8/13/2023 0 Comments Rocky iv training![]() Stallone himself has stated (in the famous Ain't It Cool public Q&A see here) that the film isn't one to be viewed entirely literally, that is not exclusively about revenge or boxing, but rather an examination of the opposing sides in the war. Rocky IV is largely a metaphor for the tensions between America and Russia which existed in the Cold War. As such, a more symbolic explanation of how Rocky defeats Drago, despite Drago's seemingly overwhelming strength advantage, is tied up in the theme of the film. Even taking this into consideration, however, it would posit Rocky is capable of taking a significant portion of a shotgun blast to the face hundreds of times over 15 rounds, which pushes the bounds of realism to an extreme. The reason for including the PSI readout during Drago's training is to increase the dramatic tension of the film - the writers are essentially tricking their audience into thinking that Drago is more powerful than he seems. So the answer to the question of how Rocky is able to survive such a massive punch is that he is never punched that hard. However, Drago registers that punch in a sterile, non-competitive environment against a stationary, undefended target in an actual match, he would never be able to punch with that degree of severity and precision. This is more than a shotgun has at point-blank range, and were he to actually punch Rocky that hard, he would literally kill him. The strongest punch Drago registers is 2,150 PSI. As he himself says in Rocky Balboa, "It's not about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep on going." Rocky can get hit very, very hard and keep on going! Another part of the practical explanation for how Rocky survives Drago's punch is that Drago would not be able to punch him that hard in active competition. So Rocky simply has an above average capacity for taking a beating without giving up. This is also emphasized continually throughout Rocky Balboa for example, one of the commentators mentions that Rocky now has a restaurant, and he speculates that the special might be "pounded chicken". As Drago himself says in Rocky IV, "He's not human, he's like a piece of iron". Then at the end of Rocky III, Rocky dares Clubber Lang to punch him as hard as he can as often as he can, so as to tire him out, because he knows he can withstand Lang's power. In Rocky III, Mick says that the beating Rocky took from Apollo in Rocky II should have killed him, but it didn't. In Rocky II, Duke points out to Apollo that he saw Rocky get beaten as bad as any man he's ever seen, but nothing would keep him down. In Rocky, there is the famous scene where Apollo is sure he has won, even Mick thinks Rocky is done for, but Rocky is somehow able to get back to his feet and continue the fight. Throughout Rocky, Rocky II and Rocky III, it is emphasized time and again that one of his greatest assets in the ring is his ability to take a severe beating, and still be able to fight. ![]() A practical explanation is simply that Rocky can take tremendous amounts of punishment without being defeated. ![]() No, Rocky is not superhuman, and there are numerous explanations for how he achieves the seemingly impossible and beats Drago. As such, the time frame of the film is from early 1985 to December 25th, 1985. Furthermore, we know that Rocky and Adrian were married in early 1976 and we know that the match with Drago takes place on Christmas Day. This places the events in Rocky IV roughly five years after the end of Rocky III (which was set in 1979 and '80), and approximately 10 years after the original Rocky. As such, their ninth anniversary would occur in early 1985. They got married early in Rocky II, which was set in 1976 between January 1st and November 25th. Early on in the film, Rocky mentions to Adrian ( Talia Shire) that it is nearly their ninth anniversary. It seems that many fans assume that when Rocky arrives at his house at the start of the film, he is returning from the sparring session with Apollo Creed ( Carl Weathers) which ended Rocky III, and therefore, no time passes between Rocky III and Rocky IV. ![]()
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