Robocop "Your move, creep!"

 

Right OK so time for one more review before the end of the month I think so this one is on another action film (yep I figured action films must make up at least two thirds of my reviews on here!).  And the film in question is Robocop, and no not the new dull looking remake I mean the original 1987 Robocop.

So let's load up on the guns and take a look at this un.....

And yes again, SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY

So the story is set in the near future in Detroit, where crime is out of control and the police are struggling to deal with and as a result the city gives the mega-corporation Omni consumer products (OCP) control over the police.  The company plans to replace the run down sections of Detroit with the new "Delta city" but they first must deal with the violent crime rate.  During a presentation the senior president of OCP Dick Jones (Ronny Cox) unveils a prototype law enforcement droid, ED-209 however the droid goes awry during the presentation and kills a board member.  The OCP chairman as a result then decides to back a younger rival to Jones, Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer) and his experimental cyborg police officer project nicknamed "Robocop".  In the meantime a police officer, Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is transferred to the old Detroit police force where he is teamed up with office Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen).  Together they patrol and tail a gang of bank robbers to an abandoned steel mill where Lewis is knocked out by one of the gang and Murphy is captured by the gang members lead by the ruthless Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith).  Boddicker taunts Murphy before he shoots off his hand and then lets his gang riddle his body with gunshots before Boddicker finishes him off with with a shot to Murphy's head.  Murphy is then taken to hospital but is soon pronounced dead and his body is taken to the OCP labs where he is rebuilt as Robocop.  As a result of Robocop's programming he follows three directives, one: serve the public trust, two: protect the innocent and three: uphold the law, but he also has a fourth secret directive.

Robocop is soon unveiled to the press and is sent out on the streets where he stops several crimes and soon gains alot of media attention as a result.  Robocop however starts to have flashbacks of his old life as Murphy and of his murder.  Lewis also stops Robocop just before he leaves the station and quietly tells him that he is Murphy after which Robocop starts to search out his killers.  Robocop stops a robbery in progress at a petrol station by one of Boddicker's gang, Emil (Paul McCrane) who recognises Robocop when he uses the phrase that Murphy used earlier "Dead or alive you're coming with me!" which prompts Emil to shout "I know you!  You're dead.  We killed you!" and as he tries to escape on his bike Robocop disables Emil's bike and grabs him asking who he is but Emil passes out.  Robocop then takes a visit by his old house where he has more flashbacks of his old life and then he decides to go after another member of Boddicker's gang, Leon Nash (Ray Wise) and interrogates him on Boddicker's whereabouts. 

In the meantime Morton is promoted to vice president for his success with Robocop much to the annoyance of Jones who warns him that his creation "better not screw up!".  And sometime later Morton has two models around his house with whom he shares some cocaine with only then for Boddicker to then interrupt them, he scares the models into leaving.  Boddicker then shoots Morton in his kneecaps and plays a video messsage from Jones revealing that he sent Boddicker to kill him for going over his head to the chairman.  Boddicker places a grenade on a table and walks out leaving Morton to die in the resulting explosion.  Soon after Robocop tracks down Boddicker at a cocaine factory and he takes down most of the criminals there and he attempts to kill Boddicker but stops when Boddicker mentions that he works for Dick Jones and that OCP runs the cops and instead arrests Boddicker.  Robocop then goes after Jones and tries to arrest him but he is suddenly incapacitated and Jones explains that this is because of Robocop's secret fourth directive, which prevents him from harming any OCP executive.  Jones then sets ED-209 on Robocop and the two of them fight, injuring Robocop but he manages to escape as ED-209 falls down some stairs and the droid can't get up again.  Robocop however is soon confronted by an army of Detroit police officers who have been given the order from Jones to kill him so they open fire on Robocop who is eventually saved by Lewis.  Lewis takes Robocop to the abandoned steel mill earlier in the film but its not long before Jones sends Boddicker and his gang to kill Robocop.  And this leads into the film's climax where Robocop must defeat Boddicker and then try and find a way to stop Jones......

THOUGHTS

Robocop is without much doubt a highly entertaining not mention an incredibly violent action film which is also quite intelligent and it also has some pretty good ideas in the story as well.  The character of Robocop was said to have been influenced by Blade Runner as the film's writer Edward Nueimer liked the notion of a cyborg police officer chasing down criminals in contrast to Blade Runner where a cop chases down cyborgs.  The film also further seems to echo the ideaology of corporations taking control of everything also as seen in Blade Runner where the Tyrell corporation is an all consuming enterprise and its fairly similar here with OCP.  And the film also acts as a pretty good satire on the social commentary of crime in America and how Detroit is the prime example of a city that is out on control crime wise and is desparate need of a cure.

