Reviews on movie Rocky IV: Rocky vs Drago - The Ultimate Director's Cut (2)

The great success of the first three films about boxer Rocky Balboa prompted Sylvester Stallone to shoot the fourth part according to his own script. It was released in 1985 and despite the dislike of critics, managed to collect more than $ 300 million at the box office. It would seem that then came a few more parts of the franchise and spin-off and what to return to “Rocky 4”, but Sylvester Stallone firmly decided to create his own directing version of the film.
The main story itself has not undergone radical changes. As before, Soviet boxer Ivan Drago, along with a delegation of officials and his wife, arrived in the United States on a so-called friendly visit. He also planned a show fight between Drago and Apollo Creed, a former world champion in professional boxing. However, during the battle, a great tragedy occurred and now Balboa himself is going to enter the ring.
The only problem is that he is a professional, and the boxing organization cannot sanction the defense of the title in a fight with an amateur, which is Drago. But this still does not stop Rocky, who at his own risk goes directly to the Soviet Union to prepare for the upcoming fight and still fight Drago on its territory.

Stallone decided to add many additional scenes to the film, which made the plot deeper than before. In particular, more screen time gets Apollo Creed, played by Carl Weathers. In the original, their joint scenes with Rocky were not so much, but now Stallone decided to return them to their place and show real friendship between the former rivals. So when Apollo enters the ring against Drago, it causes more emotion than before.
But Stallone wasn't just adding something new to his film. He was also cleaning something. For example, many are very funny Polly, the brother of his wife Rocky, along with his robot. It was funny for 1985, but then it became obsolete. That’s why Stallone felt the need to correct this point and focus more on the main thing. Thus, the place of scenes with the robot took moments with Apollo, as well as extended moments of preparing Rocky for the Battle, as well as the fight itself in the USSR.
“Rocky 4: Rocky vs. Drago. The director’s version was a pleasant surprise for all fans of the Sylvester Stallone franchise. This may be an optional version of the cult film, but it shows us a lot of new scenes and gives more insight into Rocky’s friendship with Apollo, as well as other nuances of the Balboa story.
8 out of 10

Creating directorial versions of certain films has long ceased to be something unique. Quite often, producers dictate their terms and visions of certain projects. In this regard, some directors manage to demonstrate their vision after several or even decades. Sometimes it is not very different from a well-known product, and sometimes it is coordinateally different. The representative of the first category and can be called this film directed by Sylvester Stallone.

Similar to the “theatrical version” of the film, the events of this film again unfold almost immediately after the end of the third film. Wanting to return to its former popularity, Rocky’s friend Apollo Creed challenges the champion among amateur boxers from the USSR Ivan Drago. But the show fight turns into a massacre when Apollo is killed in a fatal blow to Drago. Rocky decides to take revenge on Drago and goes to the Soviet Union.
It should be admitted that in comparison with the theatrical version, this directorial version does not represent any conceptual changes. The central story arc remained almost the same. Outside were only story branches with the hero of Burt Young (including his talking robot) and much more disclosure of the character received by Rocky himself. Much more deeply explored how difficult it was for Rocky to lose a friend and prepare for this fight. Otherwise, the story turned out to be practically the same and in my opinion even a little less dynamic.

From a director’s point of view, the film makes the same impression as the script. With the exception of some visual tricks and uses of different filters, as well as a much longer introduction with reference to the third “Rocky”, the film turned out almost the same. However, we can safely admit that despite the criticism of the film and almost four decades since the release of the original tape, the fourth Rocky still looks dynamic, spectacular and exciting work. What can already be made a powerful assessment of the worthy work of Sylvester Stallone as a director.
All actors, without exception, are good in their roles. Sylvester Stallone is still great in the image of Naz Rocky, beloved for decades. As for Drago performed by Dolph Lundgren, in this case his character became a little less cardboard and looks like a “stupid pitcher”. Which allowed Lundgren to show his acting skills a little better and create an even more brutal image.
8 out of 10

Rocky 4: Rocky vs. Drago is the director’s version of the undeservedly underrated film from the cult franchise about the Italian stallion. Conceptually, the film has remained pretty much the same and with the exception of some details, the changes are minimal. However, watching the movie is definitely worth it. Including in order to make sure that Stallone managed to make a great film, which even after almost four decades looks as exciting, spectacular and interesting.