Rocky IV (1985)

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Carl Weathers, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Brigitte Nielsen, Tony Burton and James Brown
Grade: Classic

This is the first movie in the series where I really noticed how underutilized Tony Burton was as Duke. Him going to Russia with Rocky and Paulie for Apollo cements him in the heart of Rocky fans for a lifetime.

Summary

To remind audiences of the events of Rocky III, the final part of the third round is shown where Rocky Balboa (Stallone) brings out the “Eye of the Tiger” and knocks out Clubber Lang to win back the world heavyweight championship in his final match, with Apollo Creed (Weathers) and Paulie (Young) in his corner and Rocky’s wife Adrian (Shire) in the crowd cheering him on. Following this, Apollo gets his favor, a final, unofficial, private, third match against Rocky with the two of them being the only one’s there to witness the outcome.

Now, it’s nighttime and Rocky gets home late. His son Rocky Jr. (Rocky Krakoff) is there to greet him while recording his arrival on his camcorder. He notes Rocky’s new hat, and he tells his son a “friend” gave it to him, implying Apollo. When Rocky Jr. asks who punched him in the eye, Rocky chuckles and admits it was the same “friend”. Next, he goes inside to an impatient Paulie waiting at the dinner table. It’s Paulie’s birthday, but they didn’t want to start until Rocky got there. Rocky has Adrian get the cake and then begins to hype up his birthday present to Paulie, who hopes it’s a car. Instead, Rocky introduces a walking talking robot into the room who wishes Paulie a happy birthday while it brings the cake into the room. It just freaks out Paulie who tells Rocky he just wanted a sports car. Adrian jokes that since Paulie doesn’t have any friends, they thought he’d like it. The robot tells Paulie to make a wish, and he’s weirded out by it. Rocky thinks it’s cool though. Paulie presses on and invites Rocky Jr. to help him blow out the candles. Rocky Jr. agrees, puts down the camcorder, and sprays Paulie with whipped cream when he goes to blow them out. Rocky and Adrian laugh, and the robot tells Paulie that he will clean it up for him. Later that night, Rocky finds Adrian in the bedroom and brings over a separate cake to her to celebrate their nine-year anniversary, along with a present. He concedes that it’s technically a week from then when Adrian points this out, but he didn’t want to wait. Noting how the wedding figurines of groom and bride on the cake look like they are fighting with boxing gloves, she jokingly asks if their marriage has been that rough. He assures her it isn’t and just wants her to open her gift. It’s a wraparound snake watch, and she likes it. Rocky notes how this all still seems somehow new to him and reminds her of when he told her in Rocky II that she will never get rid of him. He doubles down and wishes her a happy “almost” anniversary, and they kiss.

The newest cover of Sports Illustrated has Soviet boxer Captain Ivan Drago (Lundgren) on it with the headline reading “Russians Invade U.S. Sports”. In the article itself, it also mentions his wife in Olympic, double gold medalist swimmer Ludmilla Vobet Drago (Nielsen). Soon after, Drago, Ludmilla, and Drago’s manager Nicolai Koloff (Michael Pataki) all arrive together at the airport and are mobbed by reporters trying to ask questions. Koloff says everything will be answered at their press conference.

At the home of Apollo Creed, Apollo is in his pool and playing with his dogs. Near the pool, he has his TV on playing the news. They talk about this landmark in sports history being Russia finally crossing over the pond in boxing. A clip from the previously mentioned press conference is shown where Ludmilla talks about how today marks the day that the Soviet Union has officially entered professional boxing. Now, Apollo is watching intently. She speaks about her husband Ivan Drago, an undefeated heavyweight world amateur champion who is still wearing his military attire at the press conference. He has brought his trainers over with him to compete as an international sportsman and ambassador of goodwill. Ludmilla is asked if Drago has ever fought a real professional. She says that he’s been trained by the great Manuel Vega and Sergei Rimsky (George Rogan) and hopes that he’s qualified to do so. Koloff interrupts to say they want an exhibition bout with Rocky. They are sure that no one can match Drago’s strength, endurance, or aggressiveness. Actually, Koloff is confident Drago is indestructible. They are already nicknaming him “The Siberian Express”. The news anchor says that whoever fights Drago first, it will be one hot ticket. Back at Rocky’s house, he’s cleaning the car while Rocky Jr. cleans the robot. After turning down the music coming from the robot so Rocky can hear better, Rocky Jr. asks when he can learn how to fight, but Rocky doesn’t want him to. He says he fights so Rocky Jr. doesn’t have and can actually use his head. They joke around a little bit until the housekeeper interrupts to say he has a phone call from Apollo. Rocky grabs the phone attached to the robot to answer, and Apollo says he’s coming over. At the high-tech training facility where Drago is training, Ludmilla talks to the reporters they invited. Apparently, the Soviet Union has made some extreme advancements to enhance performance. Rimsky is asked what all of the technology does to enhance specifically, but Koloff responds instead talking about how it makes a man a better man, an athlete a SUPER athlete. It harnesses all his strength.

