Aided by 36 years of hindsight, Sylvester Stallone has gifted fans a version of Rocky IV fitting more seamlessly from a thematic and stylistic perspective with the rest of the series (including the recent Creed films). The theatrical Rocky IV will always have a special place in the hearts of those viewing it with nostalgia-colored lenses, but Rocky IV – Rocky vs. Drago elevates the original by excising the extraneous bits and retaining and reshaping the essence of what always worked.