Rocky

plonk

Just after watching Rocky 3 and got the idea to check out what ratings the rocky films got on imdb and to my shock Rocky 4 only got 5.7 out of ten the second worst in Rocky saga.

To me the way I would put in order from best to worst would be

Rocky
Rocky 4
Rocky Balboa
Rocky 2
Rocky 3
and I still havent seen Rocky 5.

So just wondering what your opinions are on the rocky films (best worst etc) and is the 5.7 for Rocky 4 justified.

Nolanger

Rocky 4 is the worst in the series. Something to do with an American boxer travelling to Russia for an unofficial boxing match and having the natives and military cheering him by the end of the fight? Mid-'80s cold war hokum with a string of dated MTV-style music sequences.

Galvasean

Love Rocky 4, and its all thanks to Dolph.
He has the biggest dick Ive ever seen on a man dontyaknow?

idlesupernova

http://www.ruthlessreviews.com/reviews.cfm/id/1458/page/the_misunderstood__ivan_drago.html

History has not given Ivan Drago a fair shake. Not even close. In all likelihood, Drago, a.k.a. The Siberian Bull, a.k.a. Death From Above, will go down as one of the defining terrors of the 1980s. Our grandchildren will remember him as a barely human manifestation of everything that was wrong with the Soviet Union. But that **** isn’t right. The elitist intellectual scholars who are in a rush to place Drago in a league with the Takagi-fortune-Stealing, non-girl-needing, Wade-murdering, Boddicker-esque villains that defined the 80s couldn’t be more wrong. At worst, he is a misunderstood abomination, the monster to the Soviet Union’s Frankenstein; a beast with incredible (and sometimes lethal) capabilities whose character is deeply buried beneath its freakish appearance and distorted by the fear it inspires. At best, Ivan is nothing short of a hero, a revolutionary, and, in 1985, one of humanity’s brightest lights.

Yeah, okay, so he caved in Apollo Creed’s head. What? That’s his fault? **** no. Like his wife said, he’s a professional fighter, not a killer. He never wanted to hurt Creed, who was well known and very respected in the Soviet Union. No, Ivan Drago didn’t kill Apollo Creed. Apollo Creed killed Apollo Creed, with assists from Rocky Balboa and an incompetent referee.

The fact of the matter is that Creed killed himself when he manipulated his way into fighting Drago. He had no business getting in the ring with anyone, for that matter. He was a god damned Has Been, just like straight-shooting Russian antagonist Nicoli Koloff said he was. Honestly, it could be argued that Creed was washed up before his first fight with Rocky. He eked out a controversial spit-decision victory against a struggling club fighter who only had six weeks to train for the fight. Then, a year later, he was knocked out by the same club fighter, who was boxing right-handed for the first time, nursing a surgically repaired eye, and had virtually no strategy (Run through him? Run over him? Thanks, Mick).

And that was some eight odd years before the Drago fight, when he was beaten to death in the second round by an amateur fighter. The Counte of Monte Fisto evaded exactly zero of the 41 punches Drago threw. The only reason he didn’t die sooner was because Drago wasted five or six punches on his body. And it’s not like he wasn’t warned beforehand. Rocky reminded Apollo that he was an old man, and cautioned him against mixing it up with Drago. Did he listen? **** no. He bitched about someone else stealing his glory. He was a ****ing Has Been that died because he was everything Drago and Rocky weren’t: arrogant, boastful, flashy, superficial, lazy, and, at the risk of being redundant, black.



Speaking of Rocky, THROW THE DAMN TOWEL! It was pretty clear that Apollo was being beaten to death by the end of the first round. Drago even gave him a shake of the head, all but pleading for Rocky to shut Apollo down. What? He mumbled something to you, after suffering severe head trauma, about not stopping the fight? That’s your justification for letting him die in an exhibition match? In front of his wife? In front of James Brown? And where was the ref? Yeah, he made half an effort to get between Drago and Creed, but he obviously wasn’t trying hard enough. He probably wasn’t even a licensed ref. He was probably one of James Brown’s entourage. That fight was such a god damned circus, it wouldn’t surprise me.

Anyway, while Creed’s death wasn’t going to make anyone look good, Drago’s bad rap comes mostly from the **** stoically proclaimed as Apollo was dying in Stallone’s arms. But what does he say that’s so awful? “I cannot be defeated. I defeat all men.” Nothing wrong there. You can hear his anger at being forced into this situation bubbling up through his words, but he hasn’t crossed any lines. “I defeat real champion.” Yeah, the liberal media assumes he means he wants to fight Rocky, but he hasn't fought Rocky. He fought Apollo. I'm pretty sure he just called Apollo a Real Champion. Pretty ****ing generous words for a man who lost his last two fights to a club fighter and an amateur, respectively.

Of course, everyone got their panties in a twist when the gentle giant calmly explained that “If he dies, he dies.” Yeah, that **** sounds pretty callous until you realize that Drago knows virtually no English. I mean, the guy is doing his damnedest to explain what's happening, but he just doesn't have the vocabulary to expand upon his philosophy. A young guy from a small town in the Soviet Union, on his first trip to America, forced to fight a childhood hero on a stage in Las Vegas, who has a legendary fighter and trainer in his corner, and was just was dancing with Soul Brother Number One. And now his idol is dying by his hand. ****, man, it’s a miracle that he remembered any English at all. And who knows what he was trying to say? He was probably trying to be compassionate. Maybe he was trying to relate to Americans a Soviet parable that would bring dignity to Creed as he lay dying on the mat.