A reporter brings up rumors of blood doping and widespread distribution of anabolic steroids in the Soviet Union, and Ludmilla shares a sharp glance with Koloff.

They ask if Drago has partaken in any of these experiments, but Ludmilla is quick to dispel this and say Drago is naturally trained, which we find out later is a crock of shit but that’s beside the point. Ludmilla likens Drago’s freakish strength to Popeye the Sailor Man eating his spinach every day, and this gets a laugh. Koloff moves on with his demonstration. He details to the reporters that a normal heavyweight averages 700 pounds of pressure per square inch. After gesturing to Drago to hit the target, he does, showing that he averages 1850 pounds. Whatever he hits, he destroys. Back at Rocky’s house, Apollo is sitting with Rocky, Adrian, Paulie, and Rocky Jr. at the dinner table and says he has seen Drago fight as an amateur. He is big and strong, but he’s clumsy. Apollo wants to fight Drago, as he knows he can beat him. Adrian questions why he wants to fight again, but he says it’s something he believes in. With this, Adrian sends Rocky Jr. to go do his homework in another room. Paulie thinks people are expecting Rocky to take Drago out first, but Apollo says he will when it’s real. This is just an exhibition bout. Adrian doesn’t see a purpose because he’s risking getting hurt at this stage in his life. Just then, they are interrupted by the robot coming in with a beer for Paulie. It now has a female voice and praises Paulie while playing music. Paulie refers to it as “My girl”. Apollo is confused, and Rocky even wonders who taught the robot to talk in that voice, but Paulie just says she loves him. Getting back on topic, Apollo continues about Drago. He doesn’t want Drago coming in with all this hype making them look bad. With Rocky’s help, they can get great media coverage and make them look bad. Adrian thinks it’s wrong, but Apollo disagrees, saying it’s never been more right. Adrian knows he’s a great fighter but reminds him that he’s been retired for nearly five years, adding that it might be time to start thinking about something else. She wonders how much either of them can take. Adrian excuses herself to get the coffee and apologizes to Apollo. It’s just that she cares about them both.

Later, Rocky and Apollo watch old tape from “Superfight II” from Rocky II. They laugh over certain parts of the match and Apollo mentions how big it was when they’re in the ring, but they somehow become ancient history as soon as they step out of it. Rocky jokes that it’s not like that but after another comment from Apollo about people not asking for autographs anymore, Rocky gets more serious with him. He wonders if this Drago fight isn’t really about going against Drago. It might be Apollo versus Apollo from a mental standpoint. Apollo tries to laugh it off, but Rocky doubles down. Apollo doesn’t want to hear it and stands up. Rocky gives him credit for being the great fighter he was, but he tries to give him a reality check in saying the show is over. Apollo counters by commenting how it’s easy for Rocky to say because he’s still on top. What happens when you’re not though? Rocky sees what he’s getting at, but he knows they have to change at some point, prompting Apollo to say he doesn’t want to change because he likes who he is. Rocky likes who he is, but he points to their old fight as an example. That’s not them anymore. They can’t do it like they used to, and they’re turning into regular people. Apollo says Rocky might think he’s changing, but he doesn’t think you can change who you really are. Referring to the both of them, Apollo says they don’t have a choice because they were born with a killer instinct that you can’t just turn off and on. They have to be right in the middle of the action because they’re warriors. Without a challenge, the “warrior” might as well be dead. Apollo asks for Rocky to stand by his side as a friend this one last time, and Rocky agrees to be there for him. He starts to mention about what will happen when it’s over, but Apollo laughs because they both know he will just think of something else. They shake on it, and Rocky says he feels sorry for Drago.

The exhibition fight between Drago and Apollo is being promoted as “Red Star vs. Old Glory”, and it will take place in Las Vegas.

At a press conference for the fight, Apollo answers questions and says he decided to fight Drago because he felt a “sense of responsibility”, meaning he had to teach Drago how to box the “American style”. They bring up Drago’s inexperience and question if he should be in the same ring, and Apollo jokes that some folks have to learn the hard way. He puts his hand on Drago’s shoulder as he says this, and Drago isn’t pleased. They ask for a quick knockout prediction, but Apollo doesn’t have one because he’s not angry with him. He just wants to show the whole world that Russia doesn’t have all the best athletes. Rocky is asked how Apollo should fight Drago, and he jokes that Apollo should get a ladder. Drago is asked how it will feel to spar with the great former champion, and there is an awkward pause, prompting Apollo to joke that Drago’s tongue didn’t come through customs. Ludmilla chimes in to say Drago is happy to have the opportunity and how it’s his dream. She states that Apollo is well known and very respected in Russia, and it could be a good victory. Apollo takes offense to the victory comment and asks Drago directly if he thinks he’s going to win, but Ludmilla responds that they didn’t come there to lose. Apollo is confident they have, and she questions why he’s so sure. Apollo goes on about how he’s been with the best, beaten the best, and has retired more men than social security. Koloff interrupts to tell Apollo how unrealistic he’s being and says he’s too old to beat someone like Drago. Apollo is offended and starts going off on them, prompting Rocky to share a look of concern with Adrian who is in the crowd. Ludmilla is offended too and asks why Apollo is insulting them, but Apollo says everything was cool about this friendly exhibition bout until Koloff started talking shit. Koloff throws it back at him and then tells the press that Drago shouldn’t fight Apollo because he’s a has-been. Apollo wants to go right now and stands up. They have to be separated, especially after Drago pushes Apollo.

