ROCKY IV REVIEW!!! (ROCKY/CREED MARATHON)

Initial release date: November 27, 1985

Studios: MGM/United Artists

Plot: After reclaiming the boxing championship title, Rocky Balboa plans to retire and live with his wife, Adrian. However, during an exhibition match, Rocky's friend Apollo Creed is mercilessly beaten to death by hulking Russian newcomer Ivan Drago. Rocky vows payback against Drago and flies to Russia to train for a Christmas Day fight. Despite their different training methods, Rocky and Drago both wage a long and intense match.

Cast

Sylvester Stallone - Rocky Balboa

Talie Shire - Adrian

Burt Young - Paulie

Carl Weathers - Apollo Creed

Brigitte Nielsen - Ludmilla

Tony Burton - Duke

Michael Pataki - Nicoli Koloff

Dolph Lundgren - Ivan Drago

Writer/director: Sylvester Stallone

Rated PG (91 minutes)

Now moving on to Rocky IV, where there is a brutal fighting Russian, another tragic event for Balboa and a robot. Yes, you read that right ... A ROBOT ... I'll be getting to that in just a little bit.

Adding a brutal character like Ivan Drago definitely raises the stakes for the saga. This boxer is really tough and shows absolutely no mercy. Before Rocky ends up fighting Drago, Drago goes a few rounds with Apollo Creed. The boxing match between them is really tense and the beginning of it is really fun and a tad on the campy side ... they have James Brown perform a song during Apollo's intro.

And going into spoiler territory again if you haven't seen this - Drago gets the upper hand and ends up beating Apollo literally to death. Seeing Balboa holding on to Apollo while he slowly slipped away is another powerful/emotional moment - just like when Mickey died in Rocky III. This is where Balboa wants to have a match with the Russian boxer. Also, there isn't as much boxing in this as previous movies but there's a lot of flashbacks and training montages. The fight between Balboa and Drago is really awesome too and is the highlight of the movie.

So, how about that robot ... For Paulie's birthday, the really rich Rocky Balboa gets his pal and brother in law a robot since Paulie's been lonely. I think the addition of the robot made this really cheesy. And, now, I am going to be checking out Rocky V, which from what I've read is the worst of the main series. So, let's see how this goes!!!

Don't forget you can catch the original series on Paramount Plus if you have a subscription or can rent them on various PVOD services!

Here are some interesting tidbits for Rocky IV:

• During filming, Lundgren and Weathers really didn't get along and got into an altercation. Lundgren threw Weathers into a corner of the boxing ring. After that, Weathers shouted profanities at Lundgren while leaving the ring and announced that he was calling his agent and quitting the movie. Only after Stallone forced the two actors to reconcile did the movie continue.

• Rocky IV became the highest grossing film in the series to date, taking in just over $300 million worldwide.

• Stallone's original cut of the movie was about one hour longer than the final cut. The final cut of the film is the shortest of the series, clocked in at 91 minutes.

• The film is recognized as being ahead of its time in its demonstration of ground-breaking high tech sporting equipment, some of which was experimental and twenty years from public use.

• Early drafts of the script had Mr. T reprising his role as Clubber Lang.

• While this film was Lundgren's break-out role, it wasn't his first appearance on the big screen. He had a minor role in the James Bond film A View to a Kill.

• This was the last film that Stallone directed until 2006s Rocky Balboa.

• This is one of the few sports movies that apply genuine sound effects from actual punches, bona-fide training methods created by boxing consultants, and a bevy of other special effects.

• In order to sell Drago's killing blow to Apollo, Carl Weathers made it a point to land face first and feign a twitching motion after hitting the ground. He was so convincing that the on-set physician feared he had actually been injured.

• Over the five day Thanksgiving weekend, it grossed a non-summer record $31,770,105. In its fourth week of release, it expanded to a then-record 2,232 screens. It spent a total of 6 weeks as the No. 1 film at the US box office, staying on top through the Christmas and New Year period, and grossed a domestic total of $127.8 million.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIE5HYkzvV0