PERFORMANCES 

Performance wise Robocop is pretty good overall starting with Peter Weller (whom I share a birthday with!) who does a fine job in his dual role of Alex Murphy/Robocop and he pretty much plays the part fairly straight down the line.  Weller has some good moments in the film as well such as the scene where near the start Murphy plays with his gun by twirling it and Lewis notices him and he says how his kid once saw a TV advert which showed a cowboy twirling his gun and he wanted him to do it too and as Lewis gives him a look, Murphy says "OK I admit I get a kick out it!".  And then there is the scene where Murphy is confronted by Boddicker at the steel mill and Boddicker says to him "You probably think I'm not a very nice guy" and Murphy says "Buddy, I think you're slime!".  And then later on as Robocop, Weller also has some good moments such as the scene where Robocop prevents a woman from being raped by two thugs and he shoots one of them in the balls through the woman's dress and Robocop says "Your move, creep!".  And afterward the woman runs crying up to Robocop thanking him and he says "Madam, you may have suffered an emotional shock.  I shall notify a rape crisis centre!".  Then there is the scene where Robocop crashes the cocaine factory and he targets all the men in the factory and he says to them "Come quietly or there will be trouble!" and one of Boddicker's men simply says "Oh fuck you!!" and they open fire on Robocop who takes most of them out leaving Boddicker alive.  And after Robocop takes Boddicker to the police station he says to Sergeant Reed (Robert DuQoi) "Book him!" and Reed says "What's the charge" and Robocop turns and says "He's a cop killer!".  Then there is the scene where Robocop is taken to the steel mill by Lewis after he survive the attack on him by the police and he removes his helmet and visor to reveal his own face and he look at himself in a mirror.  And he asks Lewis what happened to his wife and son and she tells him and he says "I can feel them, but I can't remember them".  And then (SPOILER!!!!!) there is the scene near the end when Robocop kills Boddicker by stabbing him in the neck with his sharp knife-like data access port.  And Robocop calls out to an injured Lewis who says "Murphy I'm a mess!" and Robocop says "They'll fix you.  They fix everything!".  And last of all (END OF THE FILM SPOILER!!!!!!) there is the scene where Jones is killed by Robocop at last, who saves the chairman of OCP or "the old man" who says to him "Nice shooting, son.  What's your name?" and Robocop stops and turns back and smiles saying "Murphy".

Kurtwood Smith is great in his part as the ruthless Clarence Boddicker and he appears to really relish in playing the role and why not as he must rank as one of the villains you would most love to hate.  Smith also his share of good scenes such as his first one where Boddicker and his gang have just fled the scene of a robbery only to find that the money was burned as a result of one of the gang blowing the doors off the safe.  And in the scene Boddicker says to the gang member, Bobby "I don't believe it!  YOU BURNT THE FUCKING MONEY!!!" and then as they are tailed by Murphy and Lewis, Boddicker grabs Bobby who is shot in the leg and Boddicker says "Can you fly, Bobby?!" and proceeds to throw him onto the cops car.  Then there is the scene where Boddick having captured Murphy says to him "See I got this problem, cops don't like me, so I don't like cops!" and he aims his shotgun and makes a noise like a tracking device and then shoots off Murphy's right hand and he says "Well, give the man a hand!".  And then there is the scene where Boddicker meets with a drug dealer named Sal at the cocaine factory and he says to him "I don't want to fuck with you, Sal, but I got the connections. I got the sales organization. I got the muscle to shove enough of this factory so far up your stupid wop ass that you'll shit snow for a year!".  And in the same scene after Robocop gatecrashed the meeting and gunned down most of the bad guys he grabs Boddicker and throws him through some glass windows and Boddicker wearily shouts "You cocksucker! I work for Dick Jones! DICK JONES! He's the Number Two Guy at OCP!  OCP runs the cops!".  And after Robocop takes the bloodied Boddicker to the police station, Boddicker spits on the front desk and says to Reed "Just give me my fucking phone call!".  And last of there is Smith's last moment where Boddicker stabs Robocop with a piece of piping and Robocop screams out in pain and Boddicker leans in and says "So you're not a Robocop!!" and Robocop then activates his sharp knife like data access port and uses it to kill Boddicker by stabbing him in the neck!

