Movie Review: Rocky IV (1985)

Ok, so most people on earth have seen at least one Rocky movie. They all are unique, but some people feel that the fourth Rocky film, is where the series "jumped the shark". In some ways that's true, there is literally a music video in the movie. No joke. However, there are some things that this movie does that make it really important to the series. It might not be the most entertaining installment, but lets take a look at why people really don't seem to like this movie. The first thing that made me scratch my head was the robot. For Paulie's birthday (Rocky's trainer), Rocky, Adrian, and Rocky's son get him a robot that talks and does chores. Robots are cool, but they are completely out of place in a movie about boxing. That would be like if you put a cafe scene in a science fiction movie. It just feels out of place and doesn't contribute at all to the story. The second thing that made me scratch my head was the music video. One of the characters in the movie dies, and so Rocky goes to fight the boxer that killed the character (no spoilers). Anyway, while Balboa is driving to go meet this guy, he starts going through memories. The thing is, the memories are presented as a music video, and it feels like it goes on forever. Ok, so now you must be wondering what's good? Well, this film addresses the issues of using steroids and performance enhancing drugs, so that is good for youth viewers. The other thing that I really liked in this movie was the soundtrack. After you watch Rocky 4, you will feel compelled to go and listen to the soundtrack. The music fits really well with the story. Overall, even though Rocky IV has parts that are out of place, it does hold up as a fairly decent movie, Sylvestor Stallone is really great in this role. Two Stars