An improvement on the third. Rocky gets brutal in this one as he shows he still packs the punch.

Rating: 7/10 (8 September 2010)

The first twenty minutes of Rocky IV is interesting, which is mainly focused on his friend Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) who see a Russian champion boxer who is going to take part in a charity event. Creed wants to get back into the ring after five years but Rocky (Stallone) warns him not to but Creed insists so Rocky helps him. Cut to the fight where the Americans make a big spectacle of signing before the fight with Creed hamming it up for the crowd. Then the fight begins and it becomes brutal and Creed is killed in the ring. Rocky is devastated and wants revenge against the Russian boxer so he agrees to go to Russia to fight him where he trains with the help of Creed's old coach. And that's it really. This is even shorter than Rocky III only reaching an hour and a half. Stallone again gives a great performance as does Talia Shire as Adrian though she has little screen time, you can tell she loves her husband very much with supporting him. Also Burt Young as Paulie gets a few good comedy moments to do with a robot that is programmed to help him out.
Carl Weathers returning the last time as Creed gives an entertaining performance with the time his on the screen, but I didn't think much of the Russian boxer. He dosen't say much and is quite boring though he is a fearsome adversary in terms of physically. There is a lovely montage of flashback when Rocky is driving his car with memories of his friendship with Creed and his own rise to fame with the brilliant song of "Eye of the Tiger" What I liked about Rocky IV more than III is the fight felt more personal and as a result after growing fond of Apollo Creed in Rocky III and the blossoming friendship between them. I wanted Rocky to beat the Russian boxer and that inspired me in the fight, which made it better to watch. The fight is absolutely brutal but it also demonstrates the clear divide between East and West, Russia and America in the Cold War. Though Russia hate Rocky at first they soon cheer for him. In the end this fourth instalment was better than the third and even though these last two can't match Rocky's I and II, they are good enough and I look forward to Rocky V.