Ronny Cox is also great in his role as the corrupt No.2 man at OCP, Dick Jones who secretly is working with Boddicker.  Cox has some good moments as well in the film such as the scene where Jones confronts Morton in the bathroom and he tells him "I always knew where the line was drawn, and you just stepped over it, buddy-boy. You've insulted me and you've insulted this company with that bastard creation of yours!".  And Jones proceeds to threaten Morton saying "You just....fucked with the wrong guy!" and grabbing his hair and Morton angrily pushes him back and Jones finishes by saying "You'd better pray that that unholy monster of yours doesn't screw up!".  Then there is the scene where Robocop comes to arrest Jones at his office and Robocop says he will arrest him for "aiding and abbetting a known felon" and Jones says "You better take me in".  And as Robocop goes to arrest Jones he suddenly short circuits and Jones walks around him saying "What's the matter officer? I'll tell you what's the matter. It's a little insurance policy called "Directive 4", my little contribution to your psychological profile. Any attempt to arrest a senior officer of OCP results in shutdown. What did you think? That you were an ordinary police officer? You're our product, and we can't very well have our products turning against us, can we?!".  And then Jones activates a button and ED-209 stalks into the room and Jones says "I had to kill Bob Morton because he made a mistake.  Now its time to erase that mistake!".  And lastly there is the film's last scene where Robocop barges and he plays back the previous quoted comment Jones made about killing Morton in front of the OCP board.  And Jones suddenly grabs the old man and holds him at gun point and he says to Robocop "I want a chopper on the roof!  Now!  If anyone tries to stop me.... the old geezer get's it!!".  And then the old man says "Dick!  You're FIRED!!" and Robocop who was held back by directive four suddenly no longer is as a result of the old man's actions and shoots Jones who falls to his death out the window.

Nancy Allen (who I ALSO share a birthday with!) is also pretty good in her role as Lewis, Murphy's partner who later on helps out Robocop in taking down Boddicker.  Allen also has some good moments in the film such as the scene where Lewis stops Robocop in the corridor and she asks him "Don't you have a name?" and Robocop just stares at her and she then moves in and quietly says to him "Murphy.  Its you!".  And in the next scene as a result Reed is grilled by Morton and Lewis says apologetically "Sorry, Sarge. I fucked up" and Reed smiles saying "Forget it, kid.  This guy's a serious asshole!".

And then there is Miguel Ferrer who is great as the young arrogant and cocky Bob Morton who is the mastermind behind the Robocop program.  Ferrer also has some good moments in the film such as the scene where after Jones makes his disastrous presentation involving ED-209 killing someone during a demonstration, Morton seizes his chance to get the go ahead for his project.  And afterward Morton says to his associate Johnson " Yes! Now that's how it's done in the big leagues, Johnson. You see an opening, you GO for it!".  And when Johnsons asks "when do we start?" Morton says "As soon as some poor schmuck volunteers!".  And then there is the scene during Robocop's unveiling he asks Robocop what his prime directives are and Morton delighted turns to a female in his team and kisses her saying "I fucking love that guy!!".  And then there is the scene where Morton is confronted by Jones in the bathroom.  And just prior to Jones confronting him, Morton laughs about Jones to one of his fellow colleagues and says "Hey we're young, he'd old and that's life!" only for Jones to suddenly appear from one of the stalls and everyone but Morton rushing out of the room in panic!  And Jones berates Morton by angrily saying "I had a guaranteed military sale with ED 209 - renovation program, spare parts for twenty-five years... Who cares if it worked or not?!" and Morton says "The old man thought it was pretty important....Dick!".  And last of there is the scene where we see how Robocop eats as he is given what is basically baby food which is dispensed out of a machine and Johnson tries some saying "It tastes like baby food!" and Morton smiles saying "Knock yourself out!".

And the last two I will mention are first off Paul McCrane who is pretty good in his role as one of Boddicker's gang, Emil and he manages to make Emil quite menacing.  McCrane's best scene comes in the film when he robs a gas station and he taunts the scared attendant by saying "Give me your money bookworm or I blow your brains out!".  And as Emil notices the attendant has a book he says "Hey man what are you reading in there?" and the attendant holds up a book which is titled "Plane geometry" and Emil laughs saying "Are you college boy or something?".  And Emil walks over and taunts the terrified attendant more by saying "I guess you think you're pretty smart.  You think you could outsmart a bullet?!  Hey what do you say we find out?!" and the attendant silently shakes his head and continues "I'M TALKIN TO YOU!!".  But Robocop at this point turns up and says "Drop it!  Dead or alive you coming with me!" and Emil suddenly recognises him as being Murphy "I know you.  You're dead.  We killed you!" and he shoots at him and runs off on his bike only for Robocop to shoot out the engine causing Emil to crash off it.   

