Rocky 4 Directors Cut Completes Creed 2s Drago Retcon

Rocky 4 Director’s Cut Completes Creed 2’s Drago Retcon

Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky IV director’s cut restores Ivan Drago’s dialogue so the Russian fighter’s personality emerges and syncs with Creed II.

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Rocky 4 Directors Cut Completes Creed 2s Drago Retcon

Warning: SPOILERS for Rocky IV: Rocky Vs. Drago Director’s Cut.

The best fix Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago made is to Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), which syncs up nicely with Drago’s appearance in Creed II. With Rocky vs. Drago, Stallone has re-edited Rocky IV into his definitive director’s cut. The creator of Rocky excised scenes he never liked, added new footage, and enhanced the themes of the 1985 classic boxing film. But while Rocky vs. Drago is now even more firmly focused on the brotherhood between Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), it’s Drago who is the beneficiary of the most compelling character development.

Ivan Drago is Dolph Lundgren’s star-making movie role and the towering Russian is an unforgettable screen presence. Drago’s impact is all the more impressive considering how little dialogue he has in the 1985 version of Rocky IV. Instead, Ivan’s actions spoke volumes, starting with how he brutally killed Apollo in the ring during their exhibition match. The monstrous Drago was defeated by Rocky Balboa in Rocky IV’s climactic fight but despite the horrible things he did, Ivan still elicited sympathy in his loss. 33 years later, Lundgren returned as Drago in Creed II; now the father and trainer of the massive Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), they sought revenge against Rocky Balboa and Apollo’s son, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan). However, Creed II revealed that Ivan’s life was railroaded by losing to Rocky in 1985 and he and Viktor, who Ivan dearly loved, lived under difficult circumstances in Russia. Further, Creed II showed depth and dimension to Ivan Drago that Rocky IV only hinted at.

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In Rocky vs. Drago, Sylvester Stallone restores much of Ivan Drago’s dialogue he cut from the original 1985 Rocky IV. While it’s still not much compared to the other characters in the film, each new line Drago utters reveals the true nature of his character. Ivan speaks for the first time at the press conference hyping his fight with Apollo and he confidently states, “I did not come here to lose.” But the real revelation is what Drago said after he kills Creed when he boasts, “Soon, the whole world will know my name: Drago!” This egotistical display literally stopped Drago’s handler, Nicolai Koloff (Michael Pataki), and his wife, Ludmilla (Brigitte Nielsen), in their tracks, showing that Ivan is driven by pride and that his team has trouble controlling him. This pays off later during the Balboa fight when Drago repeatedly ignores his trainers’ instructions and is defiant, even to Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Premier watching from atop the arena.

Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky IV director’s cut also excises Ludmilla Drago’s dialogue defending Ivan to the American media so that there appears to be even less affection between them than there was in the original version of Rocky IV. This better tracks with Ludmilla’s return in Creed II where she has remarried and callously has no role in her son Viktor’s life. Rocky vs. Drago’s clearer picture of Ivan’s ego and personality makes his confrontation with Rocky at Balboa’s Italian restaurant in Creed II even more electric. Drawing the line from who Ivan was in his prime during Rocky vs. Drago to the older, bitter Ivan in Creed II becomes even more fascinating. Rocky vs. Drago’s enhanced portrayal of Ivan bleeds nicely into his role in Creed II, which may have been Stallone’s intent.

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Thanks to Sylvester Stallone restoring Ivan Drago’s dialogue, he emerges as a more well-rounded character, especially when Drago’s return in Creed II is taken into account. More than just a one-dimensional villain or a robotic instrument of the Soviet Union’s agenda, Drago emerges as a tragic character in his own way. Ivan’s role in Rocky vs. Drago is still a relatively straightforward bad guy, but Sylvester Stallone restoring some of Ivan’s dialogue hints that there was much more going on with Drago than Rocky Balboa ever knew. And by the end of Creed II, Rocky and the audience has a much clearer picture of who Ivan Drago really is.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/rocky-4-drago-fix-directors-cut-creed-2/

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