Weak film that hurts trilogy

Rating: Null/10 (16 August 2004)

Rocky IV is the first of the two "unnecessary" Rocky films. The series would have been perfectly ended after Rocky III, marking a strong trilogy, but it would continue with two more weak films that bring down the quality of the entire series.
This film goes where the previous Rockys did not go in which it tried to make a grand social commentary. Although Rocky I did a lot of focusing on the urban decay of Philadelphia, this film tries to do the Cold War commentary. But it makes the wrong one. Instead of commenting on the futility of both sides of the conflict, it simply puts all blame on the Russians, and does the classic "America good, Russia bad" motif. This film supports the idea that if the Russians open their eyes and stop being some oppressive, they will see the great glories of freedom and capitalism, which is an overly simplistic and biased viewpoint.
This film also fails with the death of Apollo Creed. It does what so many Hollywood films did up until probably the mid-90s, in the discarding of the black characters when their purpose was up, or enacting their deaths because they were expendable.
This film only works on the level that if the audience wishes to see weak acting, little character development, a kickass soundtrack, Stallone in great shape training, and a brutal gladiatorial brawl. Although I don't think anybody would argue that the Rocky series ever represented the pinnacle of acting quality, but this movie seems to be the weakest of the films at its time (of course Rocky V would completely blow it out of the water). The fight between Stallone and Lundgren is arguably the series best if judged on the level of two men just beating the crap out of each other. But that is the only redeeming factor of this film.
As stated before, this is an unnecessary film that should never have been made. Rocky goes through nothing in this film. In the three previous films, he had to endure in order to overcome. It's not the case in Rocky IV, in which Rocky is the same from beginning to end, the only change is that he no longer has Apollo at his side. Does Rocky IV entertain? Of course, and probably is the most entertaining of the series. The film does nothing but entertain us, there is no engagement. One can find the same in a clown or magician. So I suggest that people only watch the first three Rocky films, and stop there and consider IV and V to only be rumors, because it will bring down the quality of the series if viewed.