And last of all is Jesse D.Goins who plays the role of one of the Boddick's gang, Joe Cox who does well enough in the role although his character is a bit of a pain in the ass and has one of the most annoying laughs of any onscreen character so when he is finally offed its no great loss.  Still Jesse does some good moments such as the scene where Lewis spots Joe taking a piss at the old steel mill and she tells him to "freeze" during his urination and he turns around and says "Sure.  You mind if I zip this up?!" and Lewis is distracted for a sec by Joe's meat and he uses that to knock her out as she falls a few floors below to the ground and Joe looks over and points and laughs (sick git!).  Then later there is the scene where Jesse turns up and reunites with Clarence and the others and he has a new car and Clarence produces his new cobra cannon gun and Joe says "Oohh a new toy!  Can I play?!" but Clarence proceeds to blow up his new car.  And later on as Clarence and the others show up at the steel mill for their last showdown with Robocop, Joe get's a good line when they arrive he says "The wreckin' crew are here!  Where is that metallic mother??!".  

DIRECTION AND MUSIC

Finally getting on the film's director, Paul Verhoeven does a great job here as this was his first major Hollywood film having spent the last decade or so making films in his native land in the Netherlands.  Verhoeven strangely intially turned down directing the film but was later persuaded by his wife to do so after she insisted he re-read the script.  Verhoeven injects alot of pace and good fun into the film and film's humour is largely tongue in cheek despite its strong levels of violence but Verhoeven confidently handles the film's action scenes and it would something he would continue to do well in his future Hollywood films.

Music wise the film also features a pretty good score by the now late Basil Poledouris and he provides a pretty memorable title theme for Robocop which is quite catchy and is sure to stick with you but in a good way.  Poledouris's score also has some good dramatic moments as well and makes good use of both its orchestral and electronic arrangements.

FLAWS

As for Robocop's flaws....... yes OK it does have some.  To kick off I think one of the things that is a bit daft about the film is the whole "directive four" idea which is OCP's security get-out clause that no high ranking exec of the company can be arrested by their own product.  And in the scene where Robocop short circuits when he attempts to arrest Jones is pretty daft as Jones says "Any attempt to arrest a high ranking executive of OCP will result in shutdown" but Robocop doesn't acutally shut down he is just temporarily incapacitated!  And surely if they wanted Robocop to shut down they should have programmed in directive four in a more specific way in that it should completely shut him down as opposed to rendering him disabled for a bit!

I also think that Jones reinforcement droid, ED-209 is basically just a pile of shit and could Jones not have thought of investing the company's money into something a bit more efficient than that???!!  I mean the thing can't even walk down stairs without collapsing and not to mention squealing like some sort of animal either.  ED-209 can't even follow simple instructions either as we see in the scene at the start of the film where they demonstrate the big clunky monstrosity to the COP board and one of the members, Kinney aims a gun at it and ED says in a big voice "Please put down your weapon!  You have 20 seconds to comply!".  And the board member does so only for ED-209 to not recognise this and it instead counts down and says "I am now authorised to use physical force!" and it brutally guns down Kinney.  Oh yes I would put this pile of junk out on the streets for sure for the purposes of law enforcement the only problem is it would gun down everyone in sight and not just the criminals!

Also not to mention Jones at the end of the film during his COP boardroom meeting intends to have ED-209's dispatched throughout the city and he has one guarding the COP headquarters only for Robocop to show up and blow it to bits with one of the powerful explosive military guns.  And even though the meeting is on the top floor surely they would have heard the explosion from up there!  But no they don't!  And it allows for Robocop to casually walk into the building and head upstairs to the meeting to confront Jones.  

Which leads me onto one of the things I found to be a bit daft about Robocop's design for that matter and that is in how he walks as he is basically far too slow at moving as he makes big clumpy steps and wouldn't it be better if somehow could have made Robocop a bit more slimelined and agile on his feet????  And a perfect example of this problem comes in the scene where Boddicker and his gang show up at the steel mill with their powerful military-based firepower and Robocop shoots one of the gang and slowly walks away leaving plenty of time for Boddicker and the others to blow him up!

