A great movie and one of the best of the series

Rating: 10/10 (10 February 2008)

This is a very good movie. The very first Rocky is a classic. There's no doubt about that. But this movie is still very good and very inspirational like the other Rocky movies. Rocky IV was very well made and very well done. The acting by everyone is great as usual. Tony Burton gives one of the best performances in this one. He has so many great lines. Because Duke loses Apollo and bonds with Rocky, it makes him such a big part of Rocky IV. You really end up liking him even more after this one. I can't understand why Tony Burton was barely used at all in Rocky V and VI. Other things I loved about Rocky IV were the training scenes in Russia, the masterfully choreographed fight scene, the fact that he grows the beard in training, and the fact that this is the first time that Adrian doesn't think he can win. Even though Bill Conti didn't do the score for this one and Vince DiCola was in there, it's fine. DiCola's score is great. It fits in perfectly with this Rocky. The songs on the soundtrack were great too. I loved Rocky IV's music. It was a nice departure from the same old thing. I honestly don't understand why anyone would think this is a bad movie.
The Cold War type storyline is good in this too. The USA Vs. the Soviet Union. We were always in competition with them. It was either buildings, our space program, or our military. There was also much competition in the Olympics for that gold medal. This movie has many great scenes. One of my favorite parts is when the Rocky Vs. Drago fight is about to start and the two of them are staring at each other. I also love the training scenes and the final fight. People keep knocking that little speech that Rocky gives in the end. I don't know why. That was very well done too. He tells the Soviets how they felt about him and the way he felt about them was able to change from the fight. If something so great like that can happen there, then there is hope for the Cold War to some day end. Rocky says, "If I can change and you can change, everybody could change." Great ending to a great movie.
What I don't like are these horrible, negative reviews. All of you really need to lighten up. This is just a Rocky movie. All of you stuffed shirts are ripping it apart and trying to analyze it. It's just a movie. I can also prove a lot of these negative reviews wrong. First off, maybe you think the Apollo Creed and Drago fight is fake and would never happen. It can very well happen. In 1962 Benny Paret fought Emile Griffith. It ended tragically in the 12th round. Griffith trapped Paret in a corner and mercilessly beat him until his head went crashing into the ring post. Paret was lying helplessly on the ropes and Griffith kept banging the hell out of him. Griffith hit Paret 20 times until the referee stopped it. Paret went into a coma and died 9 days later. Maybe you think it's fake how Rocky keeps going down in his fight with Drago. In Primo Carnera's fight with Max Baer, Carnera went down no less than 10 times. Carnera also happened to be a 6ft 9in giant that couldn't even lick my kid brother. It seems you people also think that Rocky would have never won in real life. If you took a 7ft giant, taught him how to throw a punch, pumped him with steroids and put him in the ring against a great fighter I wonder who would win. A great fighter like Rocky would obviously win. Ivan Drago was just a giant that was taught to hit hard and be like a machine. As soon as Rocky cut him he didn't know what to do. Steroids and freakish strength do not make you a great fighter. Also keep in mind that Drago's fight with Rocky was his first professional fight. It was also the first time he was fighting someone that could fight back and the first time he ever had to go 15 rounds. It's a wonder Drago did as good as he did. The Soviets were shocked when Rocky started making a fight out of it. There were a lot of things they didn't consider with there machine. One of those things was Rocky. Drago was, in a way, just like Mason Dixon from Rocky VI. He had to really show what he was made of and he probably came out of his experience with Rocky a better fighter. Towards the end of the fight the Russian people were cheering for Rocky. You people think that wouldn't happen. "Everyone" loves an underdog. When Jesse Owens, an African American, won at the Olympics, Berlin cheered for him. Hitler even waved to him to congratulate him. So tell me now if Rocky IV is far fetched and could never happen.