Mediaboss Marketing

by Nathan Braisted

The third Creed movie has been released, and to help increase the hype, Netflix added all 37 Rocky movies to its repertoire. Well, theres only six, but it feels like there are just too many.

The only problem I have with both the Rocky and Creed franchises is that the filmmakers refuse to let sleeping dogs lie. But if the films continue to consistently make money, then I wouldnt stop either.

The Rocky franchise is one of the most iconic movie franchises of all time, and absolutely dominated box offices in the late 70s / early 80s. With so many iconic plots throughout the series, its hard to pick the best film of the six.

Not for me and most Rocky fans, who know that Rocky IV is miles ahead of other installments, and thats what were breaking down this week.

Rocky IV is a 1985 film written, directed and starring Sylvester Stallone. The film came out during the Cold War, and the films primary motif is America beating communism.

Russian super-athlete boxer Ivan Drago comes to America and is promoted by his manager to be unbeatable by the inferior American boxers. Rockys enemy-turned-mentor Apollo Creed sees these challenges and wants to prove himself as a true American patriot in the ring, so he agrees to fight Drago.

Rocky warns him against it but agrees to at least help him train for the match.

The fight is set in Las Vegas, and Creeds entrance is an over-the-top display of American showmanship to psych out Drago, but he just stands there completely unphased.

This dude is a stone-cold boxing machine, and I dont blame Rocky for sitting on the sidelines.

Creed gets absolutely demolished in the first round, leading Rocky and Apollos other trainer, Duke, to beg him to stop. Apollo is willing to die for his name and his country before a forfeit, and steps back in for round two.

Unfortunately, Apollo ends up losing his life at the hands of Drago by the end of the match. Apollos death is the motivation Rocky needs to fight Drago himself (and will be the motivation Donnie needs in Creed II).

Because of some league rules, Rocky will have to give up his championship if he wishes to fight Drago, which he does without care.

The fight is set in the Soviet Union on Christmas Day. Rocky flies out to a remote cabin in Russia to train, and were shown my favorite training montage of the whole series (I feel like it trumps the Philadelphia stair-climbing sequence) in which we have Rocky chopping logs with an ax, pulling sleds in the snow, and growing a cool beard in the process.

During Rockys training montage, we see Drago in a multi-million dollar training facility with dozens of researchers studying his every move. If the conditions werent unfair enough, we also learn that Drago has been pumped up with steroids the entire time. So not cool.

Now its time to fight. Rockys team decides their best way to win is to tire Drago out and strike when hes vulnerable.

While the speech Rocky gives at the end of the film may not have held true in reality, it makes for a really good ending in-universe.

The Cold War aspect of the whole movie is probably my favorite part. Both fighters represent so much more than just themselves; they represent their entire country.

The story is really good, and its interesting how it indirectly sets up the Creed franchise. The pacing is great, and its such an easy watch with a ton of replay ability.

The villains of the movie are really well done. If youre watching an 80s movie (or even an 80s-set movie), 90% of the time, the villain is going to be Russian. You think Red Dawn would have been half as good if Patrick Swayze was attacked by Antarcticians? Absolutely not.

Although it makes most of those villains seem a little less original, it shows just how influential the Cold War was in every aspect of American life.

Rocky IV is an absolute classic movie, and holds strong to this day. Like I said earlier, Netflix has picked up most of the Rocky movies, so give them a watch and see which you think is the best.

Here is the original post:
'Rocky IV' The Only Reason I Know Roman Numerals - Troy Tropolitan