The last great Rocky movie.

Rating: 10/10 (2 June 2006)

Let's face it. All of the first four Rocky movies are great. (The fifth one is one of the most notorious films of all time, alongside such classics as Highlander II: The Quickening.) In my opinion, "Rocky IV" is the second-best of the bunch, next to the original, then III, and then II. In Rocky, we got to see the classic story of a down-on-his-luck prize-fighter getting a shot at the title, and going fifteen rounds with the World Champion. In II, he actually won the title, in III, he showed us the Eye of the Tiger, and in IV, he takes on the Soviet Union, in boxing of course. Seemingly inspired by the 1980 Miracle on Ice, "Rocky IV" tells another story of the Cold War being fought in sports, with Rocky once again being the underdog,a nd taking on a gigantic Soviet behemoth, played by Dolph Lundren (first Mr. T, then Dolph Lundren; how can you beat that?). It goes without saying that Rocky IV is the cheesiest of the bunch, with he Soviet having to be an enormously powerful man, whose power is often over exaggerated, but that's part of what makes it so entertaining. The battle is also very personal for Rocky, and this movie is, in some ways, the most intense of the series. It also has the best training montage, and some other great musical numbers. Certainly the best of the bunch movie-wise.
The series should have ended with IV, but we had to endure the dismal V, and now, goodness help us, we're going to have a Rocky VI. Oh well, at least we'll always be able to remember these first four great movies. Rent them!
"Hearts on fire!"