This week on Fabulous Film and Friends we’re continuing our discussion of the Rocky/Creed franchise with an in-depth comparison of the two Russian-themed sequels in the series: 1985’s Rocky IV directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone, along with Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Tony Burton, Brigitte Neilsen and Dolph Lundgren with 2018’s Creed II, directed by Steven Caple Jr. and starring Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Florian Munteanu, Brigitte Nielsen and Dolph Lundgren.
I’m joined by a man who can well-relate to long winters, bloody knuckles and empty vodka bottles, the master of plastered, the duke of downstage, the one and only Gordon Alex Robertson
The synopses:
Rocky IV follows up the slick, high energy, music video style of 1982’s Rocky III with an even slicker, yacht-rock and montage laden tale of triumph, pitting Rocky Balboa against superhuman Russian powerhouse Ivan Drago after Drago kills Rocky’s nemesis turned friend and mentor Apollo Creed in an exhibition match in Las Vegas. Rocky travels to Russia where he trains super hard with logs and horse-drawn carriages and boulders to beat Drago in an epic, blood-curdling battle to the death. Who wins? All one had to do was look at the Rocky IV poster to find the answer to that one.
More than 30 years later, Creed II continues the story in Ukraine where Ivan Drago trains and grooms his equivalently vicious and menacing boxer son Victor so they can pull themselves out of obscurity, humiliation and poverty to challenge Rocky Balboa’s heavyweight champion protégé Adonis Creed to a title bout. Rocky, sensing danger, refuses to train Adonis and so an angry Adonis takes on Victor with Little Duke Evers in his corner as trainer and is given a brutal beating by Young Drago. Adonis is only saved the humiliating loss of his title by a disqualifying cheap shot given by Victor while Adonis was down on the canvas.
Adonis recovers but is reticent to fight Victor again until Rocky comes back in his life and agrees to train him in a spare and hardcore fashion so Adonis will not only to be capable of enduring a savage beating but to be able to deliver one as well.
Who wins?
Find out!
This week on Fabulous Film and Friends we’re continuing our discussion of the Rocky/Creed franchise with an in-depth comparison of the two Russian-themed sequels in the series: 1985’s Rocky IV directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone, along with Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Tony Burton, Brigitte Neilsen and Dolph Lundgren with 2018’s Creed II, directed by Steven Caple Jr. and starring Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Florian Munteanu, Brigitte Nielsen and Dolph Lundgren.
I’m joined by a man who can well-relate to long winters, bloody knuckles and empty vodka bottles, the master of plastered, the duke of downstage, the one and only Gordon Alex Robertson
The synopses:
Rocky IV follows up the slick, high energy, music video style of 1982’s Rocky III with an even slicker, yacht-rock and montage laden tale of triumph, pitting Rocky Balboa against superhuman Russian powerhouse Ivan Drago after Drago kills Rocky’s nemesis turned friend and mentor Apollo Creed in an exhibition match in Las Vegas. Rocky travels to Russia where he trains super hard with logs and horse-drawn carriages and boulders to beat Drago in an epic, blood-curdling battle to the death. Who wins? All one had to do was look at the Rocky IV poster to find the answer to that one.
More than 30 years later, Creed II continues the story in Ukraine where Ivan Drago trains and grooms his equivalently vicious and menacing boxer son Victor so they can pull themselves out of obscurity, humiliation and poverty to challenge Rocky Balboa’s heavyweight champion protégé Adonis Creed to a title bout. Rocky, sensing danger, refuses to train Adonis and so an angry Adonis takes on Victor with Little Duke Evers in his corner as trainer and is given a brutal beating by Young Drago. Adonis is only saved the humiliating loss of his title by a disqualifying cheap shot given by Victor while Adonis was down on the canvas.
Adonis recovers but is reticent to fight Victor again until Rocky comes back in his life and agrees to train him in a spare and hardcore fashion so Adonis will not only to be capable of enduring a savage beating but to be able to deliver one as well.
Who wins?
Find out!