10 Fourth Movies That Ruined A Great Trilogy
8. Rocky IV
Look, some people like Rocky IV, and that's absolutely fine.
Dolph Lundgren looks great as Ivan Drago and the whole "US vs USSR" Cold War narrative offers a bit of nostalgia for those who lived through it. But come on, another film where Rocky fights against the odds to save the day? Give us a break!
The formula that catapulted Sylvester Stallone to the big leagues with the first Rocky picture had run its course by the time the fourth movie hit screens in 1985. Sports movies can only go in so many different directions, and this franchise had run out of punches to throw.
The main upside of Rocky IV is the death of Apollo Creed, which was not only a dramatic moment for the ages but also set in motion the excellent Creed series of films many years later.
However, did we need an entire movie to set this up? Couldn't Apollo have died off-screen in between Rocky III and Creed? The movie would have still worked!
A completely unnecessary inclusion in the series, Rocky IV isn't just bad on its own merits, but it also opened the door for Rocky V.