, a
good underdog and a convincing villain.
Rating: «««
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