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279 reviews in total

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101 out of 128 people found the following review useful:
Forget the politics and this is one of the most entertaining films ever made, 22 September 1999
Author: Dan Grant (dan.grant@bell.ca) from Toronto, Ontario

In 1976, a phenom was born. By now we are all aware of the story of how Stallone wrote the screenplay for Rocky in three days after watching a fight between an extreme underdog and a highly favoured champ. Stallone was a nobody back then yet he still stood his ground and didn't sell out to the producers until they promised him the title role. The rest they say is history. Well 9 years later, after three Rocky films, in my opinion comes the best one. I realize that Rocky was all story and then a climatic boxing match and that is what won the film the Oscar. And even though I can admit that this film is not as concerned with character developement as it is with training montages and bulging muscles, it is by far and away the most entertaining film of the 5. And that is what I enjoy about the film. I love that Rocky IV has some of the best training montages ever filmed. I love that it has the heart of a lion when it shows Rocky scaling a mountain that you know damn well he shouldn't be able to. And I absolutely love the boxing match at the end of the film. This was completely choreographed by Stallone and he and Dolph Lundgren boxed for real for about 75% of the match. Stallone felt that it needed some authenticity so that was the way to do it. And if you think Robert De Niro is an impressive method actor, try this fact on for size. When filming the boxing match, some of the scenes were so real that Stallone was rushed to hospital because his heart was actually pushed up and his ribcage was slightly shattered. So when you watch that match at the end, just know that what you are seeing is not exactly choreography and trick camera work. They did the best job they could to keep the look of the fight as real as possible. And I think this is the best boxing match ever filmed, with all due respect to Raging Bull.

Stallone was in the shape of his life in this year as he filmed Rocky and Rambo back to back and it shows. I have never seen a more sculpted man in the movies than he was here. And I think that added to his superman persona. If you notice in all the Rocky films, he grows a little each time. And that also adds to the enjoyment of the film.

Rocky IV is different than Rocky, there is no doubt. And as much as I love the first one, it doesn't come close to entertaining me as much as this one does. Rocky IV starts fast and it ends hard and in between we are blessed with a great soundtrack and a beautiful montage of all the Rocky films to Robert Tepper's "There's No Easy Way Out" And it is here that even though some will say that Stallone has substituted real human emotion with an MTV ersatz video, I think it works well. There is nothing about this film that I didn't enjoy and if you forget what the experience of watching this one is like, I suggest that you rent it now and take a look at it. And try to remember what it was like when you first saw this film back in the winter of 85. I remember I was in Kokomo Indiana visiting family for Christmas. My mom and I walked into a packed theater and you want to talk about a place erupting like a volcano, then this was the place. When Rocky finally hits Drago to cut him over the eye and Duke yells " he's cut, he's cut! " the crowd went into a frenzy. And you can look no further than that as to why the Rocky films were so popular. It doesn't matter if you are Canadian, American, Portuguese, Polish or Dutch or whatever, Rocky appeals to all of us. Because all of us have been the underdog at some time in our lives and we love to watch him and perhaps live vicariously through him. That is the beauty of Rocky. If Rocky can do it then dammit so can I!

When the movie ended on that cold night back in 1985, and people were filtering out to their cars for the drive home, I swear I could hear the crowd chanting his name, as did the millions..... and millions of the Rock's fans.

" Rocky! Rocky! Rocky!"

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44 out of 59 people found the following review useful:
No Credibility, But Sure Is Entertaining, 24 June 2006

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from United States

Here's another low-brained but very entertaining "Rocky" movie with one more interesting villain. Instead Of "Apollo Creed" or "Mr. T.," we now have "Ivan Drago,"(Dolph Lundgren) a giant Russian who is more like a machine. He's "indestructable" (and on steroids, too, and unlike some baseball slugger, he admits it!). He has the latest in technology, nutrition, etc., but you just know the much-smaller disadvantaged hero "Rocky Balboa" (Sylvester Stallone) will somehow find a way to chop this "Goliath" down.

Minute-for-minute, this might be the most entertaining of all the Rocky films, and looks good on DVD despite some graininess in the first five minutes. Rocky's wife "Adrian" (Talia Shire) never looked better: mature and pretty; the gruff and profane manager played Burgess Meredith is gone and the repellent obnoxious slob "Paulie" (Burt Young) has only a few lines.