His words to Rocky before the climactic fight illustrate his fragile state of mind: “I must break you.” Must. As in, against his will. He didn't say “I want to break you,” or “I will take pleasure in breaking you,” or even a more passive “You shall be broken by me.” He must break him. Drago was clearly shaken by the death of Apollo Creed, and wanted Rocky to understand that he was being forced into the ring.

And then there’s the fight. Drago spared Rocky’s life. There’s no two ways about it. We have all wondered, laughingly, how Rocky could survive a fight with a man that threw punches with 2150 pounds per square inch behind them. Just a stupid movie plot hole, right? Wrong. Drago was pulling punches for the entire fight. You think Drago didn't see those readings when he punched that psi bag, or whatever it was? Of course he did, and he knew what would happen if actually unloaded on Rocky: he’d be dead by the second round.



Not only did Drago keep Balboa alive, he threw that fight. I’m certain of it. Even in the early rounds, you can see him setting the stage. Yeah, Rocky is like a piece of iron. My ass. I doubt Drago would even notice if Rocky was, in fact, made of iron. With more than 2,000 psi behind his punches, he could probably punch a hole in God.

And you know why he threw it? Because he loved America and he loved capitalism, and he wanted to bring righteous American values to his own country. The idea that Drago was representative of Soviet values was bull****. We all remember what Drago declared before the 15th round. He bellowed at his handlers, the Soviets in attendance, and the ****ing politburo: “I WIN FOR ME! FOR ME!”

For me? Does that sound like a Communist to you? It doesn’t sound like any ****ing Red I’ve ever heard of. And you’ll notice that he only said that he wins. He didn’t say he wins boxing matches. That’s because he never intended to win that boxing match. His goal was to let this noble American come into Moscow and, against all odds, emerge victorious, thus displaying the magnificent virtues of capitalism for all of the Soviet Union and its citizenry to see. I mean, you didn’t see Drago rushing to stop Rocky during his climactic speech, did you? ****, he probably wrote it for him. The broken English is a dead give away.

Without a doubt, Drago had a plan, and it did not involve winning the fight. How else can you explain Drago lifting a man, who looked to weigh in excess of 200 lbs, several feet off the ground, with a single arm, and then going out and losing to a man who, by that point, had literally been beaten retarded (in yet another example of recklessness by American trainers; hit the one in the middle? Are you ****ting me? Throw the damn towel!). Or the panicked manner in which Drago openly begs Rocky to take a swing at him in the 15th round, so he can take a believable dive?

“To the end,” Drago tells Rocky before the final round. To the end is right: the end of the Soviet ****ing Union. If that wasn’t a toast, then I’ve never heard one. And yet, Drago’s legacy is that of a scoundrel, and it is Rocky Balboa, a man who won American hearts by bludgeoning successful black men and AIDS victims, that we remember as the hero. Who is the real monster? Not the Siberian Bull. Not Ivan.

PullMyFinger!

Ive seen them all and seen 2 and 3 countless times. For me 2 is the best. 100% perfect popcorn movie.

extraflavour

rocky 4 is just montage after montage! its ridiculous that the soviets end up cheering for him at the end! still a good movie but Rocky 3 is still the best! especially with Mr.T...

''whats your prediction for the upcoming fight?''

''Pain''

guinnessdrinker

I think it's a toss up between Rocky II and Rocky III, too close to call. I enjoyed Rocky IV though, everyone seems to like that one even though it may not be their favourite one.

I seen Rocky Balboa last year and enjoyed that too. The only one in the series I never seen is Rocky V. Must get around to watching it sometime even though I have rarely heard good things about it.

Ruu_Old

Rocky 3 for me, just for the Mr.T factor. I loved them all to be honest. I would sit down and watch them if they were on telly (which they are a great deal, TCM).

Mr.T (to Adrian) Hey, Woman. Hey, Woman! Listen here. Since your old man ain't got no heart, maybe you like to see a real man. I bet you stay up late every night dreamin' you had a real man, don't ya? I'll tell you what. Bring your pretty little self over to my apartment tonight, and I'll show you a real man.

Podge_irl

Rocky Balboa is, in many ways, just a remake of the original Rocky. However, I happen to prefer the latest one, I just think Sly's character is more believeable in Balboa than in the original. I don't particularly think Rocky is a masterpiece of cinema or anything, and am mildly amused that it won the oscars that it did, but it is still a good film, yet I feel Balboa is essentially a better telling of the same story.

Dont be at yourself

Rocky 4 is basically four montages and an absolutely bewildering scene with a tea-serving robot. Shockingly enough, it's not even the worst Rocky.

For my money:

Rocky
Rocky 3
Rocky Balboa
Rocky 2
Rocky 4
Rocky 5

gcgirl

Nolanger wrote: »

Rocky 4 is the worst in the series. Something to do with an American boxer travelling to Russia for an unofficial boxing match and having the natives and military cheering him by the end of the fight? Mid-'80s cold war hokum with a string of dated MTV-style music sequences.

I loved Rocky 4 i think i was 11 or 12 at the time and all you could hear out of the cinema was ROCKY ROCKY! Plus i loved the music as well!!

Karl Hungus

Nolanger wrote: »

Rocky 4 is the worst in the series. Something to do with an American boxer travelling to Russia for an unofficial boxing match and having the natives and military cheering him by the end of the fight? Mid-'80s cold war hokum with a string of dated MTV-style music sequences.

You're wrong. Rocky 5 is by far the worst.

idlesupernova

Rocky
Rocky Balboa
Rocky II
Rocky III
Rocky IV
Rocky V

gerrybbadd

For me it's gotta be:

Rocky 4
Rocky
Rocky Balboa
Rocky 3
Rocky 2
Rocky 5