Not a classic but still good at times

Rating: Null/10 (15 March 2007)

I have now seen four of the first five "Rocky" movies. I still have the third to go. But I can say that this was the least entertaining of the four so far. Not the worst, because it wasn't all bad.
My favorite scene is the birthday party for Uncle Paulie. I like the warm family moments, especially when they are funny. And I like that robot that Rocky gives Uncle Paulie as a present. And I like Uncle Paulie and Rocky's son. Adrian is quite pretty. The actors playing all three do a good job.
In second place, although I don't like boxing (which is why I've taken so long to see these movies), is watching Rocky persevere against Drago. I can't stand watching the guy get beat up so badly. How can anyone take so much punishment and still keep fighting? And yet he does. It's a pleasure to see him actually wear down Drago.
Sylvester Stallone gives a good performance overall here. Sure, this isn't a classic, but it's not terrible. Carl Weathers is even better, though to me his reaction to Drago is overdone (part of that is writing). And certainly what happened to Apollo in the ring was too much. But it does give Rocky an incentive.
Brigitte Nielsen and Michael Pataki give good performances as well. As for Dolph Lundgren, he does an amazing job of just looking tough and fierce, but for the most part Drago shows no emotion. In one exciting sequence where he and Rocky are both shown training in separate locations, he does show some determination. And toward the end of his fight with Rocky, Drago no longer appears to be a robot. I wouldn't call that good acting, though.
For those who started with this movie, that would be unfortunate because you're not seeing how good the others are. But there are flashbacks at one point, with music but no sound, to help explain what has happened.
The music in this movie is certainly not my taste. The familiar theme from the first two movies is not in it, to my knowledge, though the Survivor theme from the third movie is pretty good. Most of the rest of the songs, as opposed to background music, sound like garbage to me. James Brown's performance in the typical Vegas introduction to the first fight shows "He's still got it" as of the making of this movie, but it's still not the sort of thing I like. Wayne Newton, Frank Sinatra, or any number of Vegas-style musicians would have pleased me more.
There is some beautiful scenery in Russia (actually Canada).
Anyway, if you enjoyed the other movies, you might consider this a letdown, or you might enjoy this more because some of what made the others good is here.