While it's widely considered the best of the franchise, Rocky IV actually ruins one of the best things about Balboa's movies. The Rocky franchise follows the titular boxer as he reaches the pinnacle of the boxing world. Widely credited with popularizing the sports drama genre, the Rocky movies took the ideology behind the underdog story and turned it into an excellent depiction of the boxing world filled with appropriately sympathetic characters.
While Rocky is just one of Sylvester Stallone's many successful franchises, it's also the one that got him his big break. Rocky not only launched Stallone to international fame but also saw him nominated for two Oscars for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor. However, it's not a franchise famed for its realism, with many aspects of its boxing-based stories being either significantly exaggerated for dramatic effect. Though none of the Rocky movies are particularly accurate depictions of the world of boxing, one title takes things just a little too far.
Rocky IV sees the titular boxer engage in a bitter grudge match against his most dangerous opponent yet: Ivan Drago, a Soviet giant strong and vicious enough to have beaten Rocky's friend and former rival Apollo Creed to death during an exhibition bout. While it touches on all the same underdog tropes that made the franchise famous, Rocky IV takes them to a whole new level by having Rocky face off against someone who is physically and technically capable of killing him in the ring. This is just a touch too far, even for the Rocky franchise, and it ultimately hurts the credibility of Balboa's movies as a whole.
Rocky IV Is The Least Realistic Rocky Movie
Exactly what makes Rocky IV unrealistic is in the details, as on the surface, its story is not dissimilar to previous entries into the franchise. Every Rocky movie is built around an underdog story and forces its protagonist to overcome the odds. In Rocky, he's an unknown contender going up against the world's best boxer, Apollo Creed. In Rocky II, he manages to knock Creed out against all odds. Finally, in Rocky III, a superior opponent in Clubber Lang appears and takes Rocky's heavyweight title, forcing the titular boxer to adapt and overcome his own grief and self-doubt in order to reclaim his place at the top of the division.
The films that followed Rocky IV even returned to more believable stories. The much-reviled Rocky V attempted to show Rocky dealing with the physical and financial repercussions of time in the boxing ring, and Rocky Balboa saw an aging Rocky engage in an exhibition bout of his own. While Rocky Balboa's Mason Dixon fight might have ignored the lessons Rocky should have learned from Apollo Creed's death, it still had a relatively believable story, as many prominent boxers have continued to fight into their later years (even if it is ill-advised).
Rocky IV's Drago Takes The Franchise's Underdog Trope Too Far
Rocky IV simply takes the franchise's typical underdog story a touch too far. By introducing the fearsome Ivan Drago and establishing that he's capable of beating a former world champion to death inside of two rounds, Rocky IV sets up its most dangerous antagonist ever. This alone is not entirely realistic, but the way in which Rocky IV's story unfolds throws any semblance of realism out entirely.
As 's Ivan Drago is visibly bigger, stronger, and more technically gifted than Balboa, their bout should be as one-sided as Apollo's. Even though Rocky was still in his prime but Apollo had retired, the two boxers were shown to still be evenly matched at the end of Rocky III, meaning that Drago's powerful punches should have had the same effect on Rocky as they did on Creed. Rocky IV takes the titular character's granite chin to a whole new level, seemingly implying that he has a superhuman ability to withstand massive trauma that would kill even a seasoned boxer like Apollo Creed. This stretches the bounds of realism just a little further than any other Rocky movie, and the suspension of disbelief is required in order to buy into Rocky IV's extremely unlikely underdog story.
Other Rocky Movies Are Plausibly Unbelievable
All of the Rocky movies have unbelievable elements. In fact, the films show that Rocky Balboa isn't a particularly good boxer, and his fighting style consists of taking a dangerous amount of punishment in practically every single fight. In spite of this, most Rocky movies have some semblance of realism to them, particularly as many of them have real-world boxing parallels that inspired their respective stories.
Rocky itself is based on the true story of Chuck Wepner, a real-life underdog who once unexpectedly took then-heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali 15 rounds. From there, the Rocky franchise has continued to build upon its boxing stories by introducing new characters and tough challenges. Rocky IV marks a single narrative misstep in the escalation of the film's stakes to unreasonable levels. All of the other entries to the franchise might be unbelievable, but realistically so, especially considering that Rocky was based on a true story.
Rocky V Proves The Franchise's Course Correction
While it's widely considered the worst of the franchise, Rocky V picked up the story from where Rocky IV left off, and its problems highlight the unrealistic nature of the previous film's story. Attempting to ground Rocky with more realistic considerations such as money problems and health complications—from the impossible amount of punishment he withstood in his fight with Ivan Drago—is a clear indication that the franchise needed to correct its course after Rocky IV. While its story is thought to be the most uninteresting entry into the franchise, Rocky V is evidence that Rocky IV went just a little too far.
As making that adjustment to return the franchise to a more grounded tone was entirely necessary, in some ways, Rocky IV was responsible for Rocky V's shortcomings. Having Rocky become a boxing trainer was a logical move, and though it wasn't entirely appreciated, it was a return to reality for the franchise. After Rocky IV marked a departure from the already barely believable happenings of the Rocky franchise, grounding its characters with a less outlandish story was an absolute necessity.
