In 1985 we got Rocky IV and if we’re honest it’s the most far fetched, fantastical entry into the Rocky franchise. But that didn’t stop it becoming a favourite of many. largely down to it being a quintessential 80’s action film, as opposed to the gritty dramas that started the series.
I guess it was the success of Creed II and the return of Drago into the franchise that gave Stallone the idea of looking at Rocky IV again, to see if he could turn it from the glorified music video that we got into something a little more meaningful.
So. Did it work?
Sort of. The first thing we notice in this directors cut is the start, instead of picking up with just the end of III, we get a 10 minute recap of III instead, all purposely done I think to reinforce the friendship between Rocky and Apollo. We then jump to the familiar scenes with Apollo watching the news coverage of Drago being announced on the world stage and him going to see Rocky to explain his plan to fight Drago.
This is where the film bizarrely adds an unexpected philosophical layer to itself.
It’s been said that athletes die twice, once when they retire and again when their days are done and this is what we see Apollo struggling with and I have to admit I did like seeing it, especially as we see Rocky feel glimpses of the same thing.
Adrian (as always) is the voice of reason in this meeting, and in a new scene we see her explain to Rocky that Apollo just wants to be loved as he once was. She also lays it out to both Rocky and Apollo that they’re both getting too old, which has always felt a little odd, like shouldn’t Apollos wife be saying that to him?
The fight between Apollo and Drago is more brutal that before, Drago seemingly holding back much longer before starting to throw punches, with each one being absolutely devastating. It’s a sequence made all the more tragic by Apollo begging Rocky not to stop the fight between the first and second rounds. It’s almost as if Apollo has decided that this is how he wants to go, under the lights, fighting one last time.
In this version we get an extended scene of Rocky pleading his case to the American boxing authorities, this was mainly covered by newspaper headlines in the original version and this is a much better way of telling that particular story, it makes it more relatable somehow, more tangible.
The film becomes very familiar here, with one training montage following another. The next noticeable difference coming at the end of the second round of the fight with Drago getting cut. Yes its in the original version, but here we see Drago asking his corner men if his eye is OK, as if his perception of his own invincibility has been shaken.
The fight ends in the familiar way, with Rocky ending the cold war with his after fight speech. One nice touch is we see Rocky go over to Drago in the opposite corner, we don’t hear any dialogue but it seems that any grievances are put to rest, which is a nice touch.
So was it all worth it? As an experiment I guess it works, and credit has to go to Stallone for being able to add substance and weight to arguably the most story light film of the franchise.
I don’t know if I prefer it over the original, and I’m not sure it can be considered cannon to the rest of the films, mainly down to the moment in the ring between Rocky and Drago after the fight. As I said, that looked like them putting any problems to bed, yet as we saw in Creed II that there were still ill feelings between the two, so maybe the original version of Rocky IV is the ”real” one.
I’d definitely recommend it, especially if like me, you have grown up with these films. It’s nice to see more angles of some of the conversations we saw in the original. And yes, it’s nice to not have to put up with that damn robot!
7.5/10
Dead Mans Chest 