Apollo turns to Rocky and asks how he did. Rocky tells him it was good, though a little loud for his own taste. Following this, Drago knocks down the cutout of Apollo once he leaves with Rocky.

It’s fight night! Apollo is in the locker room with Rocky, with Rocky reminding him that patience is a virtue. They joke a bit when Rocky finishes wrapping up Apollo’s hands and Apollo feels great, but Rock adds to not wear himself out and maintain a little bit in the ring considering how long it’s been since he was in there. Apollo doesn’t see the problem because he feels like he’s in the best shape of his life and how he’s stronger and quicker. Rocky isn’t saying Apollo isn’t ready, but he does admit that he wouldn’t mind postponing a couple of weeks if it were him in the same position. To be fair, they don’t know anything about Drago. Apollo humors him on hypothetically postponing. What if someone steps in and whips Drago? Where does that leave Apollo? Rocky doesn’t think it even matters because it’s an exhibition and it doesn’t mean anything, but Apollo gets aggressive. He tells Rocky he’s wrong and that this is an “us against them” type of situation. He says maybe Rocky doesn’t know what he’s talking about now, but he will when the fight is over. After Koloff speaks words of encouragement to Drago as he prepares, Ludmilla approaches Apollo’s wife Mary Anne (Sylvia Meals) and wishes her good luck, hoping they can be friends after all of this. She appreciates it and shakes Ludmilla’ hand as well as Koloff’s. Drago is placed in the ring for his entrance, and the ring rises through the roof to the main stage. He even seems confused by it. Once the ring gets to the main stage, James Brown performs “Living in America” in an elaborate musical performance with dancers and extravagance fitting of Apollo’s showmanship. This goes right into Apollo’s entrance where he shows up on this gigantic statue of a bull while donning an Americana themed attire. Rocky, Paulie, and Duke (Burton) all walk in separate from Apollo to the ring and just laugh because it’s classic Apollo. Right after, Apollo is dancing with the dancers and James Brown himself. The crowd goes crazy and they hold up little American flags for the end of the song.

Before introductions, Apollo thanks Rocky for helping him and says he owes him one, though Rocky is sure to say they’re even. Rocky is announced first as a man that “defines courage”, so he waves to the crowd. Everything is cheery through the intros and Apollo feels alive. They meet in the middle of the ring and Rocky starts to look concerned. Apollo messes around a bit more and tries to touch gloves with Drago. Apollo’s holds Drago’s gloves up so he can drop his gloves down on them, but his strength is already felt as Drago’s gloves don’t move. Drago simply states to him, “You will lose”. Apollo looks over at Rocky, and they both look concerned at his confidence before Apollo nervously laughs and goes back to his corner. Apollo still continues to work the crowd until Rocky has to remind him to put his mouthpiece in. Before the bell rings, Apollo confidently says to Rocky, “Be back in a minute, all right?”. The bell rings, and Creed starts strong with his signature jab. He does slip a little bit but keeps up the pace well. Then, Drago starts to respond with some hard shots and takes him into the corner a few times. By the end of the round, he’s destroying Apollo and hits him a few more times after the bell, with Rocky and the others running in to make sure it stops. Duke reminds the Russians this is supposed to be an exhibition. Rocky looks at Drago, and Drago just shakes his head at him. Meanwhile, Koloff smokes his cigarette in the crowd and lets Ludmilla take a drag. Rocky tells Apollo that he’s going to call the fight because Drago is killing him out there, but Apollo refuses this. He makes Rocky promise he won’t stop the fight. He is adamant and tells him to not stop the fight no matter what. Apollo looks over at a teary-eyed Mary Anne who stands in the crowd, and he holds up his glove as if to say he’s okay. The second round begins and he tries to go with the jab again, but Drago is dodging it and then starts to dominate.

Mary Anne wants the fight called. After Drago pushes the ref out of the way, Duke tells Rocky to throw in the towel. Hesitating, Rocky drops the towel too late, just as Drago drops Apollo with a devastating knockout punch to win the fight. Everyone runs in the ring including the photographers and the press, and they crowd Rocky and Duke while they check on Apollo. Drago has his victory speech about how he can’t be defeated, how he beat an old man, and how he will soon defeat a real champion. Then, referring to Apollo, he confidently states, “If he dies, he dies”. Rocky holds Apollo in his arms and shares eye contact with Drago. Soon after, Apollo Creed dies.

Ivan Drago is a serious contender to Rocky’s crown. The danger is real and his best friend was killed in the ring by this relatively unknown giant. Though he’s risking his own life, Rocky cannot take this lying down.

