Essay/Term paper: Rocky iv

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Movie Reviews

In 1985, a movie was made that displayed the attitudes and fears that Americans had of the former Soviet Union. Although the

movie had some flaws, it did closely represent the feelings of the era that was depicted. This paper intends to analyze and give

the proper credit that this movie and its actors deserve.



East meets West when Rocky takes on a vicious Soviet fighter who literally killed his last opponent! Sylvester Stallone writes,

directs, and stars in this war between nations in which the only battle is fought in a boxing ring. Rocky must defend his honor,

his friend, and America itself.



Rocky proudly holds the world heavyweight boxing championship, but a new

challenger has stepped forward: Drago (Dolph Lundgren), a six-foot four-inch, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the

Soviet Union. Rocky"s friend, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) fights Drago in an exhibition match, but after Creed"s fatal

defeat, Rocky knows he must avenge his friend and beat the Soviet adversary. Rocky"s training regimen takes him to icy

Siberia, where he prepares for a globally-televised match in the heart of Moscow. It"s a powerfully-charged event as Rocky

takes on Drago in a heart-pounding fight to the finish.



What makes this movie so great is that it captured our fears and hopes all at the same time. In a way, by watching this movie,

we were in our own way fighting against our Russian advisories. As far as the historical accuracy goes, we must remember that

this is just a movie. As with all the ROCKY movies, the boxing matches go on far longer than they would in real life. In this

movie, we saw the Soviet Training system as a finely regimented and scientific endeavor. According to Soviet sports training

books I have read, the kinds of training depicted in the movie may very well be accurate. There are only two things that may be

a stretch: The first is the use of sparring partners by Drago. The movie depicts Drago pummeling every one of his partners,

sending them to the canvas spitting up blood. This, of course, doesn"t happen in real life, sparring partners are partners not

punching bags. The second thing about Drago's training that is questionable is his use of steroids in the movie. Contrary to

popular belief, this was not a wide spread practice and, in fact, it was condemned by the government. Any athlete who was

caught doing steroids, or any coach who distributed them, were eliminated from the sports program. Soviet scientists and

trainers knew that the use of steroids only provided a quick boost in strength, and that continued use of them would cause

extensive injuries to the athlete. In short, the athlete would be injured so much that he would have been able to train harder and

achieve maximum performance without the drugs. In the movie's defense though, the scene is relevant in the context that we all

thought the Soviets were taking superior drugs thus adding to our fear of them.



This movie definitely displayed our thoughts and emotions dealing with the Cold War, right up to the very end. Our sentiments

were captured exactly when after the fight Rocky said, "Tonight you had two people killing each other...but I guess that's better

than 20 million. If I can change and if you can change...everyone can change".



To be honest, the reason this is my favorite movie is because it of the way to pumps me up. After his friend, Apollo, dies, the

emotions fly. I felt the tension and I saw the look in Rocky"s eyes. Every time I watch, the movie I almost cry (the part where

he drives his car around and has flashbacks to him and Apollo being together). I love the part where he is all alone in the

Russian home and I could see him train. I watch this movie (or Rocky V, or Over the Top) before football games and fast

forward to the part when he goes to Russia to train. My favorite part of the movie (of course) is the final fight. Anyone who has

watched boxing knows it"s not very realistic, but that don"t matter. The fact of the matter is this, Rocky takes a beating. He

focus, and Drago gets checked into the Smackdown Hotel.



In conclusion, the movie served it"s purpose with the Cold War, but more importantly, it"s a good action movie. It is an older

movie, but some are classics.