The nadir of the series

Rating: 1/10 (4 July 2008)

This was the movie which put me off seeing Stallone movies for years. I was a huge fan of his first three Rocky movies (which I consider to be great/classic) and "First Blood" (the first of the "Rambo" movies).
In Rocky IV, Stallone turns the inspiring story of a no-name boxer who becomes world champion into part of the Cold War culture battle between the USA and USSR. Every opportunity is taken to portray Russians in an unflattering light...as drug taking cheats or what not (ironic, seeing as how the US Olympic team is now so heavily tainted by the "drug cheats" smear).
Stallone really embraced President Reagan's Cold War views on Russia. After reading some plot details of the sequel to "First blood", I thought I'd give that movie a miss. I'm still yet to see that movie. Sounds like another Cold War, anti-Russian piece of propaganda. If you are a fan of President Reagan and loved his characterisation of the USSR as an Evil Empire, deserving nuclear annihilation (personally, I didn't find that 'joke' of Reagan's funny, as it smeared an entire people with the muddy term "evil"), then I think you will have a lot to like in this film. It will confirm all your views about the US and USSR.
It wasn't until a couple of years ago, I think, that I finally saw the next installment in this franchise...it was on commercial TV and on very late at night...might have even been the premier of Rocky V! In that film, Stallone, via Rocky Balboa, seems to backtrack from the excesses of Rocky IV. He seems to retract what he was saying in that movie. It was still a very silly movie (no doubt the next worst film in this series), but I'm curious now to see the latest in the franchise, "Rocky Balboa". Could be fun.
Really, this movie is part of the Stallone oeuvre where you could bill his movies as "Produced by the Pentagon. Directed by the CIA". In other words, pure political propaganda, which played a part in Reagan's Cold War against the USSR.
The nadir of the series.