My Thoughts:

Snobs call it predictable and others call it corny, but there are a lot of reasons as to why Rocky IV has a legacy just as strong as the first movie. A treasured film for Rocky fans, Sylvester Stallone purists, boxing lovers, and the obsessive fans of action cinema, Rocky IV is just like its predecessor in that it won’t win any awards for its script, but it’s a colorful, exciting, stylized, larger-than-life motivational story that sticks to what the franchise does best while increasing the stakes for our hero like never before. Outlandish as it is entertaining, the fourth entry in the series is a 1980s masterpiece that cements Rocky Balboa’s status not only as a folk hero of America, but that of an epic hero of Greek mythological proportions.

Very few franchises have been able to keep up the momentum past the trilogy mark, so Sylvester Stallone was already facing an uphill battle in returning to the role of the beloved hero boxer Rocky Balboa. Could they repeat the successes they had in 1976, 1979, and 1982? Could they make this installment worthwhile? More importantly, can they make us believe again? The true battle began with the screenplay, as Stallone faced the challenge of trying to figure out how to make a credible villain for world champion Rocky to face that can still make the viewer think he can’t do it this time around. They have done all they could with Apollo Creed, and the character has been long retired from the ring. Plus, he’s now a close friend of Rocky in storyline, so you can’t reverse this. It would make sense for a third fight against Clubber Lang since the record between them is 1-1, but it would only be box office in real life, not on the big screen. No, they have to think outside the box to extend this series and make it something we have to see. Going into Rocky IV, Rocky has already beaten the best, has become the best in his own right, defeated his greatest challenger in Clubber Lang, and is at the top once again in the opening of the film. Who else is there? How can Stallone freshen up the same, inevitable formula of a Rocky sequel? He did a great job with Rocky III, but it’s hard to keep things interesting in a fourth go-round when you are limited to a boxing ring. At the very least, the first step is that you have to go bigger, creating an opponent who’s not only fearsome in size and look but because of how unknown he is. Playing off the ever-present Cold War implications that were a hot button topic for so many action movies of the time, Stallone keeps this in mind coming up with Rocky’s next challenger in the undefeated gold medalist amateur known as the “Siberian Bull” in Ivan Drago. Getting lucky with the casting of the imposing Dolph Lundgren in his breakthrough role just like how Stallone plucked Mr. T from relative obscurity and made a superstar years before, the giant Swede towers over the competition playing the Russian.

With a perfect flattop and a legitimate height of 6’5” that makes him look like a 7-footer on camera compared to Stallone, Lundgren looks as if he was created out of a lab to fight Rocky. Actually, it’s probably something Stallone thought when he saw the actor too, as he wrote the Drago character with this practically in mind. Representing 1980s gym culture, Drago’s whole training regimen is that of modernized machine work, a gym designed by a team of scientists to make sure he has the best equipment and testing done possible, and steroids. The latter seems like a joke, but he is literally injected with steroids during the training montage to further increase the uphill battle the all-natural Rocky has in front of him. In my review for the original Rocky, a section of praise was reserved for Carl Weathers because of how he looked and acted the part of showman Apollo Creed and needed to be to oppose the humble and down-to-earth Rocky. To continue the Rocky franchise’s perfect casting track record and Stallone thoroughly understanding his characters, the casting of Dolph Lundgren as the abominable Drago is exactly what was required to bring the one-dimensional Russian villain to life. Not many words are needed from Drago to make his mark as the biggest villain Rocky has ever faced, literally and figuratively. Just like Mr. T as Clubber Lang, Drago speaks in harsh soundbites. Though he says significantly less than Lang did, the character would be less effective had he been the talker Lang or Apollo were. It’s just not how Drago operates, choosing to have his marketing and promotion handled by his wicked wife Ludmilla and cocky manager Koloff. It creates this triumvirate of terror, with Drago being a hired mercenary of the ring who just waits on the order and goes in for the kill when he’s instructed to do. It fits the idealistic military mindset cliché that Americans had of Russia and its citizens at that time. So, it shouldn’t surprise you to hear that the Drago character and their side of the fence is highly stereotypical. In addition, the movie as a whole is more than likely unpopular with the Russian people.