This is the ultimate "David vs. Goliath" tale in every aspect and the final bout - held in Russia - breaks the all-time Rocky record for most punches ever thrown at two fighters. Of course, any real-life human would have been knocked cold about 50 times had they suffered the blows "Rocky" did in this fight!

This is a real flag-waving film with Rocky draping the Stars and Stripes around his shoulders. It's a totally unrealistic story but, all of these in the series were similar, credibility-wise, so just go along with it and enjoy the story. It's only an hour-and-a-half and story literally flies by.

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40 out of 58 people found the following review useful:
Popeye beats Bluto again...., 14 January 2000

Author: gazzo-2 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Oh Man I loved this one when it came out...the death of Apollo Creed, Stallone standing up for Reagan America in his quest to hammer the Evil Empire's steroided up UberMan Drago. You don't for a second actually Believe that Stallone could kayo Lundgren(Dolph is 6-5-220 plus, a kick boxing champ-Sly 5-9ish, 190) but who cares?! It was great to watch them whale away at one another in Russia like that, surrounded by 10,000 Red Guards, a Gorby lookalike and Brigette Neilson there....

Stallone really took to the MTV style of editing in III and does it again here, with the training montages, Survivor/James Brown/Robert Tepper tunes, etc. very well. I personally enjoyed the contrasts-see Stallone chop wood. See Drago pump iron. See Stallone run acrost a snowy field. See Drago run on an Olympic treadmill. See Stallone do crunches while half-suspended from a loft. See Drago bend every concievable advanced weight machine outta shape as he flexes and trains. See Stallone eat his spinach. See Drago take his Steroids....

Basically you know going in, Drago has no chance, the old David vs. Goliath thing all over. And you know when Stallone re-does his run up the Phillie steps thing again, this time up a mountain, losing the KGB in the process, that he is gonna win or die, plain as that.

The fight is as ratcheted up and brutal as they come, really overkill, over-done, I think that Stallone is knocked down something like 8 times, in truth he would have been TKO'd or put into a coma by the 3rd round. And Drago, too, woulda had to suck soup through a straw and filter for 5 weeks himself...Realism isn't the game here, though. Fun is, excitement, getting caught up in the moment, all of it. This film just could not have been made at anytime save the cold War '50s or '80s. Audiences to intuned to the grunge/ironic/'Whatever'/Friends crap of the first half the '90s especially would have laughed this off the screen or gone to bed. Audiences in '85-86...this is what they, WE wanted, and we got, big time....

Things to not worry about in this film, though are debits to the Rocky IV viewing experience--same old, same old performances/roles for Adrian and Paulie. They were brought along for the ride once again, same as Scottie and Bones were for the 19th time in the way too many Trek sequels. And you can't say Brigette got anywheres in Hollywood on her talent, ya know? Just can't see it. Camera loved her, but....

Anyways--as you can tell I ate this one up, and still like it, its my second fave Rocky film.

So, what is the Gazzo-2 rating?

***1/2 outta ****, Cartoony to the max, (Is Not Documentary!)-much fun.

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48 out of 74 people found the following review useful:
A reasonable fourth instalment, as long as you suspend ALL disbelief!, 4 February 1999
Author: Glyn Ingram (mringram@hotmail.com) from London, England

And so, after taking on the might of none other than Mr. T in part III (And winning), Rocky Balboa (Sylverster Stallone) returns to face his greatest challenge yet - Defeating the Russian heavyweight super-strength and steroid-powered boxer, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundren).... ....And there's not much else happening in this formulaic but embarrassingly entertaining and feel-good fourth instalment in the "Rocky" series, which, as it happens, ended up being the second from final one to be made. As yet.

It's the death of Rocky's enemy-turned-friend Apollo Creed (The disappearing Carl Weathers) in the movie's first half that sees Rocky return to the ring. He goes to Russia to train for the match, despite warnings that another fight could kill him. Que plenty of genuinely exciting training sequences, with lots of nice 80's music played in the background, as Rocky prepares to wipe out the man who was responsible for his friend's death.

There's some highly memorable lines and moments in there as well, such as the scene where Drago's punching power is measured, and the chilling moment where Drago utters to Creed "You will lose." Some of the dialogue is so preposterous, however, that you'll probably find yourself laughing, particularly towards the end where Drago discovers that he isn't the iron man he thought he was.