I also thought that some (or more specifically one) of Robocop's abilities are never properly explained such as the big sharp spike like device he uses in one scene to access computer databases but we can only make a guess that's really only what its main use is for (well that and stabbing bad guys!).  And there is no time in the film where someone asks "Oh and what is that big spike that comes out of Robocop's fist???".  And more to the point why bother make it so sharp other than make it serve as a plot device to kill one of the main bad guys in the film?!!  For whatever its actual purpose is, its still handy as a technical tool and a weapon of death.

SUM UP

Anyway to sum up Robocop is a very enjoyable not to mention hugely over the top and incredibly violent action movie which even after nearly 30 years is still worth checking out.  Some of the film does of course look a bit dated and the film's stop motion effects in particularly for ED-209 are a bit hit and miss but apart from that (and the aforementioned flaws) there is plenty to enjoy making Robocop worth a revisit.

And on that note I shall say as Robocop would "thank you for your co-orporation, good night!".
 

Rocky IV "If he dies...he dies"

 

OK now this could be construed as another act of blog laziness rather than write a new review on something I haven't reviewed before I've decided to go back and relook at one I already have.

So this one will be on Rocky IV, which I thought would be fun to slightly edit my original post, which is already pretty detailed but I can't resist going over this one again, plus it let's me redo it using my new format with the different review sections (e.g. story, flaws etc) highlighted.

So let's get those boxing gloves on and step in the ring......

STORY 

So the film starts off where Rocky III left, with the reprise of the ending with Rocky defeating Clubber Lang (Mr T) and afterward he has a private bout with Apollo (Carl Weathers) who wants to prove that he can still beat Rocky (the result of which is left undetermined, but Rocky has a black eye!).  After this the story moves to 1985 where Rocky is still the reigning world champion, but a new challenger comes to town in the form of the giant Russian boxer, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lungren).  Drago is accompanied by his wife Ludmilla (Brigitte Nielsen) along with his team and manager Nicolai Koloff (Michael Pataki) and in front of the press during a training session, Drago shows his formidable strength and punching power.  Apollo takes notice of Drago and in an effort to prove himself he decides to take the big Russian on in an exhibition match, convinced that he can beat him, Apollo persuades Rocky to train him.  At a press conference things quickly turn hostile between the Apollo and Drago's camps as Apollo ridicules Drago and the big guy pushes Apollo back and leaves Drago coldly incensed by Apollo's actions.

On the night of the match, which takes place at the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas, Apollo makes a spectacular entrance, wearing his old Uncle Sam boxing outfit, and with James Brown singing "Livin in America" in the background.  The bout begins with Apollo tamely landing a few punches on Drago, but things soon take a turn for the worse as Drago starts to beat Apollo relentlessly until he can barely stand.  At the sit down, Rocky pleads with Apollo to stop the fight, but Apollo refuses and insists that Rocky keep the fight going no matter what happens.  In the second round Drago continues to brutally beat Apollo and Duke (Tony Burton) Apollo's former manager pleads with Rocky to throw the towel but Apollo says no just before Drago lands one last fatal blow which puts Apollo down permanently, as Rocky enters the ring, Apollo dies in his arms.  After the match Drago is interviewed and shows no remorse whatsoever over his actions and says regarding Apollo "If he dies... he dies".

Rocky as a result of Apollo's death decides to relinquish his title belt (which he places in Apollo's coffin) and he agrees to an unsanctioned 15 round fight against Drago in the Soviet union (due to Drago receiving death threats in the US) to take place on Christmas day.  Adrian (Talia Shire) Rocky's wife, expresses her fears to Rocky about how he too could get killed if he fights Drago and she thinks he can't win, regardless however Rocky goes to Russia along with his trainer Duke and his brother-in law Paulie (Burt Young).  In Russia, Rocky is given a log cabin as his training base where he starts to train traditionally and in stark contrast Drago trains using very high tech equipment where he has a team of trainers and doctor monitoring his every moment.  Adrian soon decides to join Rocky in Russia as well to give him her full support, which motivates Rocky even further.  Come the night of the bout, Rocky enters the arena where he Russian audience boo him and as Drago arrives, a huge patriotic display is put on for the Russian fighter, and from here both men get down to business as they lock horns in an intense battle.

