(Theatrical Cut)

“I must break you.”

There isn’t really a definitive answer, but Rocky IV takes place relatively shortly after the end of Rocky III. Rocky remains a professional boxer, and the reigning heavyweight champion at that. When the Soviet Union arrives with its new absolute beast of a fighter by the name of Ivan Drago, they quickly challenge Rocky to a fight to prove to the world their country’s strength in professional sports.

Rocky IV starts off with a very powerful and poignant end to its first act, which starts the main story and plot of the movie. It’s probably the most emotional moment of the entire franchise up to this point, and really sets the tone and feel of the rest of the film. Rocky is tested very differently psychologically here, and what happens at the beginning raises the stakes to the highest they’ve ever been in the franchise, not only for Rocky, but for the country. For the country, Rocky has to prove to the Soviet Union that they do not, in fact, have the best athletes, and for Rocky himself, he has to prove his own worth yet again due to the nature of what happens around the beginning of the film. The movie essentially takes a stand against the Cold War, something I’ll get into later.

Not only are the stakes higher for all the previous reasons I already mentioned, but the new antagonist, Ivan Drago, is easily, by a landslide, the most intimidating and powerful foe in the entire franchise, even after this movie. He’s an absolute monster who, unlike Rocky, dedicates every second of his life to boxing because it’s all he has, whereas Rocky has a family he cares about. He does have something to both prove and lose, however, just like Rocky, where the whole nation of the Soviet Union, mainly with his wife and leaders, is fully depending on him to prove themselves to the world in the game of boxing. Just like Clubber Lang in the last movie, he is pretty one-dimensional for the most part, but there are definitely a few more layers to him, such as the ones I just mentioned, making him a bit more compelling. This is off topic, and I won’t mention this film in the rest of my review, but I think Creed II does a fantastic job of continuing his character arc and adding a lot more depth to him.

Rocky IV also takes the campiness of Rocky III and moves it up a notch. It’s even more over-the-top and also feels very different. The editing is what really makes it stand out, and I think the way the film is edited is fantastic. Instead of having one dedicated training montage, the entire movie almost feels like a training montage, with the score and soundtrack being far more used than in any previous Rocky movie. From a less in-depth view, it’s arguably the most entertaining movie in the whole series, never letting up with its plot momentum and character progression. It’s also filled to the brim with training sequences, almost to a ridiculous level (in a rather good way, I would say). I would say that this is one of the most adrenaline-filled sports movies of all time, really giving you that “pumped up” feeling almost from start to finish.

With the score and soundtrack being used a lot more, thankfully, they are both amazing. This has the best music of the whole series, in my opinion, with “No Easy Way Out” by Robert Tepper being my personal favorite. The score, however, is equally as good. Obviously, nothing will ever top “Gonna Fly Now,” “Going the Distance,” or “The Final Bell” from the original Rocky, but the tracks used for the training stuff in this movie are definitely the second-best overall in the franchise, and add to that “adrenaline” feeling of the film.

Now, as much as I like Rocky IV, I would be lying if I didn’t say that it disappointed me a bit on this rewatch. I hope that most of my issues with this version are resolved or improved in the director’s cut that was released a few years ago, which I plan to watch and review soon, but I’ll mention my criticisms here anyway. The most glaring issue, easily, is how fast-paced Rocky IV is. Rocky III was pretty fast-paced, especially in comparison to both Rocky and Rocky II, but never at the sacrifice of emotional or character-driven moments. Unfortunately, Rocky IV moves at such a breakneck speed that it never really lingers on any big key moments that would have been a lot more impactful if the film had focused more on them. The most obvious one is what happens at the end of the first act, which is still pretty impactful in its own right, but the movie moves on from it pretty quickly. Rocky pretty abruptly decides to go to Russia to fight Ivan Drago, and from there until the very end, the movie really never stops. If you are looking for a pure entertaining sports movie, this is certainly it, but I wish that it had focused more on the central story and characters.

Another issue, which is definitely much smaller, is the way it handles its themes. It was pretty brave and bold for Stallone to comment on the Cold War here, and I love the idea, but the way it executes its themes comes off as a little cheesy and unimpactful. The speech at the end is definitely a bit too much.

I really like Rocky IV; it has some of the best training montages, arguably the best music, and is a pure adrenaline rush. I do see a lot of room for improvement, though, which is why I am eager to check out the director’s cut.