Yep, it's trashy, but it's damn good fun. The boxing scenes are as unrealistic and silly as ever (As if the Russian spectators in the final boxing match would end up cheering for Drago's opponent, and AS IF you would hear those loud clumping noises every time a punch is thrown!), but Sylveser Stallone is always watchable as the simple but likeable boxer, whilst Dolph Lundren has probably never been on better form. Following the death of Apollo Creed, there's a wonderfully directed moment in the movie where, with no dialogue at all, the eyes of Both Drago and Rocky meet for several seconds - This tiny sequence alone sort of spells out what the rest of the movie is going to be about!

There's plenty of steroetyping in there too (Look at the way the Russians are portrayed), and Talia Shire is as miserable and irritable as ever as Rocky's put-on wife. The usual support is back in there too in the form of Burt Young and the amazing Brigette Neilson, and, believe it or not, much can be said for Stallone's direction; he may not be too worried about realism or plot, but when it comes to exciting and entertaining his audience, he really is something quite special.

All in all, this is trashy fun, but it's still fun, and, whilst it's nowhere near as mature as the original "Rocky," it probably remains the best out of the four sequels (Two being the worst). Not bad at all.

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41 out of 69 people found the following review useful:
Gets my blood pumping, 2 May 2001

Author: mm-39 from Winnipeg

This film gets my blood pumping, with a new angle on it the Soviets vers the Americans. Rocky, must go to the Soviet Union to fight the Soviet champ after his friend is killed. Ivan Drago is portrayed as what the Soviet system can create, and Rocky a symbol of American grit has to defend the American way, and correct a personal mistake. This film is directed so well that it gets my blood pumping, the fight scenes, and personal dialogue is incredible. You leave this film on a high; Rocky, Rocky 3 and 4 know how to entertain, and I would not miss them for the world.

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18 out of 27 people found the following review useful:
This film will pump you up!, 30 November 2005

Author: cinemasaver from United States

Rocky IV really stood out from the rest of the Rocky films to me, with the whole America versus Russia ordeal. Now it has been mentioned by other critics that this is inaccurate, but who really cares??? The point is that you really get to the point where you want Sly to kick Dragos butt in the ring. I enjoyed the training montage, and the boxing scene was so entertaining for me. And with the Russian leaders, and the Russian public standing up and cheering and clapping for Rocko.. a bit corny but so great.Talia shire in my opinion is at her best in this one out of all the other ones; she seems more confident and easier to get along with her character. And one of the most dramatic scenes to hit cinema was the death of Carl Weathers(Apollo Creed). The idea of fighting for the death of his friend, and for himself is just so inspirational. It just makes you want to jump up and get in the ring to help rocko. Out of a perfect score of 10, i gave this one a 7.

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13 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Dolph is the highlight, 4 November 2006

Author: Darth_Guybrush from Canberra, Australia

The sheer effort Dolph (Ivan Drago), Sylvester (Rocky Balboa) and Carl (Apollo Creed) must have gone into training for this film must have been truly awesome. They all look amazingly fit and sculptured. I think more so than any current modern day boxer.

Kudos to Dolph who in almost his first major feature film (his first was View to a Kill) made, at least for me, a major impact. Despite his lack of dialog "I must break you" is right up there with Schwarzenegger's "I'll be back". He looked amazingly strong - a freak almost - just as the plot intended. Scary. He looked even taller than the 6 inch difference between him and Stallone (Lundgren 6'4", Stallone 5'10").

I would think that difference in height/reach would make him nigh on impossible to defeat if this were REAL. Of course it is a movie. Dolph is the highlight and was sad to see Apollo's demise (but at least it shut him up). The writers must have based Apollo's character on Muhammed Ali surely! Am currently watching Rocky V and is interesting so far!

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10 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
A film so silly and unbelievable that it actually rises above criticism on normal terms., 31 January 2007

Author: Jonathon Dabell (barnaby.rudge@hotmail.co.uk) from Wakefield, England

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The fourth Rocky movie retreats into a realm of fantasy that has to be seen to be disbelieved. It is by far the dumbest movie in the series, with a plot that defies credibility, and a closing boxing match that would surely prove fatal for both fighters if a contest like it were to take place in real life. What the film has in its favour is a sense of courage in its own absurdity. It's like everybody involved knows that they're working on something ludicrous, but they give it their all anyway – the actors, the cinematographer, the composer, the editor and the director all pull in the same direction, united in some kind of cheerful conviction that they can make an enjoyable movie from this silliest of premises.