THOUGHTS 

Rocky IV it has to be said is admittedly the cheesiest the Rocky film series ever got, however despite that it still remains a highly enjoyable film and with its rather short running time of 90 minutes its also easily the tautest of all the films as well.  And with Stallone at the directorial helm again as well as on the writing duties, he uses the cold war theme between the American and Russians and the film itself even had some criticism levelled at it as a propaganda piece.  And this is certainly mirrored in Apollo's death at the hands of the ice cold Drago where the Russians draw first blood in their contest with the Americans and both sides also display fierce patriotism during both bouts.  The film was also noted for during its production where Stallone and Lundgren actually engaged in an authentic contest in early sections of their fight scene, which lead to Stallone sustaining a serious injury to his heart after a direct blow from Lundgren, and Stallone was forced to leave the production and spent eight days in intensive care.  Stallone also later stated that Carl Weathers nearly quit the film's production as a result of Lundgren's overly aggressive approach during the filming of Apollo and Drago's exhibition fight, and it took Stallone to resolve the dispute and convince Weathers to come back to the film.  So even the film's production wasn't short on drama either!

PERFORMANCES 

As for the performances well things are mostly good, but they are a bit of a mixed bag as well, although Stallone still manages to provide a pretty good performance as Rocky (although he mumbles as usual throughout!) who suffers the loss of his good friend Apollo and has to face the might of the formidable Drago.  Stallone also potrays Rocky as being more resilient this time round after Apollo's death he actually maintains his focus while training for the fight even despite Adrian's refusal to support him, although she eventually reunites with him and does.  As for Stallone's dialogue as Rocky, he gives himself some good lines, such as where he speaks to Apollo on the phone, which is on a large robot, which Rocky bought as a present for Paulie's birthday, and he has to move around as the robot spins in a circle and he says "Yo, Apollo, how you doing?  How am I doing?  I'm getting dizzy!".  Stallone also has a good scene with Talia, where Rocky and Adrian argue about his agreeing to fight Drago and he says "I am fighter.  I can't change what I am.  We can't change anything we just have to go with what we are".  And after Adrian yells at him that he can't possibly win the fight, Rocky says "You're right maybe I can't win.  Maybe the only thing I can do is take everything he's got.  But to beat me, he's going to have to kill me.  And to kill me, he's gonna have to have the heart to stand in front of me.  And to do that he's got to be willing to die himself."  And his last scene where he addresses the Russian crowd he delivers his memorable, albeit corny speech where he dishes out words of wisdom to the newly converted Russian Rocky fan audience "In this fight there two guys killin each other!  But I guess that's better than killing 20 million!" and then he finishes by saying "What I'm trying to say is that if I can change, then you can change... everybody can change!".

Talia Shire is really good once again as Rocky's loving wife Adrian, although this time her character was curiously sidelined and is left largely in the background while Rocky does his exhibition stuff with Apollo or trains for the fight against Drago until she joins up with him later on.  But her best scene is when she argues with Rocky over his decision to fight Dragon and she says "Its suicide!  You've seen him, you know how strong he is.  You can't win!!".

Burt Young on the other hand is given a more prominent role here than before as he works Rocky's corner as part of his team and also travels with him to Russia.  Burt once again get's some of the film's funniest moments such as during the press conference where he insults Drago's manager who asks whom he is and Paulie says "I'm the unsilent majority, big mouth!".  And when Paulie arrives in Russia in the snow laden tundras he looks around and says "How the heck are you supposed to train here?!  What a depressing vacation!" and he ends up falling into the deep snow.  Also later on just prior to the fight, Burt get's another couple of good lines where he first says to Rocky "I just wanna say if I ever wanted to unzip myself from my own skin and be someone else, I'd be you.  You're all heart, Rock!" and later after he sees Drago up close in the ring he says to Rocky "You remember what I said about wanting to being you?  Forget it!".

Tony Burton also provides a good turn as Rocky's trainer and Apollo's former trainer who trains Rocky in Russia.  Burton also shares a good scene with Stallone where Duke talks to Rocky when they are in Russia, prior to starting Rocky's training he tells him "You're gonna have to go through hell.  Worse than any nightmare you've ever dreamed.  But when its over, I know you will be the one who is still standing". 