You can’t really blame them though, as Rocky IV is one of the most American movies of all time post-John Wayne, complete with a Frank Capra ending tuned up to 100 that will either make you smile with nostalgia, cringe because of the cheesiness, or overall balk at the outrageousness, especially if you have Russian blood. Even so, Lundgren snatching this role to start his career as an action hero (after a bit part in A View to Kill) introduced audiences to him with force, and he became a mainstay in action cinema ever since. Because of this alone, we will always love Rocky IV. To see how far Rocky goes to pull himself up in this fight gives you just as many goosebumps as any of the films in the series, especially when you consider the emotional toll he’s been through. Previous movies be damned, Drago is a terror. Before the fight with Apollo, Rocky foreshadows things by talking about little they know about Drago, though Apollo’s confidence and desire to be a fighter again can’t be shaken. Still, Drago doesn’t say a word up until this point. It’s not until they meet in the center of the ring, and he stoically tells Apollo how he will lose that we hear him talk for the first time. That’s it. All he says is, “You will lose”. Then, he kills Apollo Creed. No, we’re not talking hyperbole here. Though he has a great jab because of his reach, Drago demolishes Apollo with his power punches that routinely connect, murdering Apollo in the second round of an exhibition fight! Mind you, he’s an amateur. Granted, Apollo has been retired for five years, but Apollo is still in shape and should have the edge because he’s still considered to be one of the greatest ever. Apollo still has it in that first round too, but the whole fight changes once the 261-pound Drago starts connecting. Each punch does MAJOR damage. Once he lays Apollo out in front of his wife, Rocky’s family, and even James fucking Brown, Drago goes on a victory speech before callously giving the statement that will live for an eternity, “If he dies, he dies”. It’s whatever to Drago. The man is laying lifeless in the ring, and Drago just doubles down, making sure everyone knows that it doesn’t matter if he dies. He even shares eye contact with Rocky after he says it, and Drago looks at Rocky as if he’s daring him to make a move. After all this, he comments to Rocky before their climactic battle, “I must break you”. There’s not much memorization needed for this script, but it just WORKS!

He’s a stone-cold villain, fitting of his military background and the stereotypical Russian villain of the era and it’s one of the greatest antagonists of all time. It’s simple but effective, the calling card of Rocky III and Rocky IV and why they are so beloved after all these years.

More importantly, creating a bad guy like this gives Apollo Creed something to do from a story perspective. He could and intended on helping Rocky train for Drago, but he’s too young to be the new full-time Mickey. Apollo still has the itch, and the audience still has the itch to see him fight because Carl Weathers was still in his prime. Apollo tries to play off his reasoning for coming out of retirement to face Drago as some patriotic thing to the public and to the Rocky family, but Rocky can tell it’s more than that. This is Apollo versus Apollo. He can’t accept moving on from what he used to be. His fighting spirit, competitiveness, and love of being the main attraction everyone came to see are still there. It’s a burning sensation within him, which is why his mind is telling him that he can still go. Plus, in his behind-closed-doors fight with Rocky that ended Rocky III and began this fourth film, Apollo can still go with the best of them. It’s a lot like the viewer watching one of the workout montages of any Rocky film. These sequences are designed to motivate and bring that energy out of you. With this in mind, imagine what Apollo was thinking after training Rocky for Clubber Lang and still regularly outclassing him on boxing fundamentals? For a professional athlete, it brings that fire out that makes you think, “I could still do this!”. It’s hard to shed these things completely from a competitive person’s body. In some cases, it never goes away, especially with fighters. Apollo was going to have it forever and accepted it. He needed the challenge again. Even when he talks to Rocky about the aftermath of the Drago fight, they both joke how he will just find something else to chase because that’s who he is. It’s not until after the funeral where Rocky finds out that Apollo was right about fighters and decides to take on the Drago challenge. It’s because he has to. It’s who he is, and who they are.

Working against Apollo’s mind and spirit however is the undefeated Father Time. It’s not that he can’t train like he used to or have the ability to pull off a miracle like we see Rocky do in Rocky Balboa, but the deadly combination of being retired for five years and going up against an unknown young talent as ridiculously strong as Drago (and MASSIVELY underestimating him) is different. People may not like the shocking outcome of Apollo dying in that ring as the driving force of the movie, and it does haunt Rocky himself forever, as evidenced by Stallone’s sorrowful and heartfelt performances in Creed and Creed II. However, there was no stopping Apollo in the heat of the moment. Knowing how obsessive he was over this, he would have lost it on Rocky if Rocky ended the fight in the second round. He would have brought up how he never would have done that to Rocky if the roles were reversed, he would make him feel just as guilty for it, and he would have demanded an official rematch against Drago and a serious training camp leading up to it. There was no way Apollo wasn’t going to have a definitive conclusion to a Drago match. He was a fighter and he went down a fighter. He had to. Otherwise, he would have thought about it for the rest of his life. Again, it’s a competitor’s mindset that is hard to shake. The last thing these types of people want to do is admit defeat or call it early knowing they still had a puncher’s chance. Apollo would not have been able to live with himself if he didn’t find out. Is Rocky right that Apollo would have much rather been there talking to Adonis in Creed II rather than be the stubborn bull he was in Rocky IV that ended up costing him his life? Without question, but who are we to question and tell one of the greatest to ever do it what he can or can’t do? It wasn’t our place and it wasn’t Rocky’s. Apollo made his decision, would refuse any back talk over it, and died on that hill, literally. Sure, if he had a time machine, was told the outcome, and was told who Adonis was, Apollo would have stopped but that’s not how things work.

It was fate. It sadly had to happen because Apollo wouldn’t have it any other way.

