Really, really bad.

Rating: Null/10 (2 July 2004)

This movie continues the saga of Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed. Creed is getting older by now and starting to feel washed up, so when a fresh, new boxer (Ivan Drago) announces his intention to compete for the world heavyweight title, Creed sees it as his chance to prove to everyone that he's still "got it."
Creed's reasoning is ludicrous, as are a lot of the arguments that take place in this movie. Evidently Drago is big sensation in Russia and a gold medalist and amateur champion to boot. Yet NOBODY in the United States seems to know anything about the guy. Of course, this movie takes place back when the Russian were the "bad guys", so maybe we just weren't paying much attention to their athletes since we were so worried about getting nuked by their leaders.
The match between Creed and Drago will be an exhibition match, which opens with James Brown signing and performing with a bunch of dancers in flashy costumes. The bewildered look on Drago's face as all this is going on is kind of funny. The match only lasts into the 2nd round - at which point the Russian beats Apollo Creed so badly that Apollo dies in the ring. Bet you didn't see THAT coming, did you?
This makes Rocky understandably upset, so he decides to challenge the Russian. Ah, but there's a catch - the match will be fought in Russia! Why? Because, according to Drago's spooky-looking Russian wife, Drago has been receiving death threats for beating Apollo Creed's head in and killing him and whatnot. Drago and his technologically-advanced training entourage pack up and go back to Russia to prepare for the fight, which will take place on Christmas day.
Rocky decides to train in Russia too, and it's at this point in the movie where we see the contrast between Rocky's training style and the Russian's. While Drago relies on the latest machines, performance-enhancing drugs, and computer monitoring devices, Rocky gets in shape the old-fashioned way - by running around in the snow, cutting down trees, doing countless sit-ups, and climbing mountains.
Anyhow, the fight comes and of course the crowd is all for Drago. But that little guy from Philly eventually starts to win over the crowd as he continues, in true Rocky style, to stay on his feet despite getting knocked silly by the overpowering Drago. Finally, by the end of the match the 99% Russia crowd is chanting "Rocky! Rocky!" as they watch their own Drago start to slip and get worn down by Rocky. This is probably the most ridiculous moment in the movie, as there is NO WAY this would happen, particularly in the early 1980's when the rift between the Soviet Union and the United States was arguably at its peak.
Of course, Rocky wins (sorry if that spoils the story for anyone) and ends up giving this self-important speech to the Russian crowd about "change." There's a nice effort at symbolism here, but it kind of falls flat.