From formulaic to silly

Rating: 3/10 (12 April 2015)

From formulaic to silly.
The first Rocky is one of the most overrated movies of all time. Implausible plot, often dull and with some of the worst performances you'll see in a movie.
Only thing that made it watchable was the occasional humour, the introductory scenes and the final fight scene.
Rocky II was more of the same. Human drama for 90% of the film, followed by an intense fight scene. This time, however, the human drama side is more realistic and engaging and the movie flows better for it. Still not great, as it all feels kind of predictable, but it is less dull than the first movie.
Rocky III was even more of the same - the template has been created and was there to be used/abused.
Rocky IV has the same plot - evil, seemingly unbeatable nemesis rises to take on Rocky, and the movie culminates in a long, intense fight. However, this time the nemesis is Russian and the Cold War is still on. Cue much patriotic chest-beating and a speech at the end. Lead-up to the final scene is quite silly.
If you were a fan of the Rocky movies - and I certainly wasn't - and at some stage de-fanned, this movie would have been where you left the train.