For cinematic purposes, it had to happen for several reasons. First, Rocky needed bigger stakes to make this movie and Drago memorable. Killing off someone as big to the series as Carl Weathers’s Apollo Creed is the shock the film needed. As much as we would have loved to see Drago molly whop Paulie into oblivion to kill him off, Paulie isn’t stepping in the ring with Drago. Even if he spoke out against the Soviet Union and their government assassinated him and Rocky used that as motivation, it would have been a step too far. Plus, John Rambo would have stepped in at that point, not Rocky. On top of that, the idea of Paulie dying doesn’t have the emotional gravity that Apollo dying has. If Paulie died, I think all the main characters would have attended the funeral and moved on within a week. So, he was sadly not on an option. Apollo was the odd man out. Second, Adonis Creed would not have been the angry, relentless, motivated fighter that he was in the Creed series without Apollo dying before he was born. Actually, you could argue that the Creed series as a whole wouldn’t have existed if Apollo lives through it all because there’s a good chance that he would have acknowledged his paternity to the kid growing up and Adonis never would have went to that group home. Really, there’s no road that doesn’t lead to Apollo dying. It’s like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, but it all leads to the same conclusion: For this saga to continue, Drago has to kill Apollo. His sacrifice had to happen to make Rocky IV a certified “Classic” and to lead audiences to the outstanding Creed movies all those years later. If Apollo loses a clean match and lives but is confined to a wheelchair or something, it’s just not as effective. Everything that happened had to happen for the sake of the Rocky franchise, which is why we will always hold Apollo Creed near and dear to our hearts. The only thing that was missing from this fourth movie is Apollo having an honest conversation with his wife about coming out of retirement to face Drago.

Mary Anne deserved to have her moment with him. It could have been an emotional one-off scene in the vein of Beatrice Straight in Network, with Mary Anne trying to get Apollo to move on but he just flips out about how he can’t. Instead, Apollo confides in Rocky, Adrian, and Paulie about the decision, and Mary Anne is noticeably absent from this life-changing conversation. Nobody mentions his kids either, despite the viewer knowing they exist because we saw them in previous films. Knowing how crucial of a character Mary Anne would end up becoming in the Creed series, her being treated like such a “nothing” character in a movie where her husband is killed was a badly missed opportunity in strengthening the depth and drama of the overall movie. Even if their argument may have been similar to Rocky and Adrian’s before Rocky decides to go to Russia, it was a necessary scene for the Apollo character and his family.

This really was a match made in heaven because someone with Dolph Lundgren’s physical attributes was desperately needed to believably pose a threat that nobody in the Rocky world has seen before. Koloff describes Drago as the “most perfectly trained athlete ever” and how Rocky doesn’t have the size, the endurance, or genetics to defeat Drago. He considers it physically impossible for the much smaller Rocky to win. Though these words are just a setup to make the undisputed champion an underdog despite facing an amateur, it works. Just looking at Drago and watching him train makes Koloff’s statements a fair argument. The test where it shows how much harder Drago hits than an average heavyweight boxer is a great scene to prove to the skeptics that the man could kill someone in the ring, and he clears that number getting ready for the Rocky fight, getting as high as 2,150 pounds of pressure by the end of it. It also goes without saying that Drago’s genetics definitely put him over Rocky. Look at him! What gives us hope is that Apollo Creed and Clubber Lang had better genetics than Rocky too. Yet, it can only get you so far. What makes a winner is the attitude, the discipline, the heart, and the work you put into what you already have. Thankfully for us viewers, we know that NO ONE outworks a motivated Rocky Balboa. In an extended training sequence that is arguably the best in the series, Rocky contrasts Drago’s private gym workouts and modern equipment with a bare-bones, old school, caveman workout that utilizes the elements of snowy Russia and the bare essentials of the land like he’s preparing for war with the giant. Training in a cabin and in and out of the snow, Rocky tests himself and his pain tolerance knowing the punishment he will have to take against Drago. He’s running in the snow and off the trail, he’s helping someone pull their horse and buggy out of the snow, he’s cutting wood with a saw, throwing logs, pulling a sleigh with Paulie on it while crawling through the snow like a dog, doing pullups in the barn next to a fire, and chopping down a tree with an axe like he’s knocking down the tree that is Drago.

Then, there is a pause. He’s working hard but his intensity level isn’t quite there yet.

Rocky comes back after a workout and sees that the initially distraught Adrian has flown across the world to be with him. She didn’t want Rocky to go in the first place because of the risks Drago posed, but she missed Rocky too much stay at home without him. Standing across the now bearded Rocky due to the passage of time and his laser-focus on training, she tells Rocky that she’s with him no matter what. After they embrace and his heart is full, knowing that Adrian is there to back him “no matter what”, it’s on. It’s all he needed to really get to work. What follows is the “Heart’s on Fire” workout montage where Rocky trains like an absolute madman to the point where “Gonna Fly Now” doesn’t even cross our minds. He works furiously in the barn on his core while he hangs from the balcony doing crunches, chopping wood, doing tricep extensions by pulling a net full of giant rocks, lifting a wood carriage with Duke, Adrian, and Paulie in in it, and climbs a mountain bellowing “DRAAAGOOOOO!” for the world to hear, among other things. Despite this fight potentially causing him his life, Rock doesn’t even use a sparring partner for his training camp. It’s just the purest example of the “old school” workout method, building the body into a chunk of steel that can withstand the beating of a lifetime. The training camp Rocky partakes in is the preeminent example of what it means to be a man, working strictly on functional training to toughen and strengthen the body in preparation for anything and everything coming his way. Despite the idea behind it being how the body aesthetic is unimportant for this fight because Rocky is doing these testosterone-fueled workouts to prepare him for war, Stallone himself trumps his insane physique from Rocky III. When it comes to the fight and he takes off the robe to stand across from Lundgren’s Drago, there’s an argument to be made that Sylvester Stallone may have pulled off the greatest physique in the history of cinema. The man is absolutely shredded. Apparently, he got his body fat percentage to as low as 2.8%, and he looks it.