Carl Weathers also provides another fine performance in his last appearance as Apollo Creed in the Rocky series, as Apollo eventually meets his fate when he faces the towering Drago in a "friendly" exhibition bout which ends very badly.  Weathers again plays the part to perfection and displays Apollo's charisma, charm, confidence and arrogance.  Weathers also get's some of the film's best lines such as in the press conference scene with Drago, where Drago is asked a question but he doesn't respond, and Apollo says "The man's tounge didn't come through customs!".  And in the scene Weathers also shows Apollo's rampant ego and how he still thinks he is the greatest despite having boxed in five years as he says "Well I've been with the best and I've beaten the best!  I've retired more men than social security!".  Weathers also shares a good scene with Rocky while they re-watch their previous bout on film, and Rocky expresses his concerns about Apollo fighting Drago and Apollo says to him "Now I'm asking you as a friend, stand by my side this one last time."  And Apollo also highlights the cold war theme again as he says "Its us against them, Stallion!  Stallone you may not know what I'm talking about now, but you will when its over.  Believe me, you will when its over!".  And Weathers also has a really good moment when it probably finally dawns on Apollo that he might be totally screwed when he get's in the ring with Drago and just before the fight begins he taunts him by saying "Come on its time to go to school, son.  Come on did you hear what I said?!  Put your hands up, its time to go to school!" and Drago puts his gloves up and Apollo's gloves contact with them and he sees how rock solid physically Drago is, who coldly says "You will lose".

As for the new cast, Dolph Lundgren, while he hardly displays any real aptitude for great acting is believe it or not quite good in his role as the mighty, merciless and not very talkative Ivan Drago who provides Rocky's sternest test in his career so far, as well as proving to be Apollo's literal nemesis.  Lundgren's incredible physique was well noted by Stallone, who felt that Lundgren could even have become a professional heavyweight boxer himself.  Lundgren's main highlights in the film are his two fight scenes with Apollo and Rocky, with the latter being one of the best fight scenes in the series, as it is a really intense and fairly even contest.  Lundgren doesn't have much dialogue in the film, which is probably just as well as his delivery is so robotic, but what little he has does have still manages to make an impression, especially in the scene after he has just clubbed Apollo to death in the ring and he says "I defeated an old man.  Pretty soon I will defeat a real champion!" and when he is asked about Apollo's critical condition he says without a hint of remorse "If he dies... he dies".  Also later on in the ring just before Rocky's bout with Drago is about to start, he says to Rocky "I must break you!".  And surprisingly near the end of the fight, you actually gain some sympathy for Drago as the crowd turn against him and his manager angrily tells him he is a disgrace and he has to win, which leads to Drago picking him up by the throat, although he let's him go, but at this point you feel the Russians are just using him as a pawn in their game against the Americans.  And he shouts to the crowd in Russian "I win for me! For ME!!".

Brigiette Nielsen on the other hand however proves to be the real weak link in the chain of the cast, as her potrayal of Drago's wife, Ludmilla is somewhat hammed up and she is given some atrocious dialogue to deliver.  And Nielsen's worst scene comes where she speaks out against the Americans after Apollo's death and defends her husband.  "You call my husband a killer.  He's not a killer.  He's a professional fighter!  You have this belief that you are better than us.  You have this belief that your country is so very good and our country is so very bad!  You have this belief that you are so fair and we are so very cruel!".  Ohhhhh Gaawwwwwd!

And finally (yep this has been a longgggg section!) Michael Pataki does fair better as Drago's manager, Nikolai even though he too is given his fair share of corny dialogue, which serves to heighten the tension and propaganda of the film.  Although Pataki does get one good line when during a demonstration of Drago's incredible punching power he says "The results are obvious.  Whatever he hits, he destroys" just before we see Drago deliver another ferocious demonstration blow.

DIRECTION AND MUSIC 

Direction wise Stallone once again does a fine job here and he keeps the story and pace of the film very tight as it just clocks under 90 minutes running time, it is the shortest of all the Rocky films.  Stallone also in the film produces some great moments such as the montage of Rocky training which really pulls you into the action of his preparations for the fight.  And Stallone's direction of the fight itself is terrific and the fight is for me the best out of all six films, as the bout is both tense and exciting to watch.

As for the music score, well this time Bill Conti is missing (as he was occupied with scoring the Karate Kid films at that time) and Vince DiCola took over the duties of writing the music, and his score is not too bad, although it pretty synth heavy and does sound rather dated.  The film also has some other tracks by contemporary artists of the time such as Survivor, Kenny Loggins,  Robert Tepper and Go West, and most notably John Cafferty who contributes the song "Hearts on Fire" used during Rocky's training montage.

