Page 44 - ThePhoenix1985-86

Page 6/Western Maryland ColiegelDecember 5, 1985 in Rocky IV loses itself jiDiSY :~~_;~:_::~b~ by Jonathan Slade lenger (and money, of course, isn't one of them): Rocky The Cold War rages anew, wants to avenge the death of the old Rocky charm man- only this time the main source his friend and trainer Apollo ages to slip through In the of the antagonistic propa- Creed (Carl Weathers) who is final fight scene, but it is ganda appears to be writer! slain by the steroid-spawned hardly recompense for that director Sylvester Stallone, Soviet in an exhibition fight. which preced_es it. Also, there and not some national gov- And who would dare com- :J are several MTV-like se- ernment plain if the American cnamo quences which will appeal to In his most recent movie, happened to defend the the teenage masses. t Rocky IV, Stallone decides honor of Mom, apple pie, and All in all, however, Rocky IV once again to cash in on the red-white-and-blue along comes off as a thinly dis- American ethnocentrism, as the way. No one, right? guised piece of unwarranted he did during the summer Perhaps if Rocky IV wasn't propaganda. When our valiant with Rambo. This time, how- so obviously one-sided we fighter gives us the moral of ever, he has done so at the could- revel more in its cine- such black and white abso- of ROCky IV, though, is the the film in its corny conclud- expense of ruining some matic display of patriotism lutes. manner in which truly solid ing scene, he sounds more firmly established, Ihree di- The movie, however, would Other infamous cliches that characters of movies past like a hypocrite than a harbin- mensional characters. It have us believe that ail Rus- rear their ugly heads include have deteriorated due to Stal- ger of peace. His speech seems that the audience sians either constantly wear the 01' John Wayne a-mans- lone's simplistic whim. In fact, simply isn't congruent with the viewing this comic book box- uniforms or live in log cabins gotta-do-what-a-mans-gotta- Rocky's wife Adrien (Talia rest of the picture. ing extravaganza is expected as peasants. In' addition, it do speech (which is actually Shire) has transformed from a Thus, the tragedy: At a time "' to be entirely consumed by a always snows in Stallone's used twice here), and the shy, soft-spoken woman in when two superpowers are jingoistic frenzy, and isn't USSR, the Soviets never vintage best-friend-dies-in- the original film, into the ge- struggling to communicate, a supposed to notice the bla- smile, and their athletes are your-arms maneuver. We also neric housemother Ihat is so film such as this seems to tant use of pre-Paleozoic only successful because they get the ever-popular pride- prevalent in todav's Holly- beg for the return of a Cold cliches or the shamelessly flat are a result of some carefully before-the-fall motif as well as wood productions. And Paulie War. Indeed, it appears to be film personalities. controlled scientific experi- the one-man-overcomes-in- (Burt Young), the cigar- more concerned with milking Rocky Balboa (Stallone), the ment. Maybe, just maybe, credible-odds routine. There chomping relative whose profits out of the "git dem Philadelphia street fighter some of this is true. But are certainly enough beaten- blunt remarks and cynicism Ruskies" mentality, than actu- turned world champion, re- Rocky IV oversteps the to-death ideas flying around gave color to the other pic- ally suggesting some sort of turns for his fourth movie to bounds of reality in its pres- the screen for this to be a tures, must now trade witi- resolution to the East-West climb in the ring with a Soviet umptions, leaving the audi- tribute to classic camp. But cisms with a robot. Well, why situation super-athlete named Drago ence with an exaggerated sadly, each reincarnated not? Everyone else is doing it. And so, in the end, Rocky (Dolph Lundgren). Stallone's cartoon where WE are vir- cliche stands out like a A non-human character is al- IV loses. But Stallone certainly slow-witted character, though, tuous and THEY are not. Alas, boxer's black eye most a staple in any modern won't notice. He's too busy has his reasons for taking on Stallone fails to realize that blockbuster. wrapping himself in the Amer- this towering foreign chal- the world does not exist in The most upsetting aspect And, despite the movie's ican flag. 8~N. ONE OF THE OLDEST WAYS - 3JutI. ... TO BECOME AN ARMY OFFICER ali your holiday floral needs ~ :::::pe~~Chto ISmLLONE OF THE BESt Merry Christmas to all The Army Reserve from your local florist 848-9350 Officers' Training Corps And last year alone, over 70,()(X) students (ROTC) is more than a panic~:~~ere interested in the leadership Carriage House Liquors c~df~~~m.It's a and management training. Others enrolled on full-tuition scholarships. And the financial For 163 years, ."At the Forks"'" RarC has been :~s~~~~clrfm~I:_~~Jr:I~II~l!~last 113W. Main Street, Westminster training people to the d!~ ~~ ~;~ili~~t~~t~~n,.t~~~ffi~~.: do a job that's also specials this week ... a tradition. 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