I don't get a lot of posting time these days due to personal complications, but I had to chime in here on Cf3's 0 Tacos Take. ("0TT") This post took me like 3 days to type out on a phone bc I can't get Tapatalk but I proceeded anyway bc I'm that committed to it.
Been watching Rocky movies with CF3 jr to get ready for Creed III and I have a hot take.
Of the first 4 Rocky movies, IV is the worst by a lot. The acting is terrible, the story is super predictable and boring, the fight is dumb because there's like 200 knockout level punches. There are 3 montages in the movie, they all suck. The training scene song "Hearts on Fire" is terrible. The crowd turning on their national hero and supporting Rocky is stupid. The scene where Apollo dies is ridiculous, Rocky holds a dying Apollo in his arms as the press crowds around taking pictures- there's not a doctor or paramedic around?
Rocky I and Rocky II are great movies, that have great characters. Rocky III is a good movie but is kind of corny.
People who think they love Rocky IV are either dumb or haven't seen it since they were 12.
While I enjoy Cf3 a great deal, this is a terrible take. (Also Rocky definitely deserves its own thread. =mods?=)
Rocky BonafidesI completed a Rocky rewatch with the Li'l Meals a few years ago. I also had a high school relationship that was centered around the rank order of Rocky movies and whether III or IV was better. For a long time, Rockys I-V were the only movies I owned on DVD. A guy I know was playing "Hearts on Fire" as we lifted weights together less than two months ago, and the song absolutely still gets the blood pumping. So believe me when I state: Cf3's take is unequivocally wrong.
Cultural Endurance of Rocky IVRocky IV--while I agree, a different movie than Rocky I--is the best for exactly the reasons Cf3 hates it. Most people can name 1-2 iconic lines or scenes from Rockys I-III, but anyone who has seen it can name significantly more memorable moments from IV. They might remember the run up the stairs and "Adriaaaaaan," but that's all that most casual fans remember. And they probably can't tell you if those moments happen in I, II, or III.
But if people hear someone talking about Rocky IV, they will either say "Is that the one with the Russian?" or just immediately start quoting it--just as DQ did. They will talk about the training montage, Drago getting injected with Soviet steroids, Rocky winning the Cold War, "If I's can change," Apollo dying, the sexy robot, etc. They remember much more about the film than Rocky I, II, III, or V.
Rocky I may have an Oscar, but no one remembers where Rocky and Adrian met, how he proposed, how he trained (other than the stair scene), that the final fight was a Rocky loss, etc.
Culmination of Previous / Foundation for Future MoviesRocky IV is an inflection point in the franchise. It is the culmination of the Apollo and Adrian storylines (both die during or after IV). It is Rocky at the peak of his powers--he has vanquished all foes.
It is also the basis for the Creed franchise. Is Adonis as bitter at the world if his dad doesn't die at the hands of Drago? (spoiler alert) It is literally the foundation for Creed II, as Adonis fights Drago's son (in a movie that made me IRL cry on a Southwest Airlines flight). We literally do not have the Creed franchise as we know it without Rocky IV.
Pre-Eminent MontageThe two iconic montages of the series are the Snow Montage (IV) and the Stairs Montage (I). But if you watch it again, the Rocky I montage is really just Rocky running around Philly or working out in a dirty gym for the first couple of minutes. Stallone's feats are impressive, but his body isn't necessarily overwhelming. The thing that makes it iconic is the music. (Note: most people think Eye of the Tiger is from the Rocky I montage. It's not.) Even when he gets to the top of the steps, he's by himself, he just kind of dances around, and then there's a freeze frame.
The Snow Montage blows it out of the water. The music is more "of its time." (Tons of hilarious synth.) The juxtaposition between Drago's training in a super high tech Soviet lab vs. Rocky's American can-do spirit out in the wilderness. (He helps a horse get unstuck from the snow like 10 seconds in?) Rocky is followed--and subsequently ditches--some KGB members. He cuts a ton of wood. His body is way more chiseled (probably from pulling Paulie in a sled, not from anything synthetic) than in I. Drago punches the computer thing. Rocky does an insane ab bend thing on a table that I have literally never seen another human do. He lifts a giant bag of rocks and also a bunch of people in a...chariot? It concludes with Our Guy climbing a MOUNTAIN and yelling his opponent's name loud enough for all of Soviet Russia to hear him.
Heck, it's even a DOUBLE MONTAGE. We get to see Rocky and Drago montaging together, as enemies (and future buds).
People will say that Rocky I is the best montage, because they remember the stairs and because they think it's Eye of the Tiger playing. But it's clear that IV's montage is better.
Best VillainDrago is a better villain than Apollo and Clubber Lang. Apollo may be a better character, but Drago is a better villain.
Most RewatchableIt's easily the most rewatchable movie of the series--a point MIR has already made. Rocky I is actually kind of slow. Rocky II is kind of the same movie as I but not as groundbreaking. Rocky III is beloved by Mr. T fans but is kind of a proto-IV. Rocky V and Rocky Balboa are largely ignored.
The movie that my kids wanted to rewatch the most? Rocky IV. The one they look forward to watching when we're back together? Rocky IV.
I could go on, but it's more important to get this post out than to make sure it's perfect.
@Cartierfor3, ain't gonna be no rematch.
