Rocky IV Part deux

Rating: 7/10 (16 February 2019)

Viktor Drago is training under his father Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) in snowbound Ukraine. Ivan has lived in sad infamy ever since his loss to Rocky. To regain their family honor, they travel to Philadelphia to challenge newly crowned champion Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) who has been carefully managed by Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). Meanwhile, Adonis proposes to Bianca (Tessa Thompson).
This is a rather simple idea. The franchise is revisiting Rocky IV and reconnecting with the old characters. In that way, I almost want to revisit that movie at the start with a few flashbacks. This time around, the most compelling characters may well be the Dragos. The best scene is Ivan surprising Rocky with a visit. I like Michael B. Jordan and I like him in this franchise. There are a couple of flat notes in a couple of scenes. His child's hearing test is one. I can accept his pushing the scene to the limit by crying although it would be more emotional if he stays stoic to please Bianca. He could force a fake smile for her until he can't anymore. The point is to transfer the emotional moment to the audience rather than to do a play by number cry scene. Another problem is the final fight. I can't buy him breaking his rib and almost immediately go Superman on Viktor. The rib punch is too much to come back from and Viktor switches from world beater to chump too quickly. Then there is Viktor himself. The size difference is overwhelming. There may be a way to use that but it would be much better to simply use a smaller fighter for Viktor. It's not like he's asked to do any real acting anyways. He's a machine. They should just find a smaller machine. There is also a need to set up Viktor's performance in the climatic fight much better. His montage shouldn't be his endless training with his father. His montage should be him partying and luxuriating in his victories. He should be caught by the siren calls of a Vegas lifestyle to the frustration of his father. That would explain his eventual collapse in the final fight as he runs out of fuel. Overall, this is really good although I would still make a few changes.