Life is good for boxing champion Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). He has a mansion, he has money, he has incredible public support and he has the all-important heavyweight champion of the world title. But news is spreading fast that there might be a better boxer on the face of the planet in the shape of Russian goliath Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). Drago comes to America for an exhibition match against Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), once Rocky's greatest adversary and now Rocky's greatest friend. The match is supposed to be a straightforward contest for Creed, giving him a chance to reassert himself as a top fighter, but it goes terribly wrong when Drago literally pulverises his opponent and kills him in the ring. Distraught at the death of his buddy, Rocky agrees to fight Drago. The venue: Moscow. The date: December 25th. In the middle of desolate northern Russia, Rocky trains for the fight of his life against a near-superhuman opponent. Not only is the honour of his dead friend at stake, but so is his life…. not to mention the hopes of every man, woman and child from the free world!

It seems kind of wrong for a Rocky movie to go all political on the audience, but Rocky IV indirectly does just that. Rocky's closing speech is a cringe-worthy plea for tolerance and change amongst the different societies of our world, and if I hadn't heard it with my own ears I would scarcely have believed anyone could put such infantile politics on film. The movie is much better when it concentrates on the sport aspects, especially the pulsating training sequences. With rapid-fire editing and rousing music, these parts of the film are quite inspirational and make you want to get out of your chair and put yourself through your paces in a gym as soon as possible! The final fight itself is a pretty exciting sequence but, given the fact that the film shows us that Drago has an impossibly strong punching-power, one finds it rather hard to believe that Rocky could still be standing after fifteen seconds let alone fifteen rounds. Rocky IV is totally unrealistic, totally simple-minded…. and totally entertaining if you look upon it as a guilty pleasure!

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25 out of 45 people found the following review useful:
Oh my, Rocky slams it hard..., 27 April 2005

Author: gzeka from Belgrade, Serbia

Wow. Saw this one on TV after 15 years or so and I must admit it's one helluva piece of entertainment. Yeah, it has older-than-a-Bible James Brown,virtually no plot and non-moving actors like Lundgren and Nielsen....but,the last 20 minutes are hilarious to say the least. Drago(Lundgren)has a punch strength of about 2000 PSI,meaning his blows are twice harder than Tyson's, for example. He manages to hit Rocky in the head about 50 times and Rocky still survives 15 rounds. Not only survives, he wins and he even has enough juice to make a poignant speech. What surprises me is the amount of IMDb comments stating "well, it's not that impossible, when you're focused on something you can endure pretty much etc". First three movies in Rocky installment had somewhat credible storyline, although final fight with Clubber was fairly exaggerated. Here we have exaggeration multiplied by 50 : Drago kills Creed in round 2 and he uses same kind of attack on Rocky, he sends him 8 or 9 times on the floor and Rocky fights back for the first time in round 5.Come on, by that time he would have been already declared dead and received a Viking funeral.This movie is not all that bad, it has an excellent soundtrack and scene in which Rocky drives around reminiscing of his previous fights with "No easy way out" going in the back is touching, but fails miserably in department of plot development and credibility.Creed and Clubber were strong fighters but Rocky still had a decent chance against them, that made first three movies so believable. There's no way middle-aged midget like Balboa could have defeated someone with superhuman abilities like Drago...But I assume USA needed a patriotic boost in a midst of Cold War and Stallone certainly provided it with Rambo 3 and Rocky 4.

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
If you enjoy Van Damme movies..., 26 January 2008

Author: Alexg9 from United Kingdom

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The first and immediately subsequent Rocky movies are fantastic. Sly plays an interesting underdog character who nearly anyone can sympathise with. Coupled with gritty training sequences and desperate punch-ups to follow, both are excellent movies.

The third was disappointing and the fourth a disgrace. Many have mentioned the unfathomable aspects of the movie but have neglected the downright absurd. For starters, a Robot as birthday present to Paulie in a Rocky movie. If anyone could have guessed after having seen the first two then I applaud you. How and why? When viewing the first Rocky movie, one is compelled to sympathise and to feel good for Rocky, which is why it is excellent. The fourth, on the other hand, does very little to arouse any emotion at all, has infantile humour, and an ending that brought tears to my eyes. Rocky is so likable because hes a simpleton who quintessentially doesn't give up. This is changed completely in four, where Rocky preaches about "useless war" in the most ridiculous possible way. When the Russian politicians applaud his words of a five year old's wisdom, one can only laugh.

In my opinion this is worse than many Schwarenegger movies. They have many similarities but Arnold movies don't try to boast a political message, they are intended to be mindless and action packed. You can appreciate them because they accomplish exactly what they aim to. This movie may be liked but not in the way it originally intended.

Terrible

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