Rocky IV

Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) has taken on all comers, so why not up the ante, have him defeat a superman and end the Cold War for the civilized world? Rocky IV maybe doesn’t go quite that far, but not for want of trying. Rocky’s friend Apollo goes into the ring to fight Russian baddie Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), but doesn’t come out. It’s up to Rocky, in full ‘80s patriotism, to represent US, fight against steroids, and bring about glasnost. “Living in America,” indeed!

ClearPlay In Action!

ClearPlay trims some boxing violence, drug use, and some minor profanity. As with the third installment, however, a critical plot point could be disturbing to younger viewers. It’s got a nice patriotic message, smothered in schmaltz and draped with the American flag.

Can we get Rocky to fight the war on terror, too?...

One of my complaints about Rocky IV is that it’s so loaded with montages culled from the previous films, it feels like Rocky’s Greatest Hits. We’ve managed to also add to the list of boogeymen by denouncing modernization in favor of good old-fashioned American hustle. Rocky doesn’t need shots and state-of-the-art weight training when he has access to trees. It’s all somewhat dumb, but IV certainly has its fans.

Marty Nabhan, ClearPlay Promoter

Rated PG; 91 Mins; Directed by Sylvester Stallone