Rocky IV Ruined The Best Things About Balboa's Movies

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While it's widely considered the best of the franchise, Rocky IV actually ruins one of the best things about Balboa's movies. The Rocky franchise follows the titular boxer as he reaches the pinnacle of the boxing world. Widely credited with popularizing the sports drama genre, the Rocky movies took the ideology behind the underdog story and turned it into an excellent depiction of the boxing world filled with appropriately sympathetic characters.

While Rocky is just one of Sylvester Stallone's many successful franchises, it's also the one that got him his big break. Rocky not only launched Stallone to international fame but also saw him nominated for two Oscars for Best Original  Screenplay and Best Actor. However, it's not a franchise famed for its realism, with many aspects of its boxing-based stories being either significantly exaggerated for dramatic effect. Though none of the Rocky movies are particularly accurate depictions of the world of boxing, one title takes things just a little too far.

Related: Every Real Fighter Cast In The Rocky & Creed Franchises

Rocky IV sees the titular boxer engage in a bitter grudge match against his most dangerous opponent yet: Ivan Drago, a Soviet giant strong and vicious enough to have beaten Rocky's friend and former rival Apollo Creed to death during an exhibition bout. While it touches on all the same underdog tropes that made the franchise famous, Rocky IV takes them to a whole new level by having Rocky face off against someone who is physically and technically capable of killing him in the ring. This is just a touch too far, even for the Rocky franchise, and it ultimately hurts the credibility of Balboa's movies as a whole.

Exactly what makes Rocky IV unrealistic is in the