This review is for the director's cut, Rocky IV: Rocky Vs Drago.
Pacing feels tighter, though possibly a little rushed at the beginning due to the removed scenes. However, that could be due to the fact I just rewatched the theatrical cut immediately before.
Apollo and Drago feel more developed.
Overall, it's edited a lot better, with the recap, press conferences, fights, and the funeral being the real standouts here, these being the main things that pushed my rating higher than for the theatrical cut. And I recall fewer over-dramatic edits.
But this version does introduce some editing room oddities. For example, I noticed there are at least a couple lines of dialogue that are cut too early. And purely out of taste, I didn't like the removal of Rocky's hesitation with the towel. In the theatrical cut, he's having an internal struggle - let his friend die or go against his wishes. In this version, it seems like he doesn't even grab the towel quickly enough to even consider both choices. Also, I didn't like the addition of Rocky's inner voice telling himself to get up. Felt so out of place and unnecessary.
The montages are still there, or else we'd lose a lot of runtime, but Paulie's robot isn't and I don't miss it. I did mostly like the changes to the ending, although Rocky Jr. Gets sidelined even more by not even being acknowledged in the ending. The removal of the Soviet big cheese's applause and the last shot no longer focusing entirely on Rocky being draped with the American flag made it feel less like a propaganda film.
Overall, an improvement. I don't think anybody was clamoring for a new cut of this film (especially over Rocky V, though I'm not sure they shot anything that could save that one) but this version is nice to have.
Pacing feels tighter, though possibly a little rushed at the beginning due to the removed scenes. However, that could be due to the fact I just rewatched the theatrical cut immediately before.
Apollo and Drago feel more developed.
Overall, it's edited a lot better, with the recap, press conferences, fights, and the funeral being the real standouts here, these being the main things that pushed my rating higher than for the theatrical cut. And I recall fewer over-dramatic edits.
But this version does introduce some editing room oddities. For example, I noticed there are at least a couple lines of dialogue that are cut too early. And purely out of taste, I didn't like the removal of Rocky's hesitation with the towel. In the theatrical cut, he's having an internal struggle - let his friend die or go against his wishes. In this version, it seems like he doesn't even grab the towel quickly enough to even consider both choices. Also, I didn't like the addition of Rocky's inner voice telling himself to get up. Felt so out of place and unnecessary.
The montages are still there, or else we'd lose a lot of runtime, but Paulie's robot isn't and I don't miss it. I did mostly like the changes to the ending, although Rocky Jr. Gets sidelined even more by not even being acknowledged in the ending. The removal of the Soviet big cheese's applause and the last shot no longer focusing entirely on Rocky being draped with the American flag made it feel less like a propaganda film.
Overall, an improvement. I don't think anybody was clamoring for a new cut of this film (especially over Rocky V, though I'm not sure they shot anything that could save that one) but this version is nice to have.