The George P. Cosmastos-directed “Rambo: First Blood Part II” starred Stallone along with Richard Crenna and Charles Napier. It’s about Vietnam veteran John Rambo getting sprung out from prison to help rescue a group of POWs from the hands of the Viet Cong, only to find out that it’s all part of a government cover-up resulting to a slam-bang finish.
“Rambo: First Blood Part II” is a bloodbath, an entertaining, cathartic-as-hell roller coaster ride with gunshots, impalings, and explosions and when it was shown back in 1985, it was truly groundbreaking.
Wrapping up the great year that 1985 was for Stallone was his fourth portrayal of Rocky Balboa in “Rocky IV,” which he directed himself. He starred in the movie along with Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Dolph Lundgren.
Russian boxer Ivan Drago, played by Dolph Lundgren, kills Apollo Creed, played by Carl Weathers, in an exhibition match. Rocky comes out of a self-imposed retirement to fight the Soviet behemoth amid a comparatively below-par level of training.
“Rocky IV” highlighted the old-school training style of Rocky Balboa against the high-tech, steroid-injecting trickery of his Russian competitor, which is a diss against some of the athletes in the world at that time. Unfortunately, the movie did not stop the trickery from happening in sports.