“No pain! No pain! No pain!”

This declarative statement is the theme of Rocky’s training camp with Duke. Duke shouts it constantly at Rocky during his workouts and the fight itself, and Rocky is quick yell it back to remind his body and soul of the mindset he needs to have. He put his body through the ringer to face the strongest and most ferocious power puncher the world of boxing has ever seen. Make no mistake about it though, Rocky put in the work. The committed Stallone put in the work too to show the audience how much the character has to level up to defeat this monster. This reminder the Rocky and Duke yell at each other becomes a war cry, and it builds a forcefield of courage around Rocky like never before. Even when he takes s serious beating, he knows how much time he’s dedicated to this fight and how much this means to him. There is no pain, or at least no pain he hasn’t seen before. Due to what happened in Rocky III, he still has the “Eye of the tiger” instilled in him, but now, he’s upped the ante to leave no room for error, no pain. The idea is to beat it up, tear it down, and build the body back up again to where you experience the worst of it all. Test your body, push it to the ultimate of its uncomfortable limits, and reach an all-time high level of pain tolerance. Then, do it again and again. Harness it and become it. This is how far Rocky goes in preparation for Ivan Drago. Rocky’s mind and will are already there, but on fight night, so is the shield that is his body. At the end of the day, Drago is just a man (“He’s worried. You, see? He’s not a machine! He’s a man!”), and Rocky’s unbreakable spirit won’t allow him to fold, no matter how big the opponent. He will chop that tree down, or he will die trying. If you remember in Rocky III on the scene at the beach, Rocky and Adrian acknowledge that Rocky can live with losing. However, he can only do so if he knows he put everything that he has into it, there aren’t any excuses left, nor is there room left for fear. Rocky has to do this. He has to try because it’s in his DNA. Because of this, he shockingly acquiesces to all of the demands of Drago’s team.

Since the boxing commission won’t sanction the fight after the fiasco in Las Vegas and Rocky probably won’t get the fight with Drago for another two years, Rocky willingly vacates the world heavyweight title he’s worked his life for and agrees to fight in Russia, on Drago’s home turf, where he’s the enemy for the first time in any of his fights on the big screen, on Christmas, for no money. No boxer in the history of the sport would ever agree to this, but there is no one like Rocky. He’s of a different breed, and this is straight-up personal. Throwing the bullshit to the side, he wants Drago one-on-one and lets him have whatever he wants so there are no excuses. That’s a hero!

In addition to agreeing to the one-sided fuckery, Rocky also didn’t tell his wife he agreed to any of this before the two parties announce it at a press conference. She has to learn it from reporters like some kind of sap. Still, it’s gotten that personal that Rocky is willing to go this far to face Drago. When they talk, he stresses to Adrian that he has to do this. He has to fly to a secluded location in Russia immediately, just so he doesn’t think about anything but Drago. That is the state he’s in at this point in the film and in his life. Adrian counterpoints that a lot of people live with hurt, and she’s right. All of us go through the pain of losing a loved one at some point in our lives. There’s nothing we can do about it. However, Rocky’s case is different. Those people don’t have a choice, but he does! He can do something about it, so how can he not pursue it, especially considering how he’s a professional fighter with that warrior’s mindset that only world-class fighters and competitors have? Once again, non-athletes may not understand why Rocky feels the need to do this, and Adrian is one of these people. She doesn’t get it. Apollo is gone. Why can’t he accept it and change his way of thinking? Well, he’s a fighter through and through. Those who have achieved or strived for greatness and are competitive people in life relate to this on an almost religious level, which is why what some call a “cheesy” movie, others recall fondly as 91 minutes of unadulterated motivation. Truthfully, I don’t totally agree with the idea that we can’t change who we are like Rocky and Apollo seem to believe, but it not only serves well as the driving force of this movie, the backbone of the concept is strong enough to show why it’s hard for Rocky to let go in Rocky V, and why he has to get back in the ring in Rocky Balboa. On top of all of this, I have to concede there is some truth to the idea. We can change a lot of things about ourselves and change our outcome in life for the better. We can move on, try different things, meet different people, and become different people, but the insides of what makes us who we are will always remain the same. It’s why we are different from each other in general.

