![]() Drago’s team, including his gold medalist swimmer wife Ludmilla Vobet Drago (Brigitte Nielsen), invite the press to a training session in which dozens of white-coated lab technicians monitoring all manner of cutting-edge technology oversee Drago’s training session. Early in “Rocky IV,” we’re introduced to the Russian amateur boxer Ivan “Siberian Express” Drago (Lundgren), who has to come to America seeking an exhibition match against Rocky Balboa. Drago” opens with a longer version of the recap of key events from “Rocky III,” including Apollo offering to become Rocky’s manager and get him that “Eye of the Tiger,” and Rocky’s triumphant rematch against Mr. ![]() ![]() Drago” has erased all traces of the robot from the story and excised some light-banter scenes while extending Apollo’s funeral scene and also fleshing out the Apollo-Drago confrontation to balance the action and show Apollo valiantly standing up to Drago, at least for a while, thus giving him a more noble demise. From the opening bell, Drago pummels Apollo into a bloody pulp, resulting in an ignominious exit for one of the great figures in franchise history.ĭuring the pandemic, the now 75-year-old Stallone found himself looking for a solo project, so he went back into the editing room to deliver a fresh and quite different cut, with some 40 minutes of the original film removed and 42 minutes of material added. That robot is to the “Rocky” franchise what Jar Jar Binks is to “Star Wars.” Dramatically more troubling was the harsh manner in which Apollo’s death was handled in the so-called exhibition bout against Drago in Vegas. The downside? The cringe-inducing, saccharine subplot about Burt Young’s Paulie receiving a robot named Sico as a birthday present and becoming best friends with the contraption. Aux Marocains : nous saluons votre victoire historique.Had I reviewed “Rocky IV” upon its release, I would have given it three stars and cited highlights such as the fabulously over-the-top James Brown “Living in America” number, the genuinely shocking fate of Apollo Creed - and the addition of Dolph Lundgren’s Ivan Drago, who ranks second only to Carl Weathers’ Apollo as the most memorable of all of Rocky’s opponents through the decades. See you in the semi-finals!”īravo aux Bleus ! Tout le pays est derrière vous : nous irons au bout ensemble. To the Moroccans: We salute your historic victory. “The whole country is behind you: We will go to the end together. “Congratulations to Bleus!” Macron wrote on Twitter early on Sunday following the team’s win over England. Macron’s office stated last month that he would travel to the Qatar 2022 World Cup if Les Bleus progressed in the semifinal round. “The details of the trip remain to be settled, of course, but he had made this commitment,” French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said on Franceinfo radio on Sunday. Over the weekend, officials announced French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Doha for the match against Morocco. European countries have been used to winning the World Cup.”įrance roar into Wednesday’s match having vanquished England in a 2-1 quarterfinal thriller on Sunday. “It doesn’t cost you anything to have dreams. “We can dream, why shouldn’t we dream about winning the World Cup?” asked Regragui, who took over as the team’s coach only in August. Morocco will stride into Wednesday’s game with reigning champions France after upsetting Belgium, Spain and Portugal to become the first African and Arab team to make it to the World Cup’s semifinal round.Īnd like Rocky’s final showdown with antagonist Apollo Creed, a scrappy Morocco is looking to topple a heavyweight of world football.Ī win over France, led by the ever-dangerous Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroux, would land the Atlas Lions in their first-ever World Cup final. I think now the world is with Morocco.” Morocco coach Walid Regragui at the game against Portugal on Decemat Al Thumama Stadium in Qatar “When you watch Rocky, you want to support Rocky Balboa and I think we are the Rocky of this World Cup. “We have made our people and our continent so happy and proud,” an energised Regragui said at a news conference after the team’s 1-0 victory over Portugal on Saturday night. Regragui compared the Moroccan team’s fairytale run in Qatar to that of fictional boxer Rocky Balboa in the iconic Hollywood film Rocky – played by US actor Sylvester Stallone – which tells the story of a small-time fighter who gets an unexpected shot at the world boxing heavyweight championship and wins. Morocco’s coach Walid Regragui has called the Atlas Lions the “Rocky of this World Cup” ahead of the team’s highly anticipated semifinal clash with reigning champions France.
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