‘If he dies… he dies…’
I should begin by saying that I watched this by accident. I thought I was watching the theatrical version and it was only once Paulie’s robot didn’t appear (HAPPYBIRTHDAYPAULIE) that I realised that something was amiss. Turns out I was watching Sylvester Stallone’s 2021 director’s cut. 38 minutes of new footage was added to this 35th anniversary edition, and over 40 minutes cut. While it does have its charms, this is not the definitive version of Rocky IV…
Instead of a paragraph about the plot, here are the lyrics from Survivor’s classic anthem ‘Burning Heart’: Two worlds collide. Rival nations. It’s a primitive clash. Venting years of frustrations. Bravely we hope. Against all hope. There is so much at stake. Seems our freedom’s up against the ropes. Does the crowd understand? Is it East versus West? Or man against man? Can any nation stand alone? Anyway. That’s the plot of Rocky IV.
Now, Rocky fans love this fourth entry because it’s a silly film. It’s not trying to be silly. But it is. And that’s what makes it so good. With this director’s cut, Sly has tried to make this a serious film. But it still contains 86 montages. This creates a tonal imbalance that this version never really reckons with. There is some lovely extra stuff with Creed (Carl Weathers) before his tragic demise, but the editing and sound mixing in the final fight are jarring and some of the more modern flourishes really don’t work (we certainly don’t need to hear Rocky’s inner monologue).
This version of Rocky IV is certainly different enough from the original to justify a viewing but I’m sad to say that it’s not a patch on the theatrical version. You simply can’t cut out Paulie’s robot. It’d be like cutting doubting Thomas from the bible. Unforgivable.