It’s nothing to be ashamed of, even if they are negative qualities that one may try to bury deep down inside. Somewhere in the soul, buried at the core, is who we are for better or worse. For Rocky, it’s fighting to the bitter end. If he were to lose this, he might as well be dead, which is why seeing Rocky get close to accepting his cancer diagnosis in Creed is such hard thing for the viewer to process. There’s a scene in Rocky IV that explains the fighter’s mentality perfectly, as Rocky details to his son how sometimes he does get scared. Sometimes, he’s taking a beating in that ring, and he gets to the point where he wishes his opponent would hit him on the chin, so he doesn’t feel anything anymore, basically echoing Apollo’s mindset where he’d rather go down in the ring instead of just giving up. It’s the same thing with Rocky. Then, Rocky explains to his son about the other side, the side that isn’t so scared. It’s “another side that like wants to take more, that wants to go that one more round. Because by going that one more round when you don’t think you can, that’s what makes all the difference in your life”. I couldn’t have put it better myself. Not everyone is born with that extra gear, but Rocky lives and breathes it. It basically explains why he has been able to endure so much since 1976 and still keeps on pushing. Adrian has believed in him every step of the way, even when she saw Rocky lose to Clubber Lang, but she bluntly tells Rocky for the first time ever, “It’s suicide! You seen him! You know how strong he is. You can’t win!”. Adrian has lost faith in Rocky. She loves him too much and is confident that this one man can and will defeat him. Knowing how sensitive Rocky is, you how much this hurt him. Despite this, the fighter in him refuses this notion. Yeah, he’s scared. Maybe he can’t win, but he’s already accepted this possibility, just like he did with Clubber Lang. Since they are bearing themselves to each other, he gives Adrian the hard truth that defines the Rocky character.

“Maybe the only thing I can do is just take everything he’s got. But to beat me, he’s gonna have to kill me, and to kill me, he’s gonna have to have the heart to stand in front of me. And to do that, he’s gotta be willing to die himself”.

Basically, Drago has to have the will and the heart that Rocky does to defeat him. He may have everything else, but does the amateur have the intangibles that made Rocky the world champion? Rocky is willing to bet his life on it that he won’t. That’s courage. Just like Robert Tepper’s electric song says during Rocky’s driving montage that’s as powerful as the training montages, where he goes through all the highs and lows of the entire franchise in his mind while flashes of Drago interrupt it, there is no easy way out. Just like Rocky says humbly to everyone that tells him to knock Drago out, “I’ll try”. It’s not guaranteed, but he’s going to try as hard as he can. On that note, though signature Rocky tune “Gonna Fly Now” is absent for the first time in the series, the futuristic-sounding soundtrack consists of a bevy of 1980s adrenaline-fueled bangers that hit on a different level. Every song used just heightens the overall presentation of the glossy, stylized, iconic production that is Rocky IV.

The robot thing was blown out of proportion by the way. Yes, it was dumb because it’s not Rocky-like, but it’s treated as a joke anyway. It’s just Rocky being at his richest and buying his friends like Paulie outlandish gifts. People act like this robot was going off on full monologues or something and is like the “Jar Jar Binks” of the franchise, but it’s really not that big of a deal. It’s just a sign of the time period and never shows back up again. It doesn’t ruin the movie nearly as much as Rocky fans like to make people think (“Don’t forget to feed your robot”).

Imagine the terror Rocky is feeling walking into Moscow for an unsanctioned fight against the country’s biggest hero, who killed his best friend, in front of the Politburo and Mikahil Gorbachev himself. Can you imagine that pressure? Even Paulie softens up in a rare moment where he emotionally tells Rocky as if it’s the last time that he’s going to see him “If I could unzip myself and step out and be someone else, I’d wanna be you. You’re all heart Rock”. The fact that Rocky is dazed enough to see three of Drago after the first round but still comes back as strong as he does to the point where they’re wrestling to the ground after the bell is insane. It’s the definition of wanting all the smoke and how it all comes down to who wants it more. The reason Rocky Balboa is the greatest cinematic boxer ever and one of the greatest movie heroes of all time is only solidified with the pressure Rocky faces here in the fearless manner that he does. Even Drago admits Rocky isn’t human and is closer to a chunk of iron. It’s like Goliath admitting to David, “Okay, you’re a lot tougher than I expected. Wow”. The only thing missing in this third act was the need for a more volatile crowd response to further intensify the atmosphere. The commentators talk about how they have never seen such a hostile crowd, but it was above average at best. Have these guys ever seen an Eagles game or an overseas soccer match? That’s what Stallone should have based the Russian crowd on.

Rocky IV is the film in which Rocky Balboa reached mythical status, a superhero that is such a symbol of bravery and the human spirit that he’s able to convince the Russian people for one night that war is not the answer. It sounds comical on paper, but it assuredly works. Though this jingoistic dream does threaten to jump the shark, Sylvester Stallone sticks to his guns and makes the action-packed fourth installment one of the most outrageous, intense, thoroughly entertaining, adrenaline-pumping films of not only the series, but the entire decade.

This is the type of fun today’s cinema is missing.