12 Ridiculously Macho Movies You Must See
4. Rocky IV
Admittedly this is the Rocky film which lost the series its final shred of credibility and if you were coming to Rocky IV fresh and hadn’t seen it by at least the mid-90s then it would probably seem awfully dated. But, for a certain generation this is the epitome of nostalgia and giving Russia (the Soviet Union at the time) a good thrashing.
The story line is essentially a series of episodic sequences – a lead up to Apollo fighting Drago, a number of musical montages and the final fight - with some filler along the way. Apollo’s death gives some emotional weight and sets up the story for Rocky to come out of retirement.
The real draw here are the training montages - they are super inspiring and sound tracked by some rousing ‘80s anthems. Stallone is clearly in the shape of his life and proves it with some impossible looking training regimes in the Siberian wilderness. By the time the final battle comes along you won’t care about the terrible script and loose plotting, you know the result that’s coming and you’ll cheer Rocky to the final freeze frame.