FLAWS

So as we are just about done, its time to ask if Rocky has any niggles or flaws worth mentioning???  Yup it sure does.  To start with it has to be said that while it is an entertaining film, it is also a very corny and at times cringeworthy one as well, particularly in scenes such as Apollo's overtly patriotic entrance to his exhibition bout against Drago as James Brown sings "Living in America".  Not to mention the scene where Rocky unveils Paulie's birthday present, which is a big robot servant, which says in a robotic voice "Happy birthday, Paulie".  And later Paulie has the robot's voice reprogrammed with a sexy female voice as its gives him a beer, Paulie says "She loves me".  And it actually makes you wonder just what was Stallone on when he wrote those scenes??!!  Also not to mention that they must go down as two of the most cringe inducing scenes of all time!

Drago also has an equally cringing entrance to his bout with Rocky in Russia, as presumably the country's anthem plays in the background and a large potrait on a curtain of Drago is unveiled with Drago standing in the ring looking on without a hint of pride or any kind of emotion for that matter!  And once again here Stallone ladels on the patriotism way too thick so much so the whole thing at this point just feels like total overkill and would be almost fair to say the film is on the verge of being xenophobic.

The film is also guilty of being a bit like a music video at times, especially with the montage of scenes where Rocky takes a long soul searching drive in his car after Apollo's death and Robert Tepper's "No easy way out" plays in the background and it replays scenes from the previous three films.  And at this stage it all feels like a long way from the down to earth reality of the first two films and more like a fantasy based film, where the Rocky series has started to lose its grip on the reality of the character and the story just seems to enter the realms of the fantastical as Rocky indulges in the excesses of his wealth and success. 

And another problem I have with the film and when you think about it its actually quite a big one is  Adrian's decision to travel to Russia AND LEAVE HER SON BEHIND ON HIS OWN!!!  I mean what the hell is that about???!  In the absence of his parents, the son has no guardians to look after him apart from Paulie's big sex-bot, which is hardly a proper substitute is it?!!!  And it hardly shows good parenting that both Rocky and Adrian are willing to leave their son behind and when Rocky reunites with her he doesn't even think to say "Wait a minute!  Where is the kid??? Did you leave the kid at home with that dumb robot????!".  So if Rocky at this point can't remember his kid's name, what chance has he of remembering if the kid is still at home on his own!!  So this in itself remains for me a sizeable plot hole in the film but for the sake of the intruige of watching Rocky get in shape in what is admittedly the best montage scene in the series, we conveniently forget all about it.  And not only that, Rocky's son is just called Rocky Jr in the credits yet his name is NEVER once mentioned during the film!  And a funny addendum to that is that the young actor who played Rocky Jr at the time, his real name was Rocky!  Coincidence????  Hmmmm!  

Also (update 17.12.15) the whole idea of Paulie's sexy female voiced robot and how he even says he can't wait to get back and see her just before he leaves for Russia shows up pretty much everything that is wrong with this film in that one line.  And this scene alone is every shade of wrong and Sly really must have been on class A substances when he wrote in the robot in the first place!  But hey it is a just a film so let's not get too carried away. 

It also seems extremely unlikely given Drago's immense physical power that Rocky would be able to actually withstand a beating from him over 15 rounds in reality and it would be more likely that he too might have died in the ring.  But hey this is a movie after all and it is Rocky Balboa we are talking about here, and to a lesser extent Rocky V deals with the extent of Rocky's injuries in his aftermath of his battle with Drago probably as they needed to give some logical reasoning as to just how Rocky could withstand such a vicious pummeling in the ring.   

And lastly I think it was a bit stingy of the Russian government to not offer Rocky a better training camp for him other than a log cabin out in the middle of nowhere during the freezing winter!  I wonder if Rocky decided he wanted to train more naturally out in the open and using as few amenities as possible while the other guy get's to train in the most advanced high tech gym of all time!  It probably also ladels on another example of xenophobia like the Russians are quite happy to leave Rocky literally out in the cold rather than give him any real comforts of a decent gym to train in.  Oh well. 
 
SUM UP

Achhhh anyways with its flaws all put to the side, I still think Rocky IV is one of the most enjoyable films in the series, with its quick pacing and terrific final fight sequence between Rocky and Drago, which alone is worth the admission price.  Its the film however that could have possibly ended the franchise if they decided to continue to go down the line of Rocky's wealthy excess and goofiness but thankfully they decided to move away from that in Rocky V although it has to be said that Rocky V is the weakest of all the Rocky films (but I've already reviewed that one so will leave it alone).

Anyway Rocky IV is still great fun 30 years on and its a film despite its flaws its one I never get tired of seeing just because it dares to be so cheesy and nearly get's away with it.

So on that note that's the end of re-done Rocky IV review and I'll be back again soon with another new review.

Till then bye for now.