Rocky IV (1985)

This 35th-anniversary re-release of the political Rocky instalment is ridiculously entertaining and impeccably well constructed, even if preposterous. The critic highlights the extra footage from the Apollo Creed funeral and additional fight scenes in the cleaned-up director’s cut.

Stallone sloughs it off shamelessly in Rocky IV but it remains impossible not to root for the underdog to whup the bully one more time. Beyond its visceral appeal the film is truly the worst of the lot with a contrived opponent in Dolph Lundgren, though the fight scenes still pull in fans despite being predictable and preposterous.

Rocky IV turns the boxer into an international diplomat battling a Soviet villain in a contest framed as us against them, but the two fights share the same carnival sameness that has become the series' most debilitating feature. The visual style emphasizes slow-motion bodily fluids while Drago stands out as a vivid new villain.

The film is reduced to its barest three-act structure of revenge against a Russian opponent, with other characters diminished to shadows and dialogue that is witless. It delivers raw emotion as battleground cinema despite the political messaging and focus on Rocky.

The Rocky series has lost its legs with this predictable last gasp that drains out human emotions in favor of technology and MTV-style montages. The fight scenes and contrived plot points like a chanting Russian crowd feel unbelievable and formulaic.

Stallone’s re-edit of his Cold War sequel is a ridiculous and largely pointless undertaking that fails to salvage the film. The critic singles out the persistent goofy Reagan-era fantasy and political saber-rattling, along with the unsettling death of Apollo Creed, as elements that render the redemption arc hollow.

The critic finds the film ridiculous jingoistic nonsense that threw credibility out the window by turning the story into a Cold War parable. He singles out the excessive focus on bulging physiques in the training sequences and fight for complaint.

Stallone's isolation as a filmmaker who tasted early success leads to the elephantine vacuousness of Rocky IV, which pits Rocky against the Soviet Union in sweaty supercolossal close-ups. The film portrays Soviets as simplistic animals and technology as no match for a pure heart, resulting in grim and witless storytelling.

Stallone's director's cut removes the robot and restores character moments, making the film more earnest and honest while humanizing Drago and better explaining Apollo's decision to fight. It remains imperfect due to its montages but is a clear improvement over the original theatrical version.

The film is a reductive Cold War fairy tale and one-dimensional kids' movie that pads its short runtime with montages and a talking robot, marking a sharp departure from the earlier entries in the series. The critic recalls its energetic appeal and crowd-pleasing excitement as a child in 1985 but notes how dated and simplistic it now seems.