That's right. Rocky IV is on the Superstation right now.
In fact, Rocko is training in Siberia as I type. It's funny that not many share my enthusiasm for this chapter in the saga, but well, someone always has to spoil the fun. The reviewer, Almar Haflidason, give the film three stars out of five (The average viewers' rating is five stars). And not surprisingly, that someone happens to be from a state-owned media levaithan, namely, the BBC:
The first three "Rocky" films made perfect sense as a complete trilogy of the famous pugilist's life so it was going to take a remarkable new twist to drag the saga into a fourth instalment.Ignoring the dramatic elements that had made the previous films so strong, Stallone chose to use the enemies that helped make "Rambo: First Blood Part II" such a success - the Soviet Union.
Ignoring dramatic elements? Apollo Creed dies! Have you no heart? The hat, the shorts, it's the bomb! If I were a boxer that would be my getup, fer sure. Have you watched the James Brown sequence lately, sir? Have you listened to the lyrics, fool? No? Well, here they are:
Yeah, uh! Get up, now! Ow! Knock out this!
Super highways, coast to coast,
easy to get anywhere
On the transcontinental overload,
just slide behind the wheel
How does it feel
When there's no destination - that's too far
And somewhere on the way,
you might find out who you are
Chorus:
Living in America - eye to eye, station to station
Living in America - hand to hand, across the nation
Living in America - got to have a celebration
Rock my soul
Smokestack, fatback,
many miles of railroad track
All night radio, keep on runnin'
through your rock 'n' roll soul
All night diners keep you awake,
hey, on black coffee and a hard roll
You might have to walk the fine line,
you might take the hard line
But everybody's working overtime
(chorus)
I live in America, help me out,
but I live in America,
wait a minute
You might not be looking for the promised land,
but you might find it anyway
Under one of those old familiar names
Like New Orleans (New Orleans),
Detroit City (Detroit City), Dallas (Dallas)
Pittsburg P.A. (Pittsburg P.A.),
New York City (New York City)
Kansas City (Kansas City),
Atlanta (Atlanta), Chicago and L.A.
Living in America - hit me
Living in America - yeah,
I walk in and out
Living in America
I live in America - state lines,
gonna make the prime, that
I live in America - hey,
I know what it means, I
Living in America - Eddie Murphy, eat your heart out
Living in America - hit me, I said now, eye to eye,
station to station
Living in America - so nice, with your bad self
Living in America - I feel good!
Personally, I believe that the climactic fight against the Godless Communist Dopers is, in fact a universal theme. Yes, ethnocentrism, blah, blah, blah. No, actually would that be ideolocentrism? Or socio-economiccentrism? No, I've got it -- Apollo Creed-centrism!
Seriously though, the simple and powerful themes of self-made man vs. centrally-planned communist behemoth, nature vs. technology, personal revenge vs. implacable propoganda tool -- all these things add up to the undeniable fact that to have a human, all-too human figure like Rock-o beat the snot out of "The Big Russian" is a titanic fight that we can all get behind.
That is, all of us except those in the pink-salmon-red axis -- you know those types: capitalism's discontented intellectuals who grasp on to the adversary not for any reason other than self-loathing denial and rejection (all brains and no cock, you understand). Because the simple fact of the matter is that the only way you could cheer against Rocky is if you were from the West and hated the tradition you came from. Because no Communist could ever really cheer for the inhuman "Death from Above" Drago. (Sure, if there guy was the scrappy Stallone it would be a different story.)
Think I'm full of it? Really?
I can still remember when I first saw this movie. It was in El Salvador. The whole place was jumping up and down and screaming and yelling and pandemonium. It was almost a riot. Why? Because every one hates the Commies. If you're really a Communist you're evil, or you're just reacting to capitalism. (It's like Satanism -- it's not a real religion, it's a reaction to Christianity.) Even more interesting, the crowd jeered the end of the movie when he starts with the "If I can change....And you can change...." I guess if your life was ever touched by Communism, I mean really touched by it, you'd want Rocky to win too.
But at the BBC, where capitalism subsidizes socialism self-hate, the critic would like to dismiss this epic work as a piece of populist American fluff. Though it seems that he "cannot handle the truth", and in spite of himself, praises the film.
And while this derivative and shallow sequel might weaken the credibility of the series, there's no denying the satisfaction of watching a fight of such seemingly impossible odds.
Well, If I can change....And you can change....
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