I was rooting for Viktor Drago the most
I really thought they did a great job of showing, in a really minimalistic way, how cold and sad Viktor and Ivan’s lives are in the beginning. Viktor is working hard every day, probably since he was little. You could immediately sense that this motherfucker is legit and strong as fuck.
But he’s always been in the shadow of his father, the most famous or infamous boxer in Russia, who the whole country completely abandoned because he lost against Rocky.
His own mother left him because his father lost this match. Ivan was probably also a really tough dad and had to learn how to become a father.
Viktor clearly loves his father and wants to make him proud more than anything. He looks angry all the time, but for me, it’s more the face of a stressed-out individual who wants to do the right thing. He’s the one who immediately wants to touch gloves with Creed.
I also loved the scene where he rebelled and cried at the gathering when he saw his mother, maybe for the first time, and was like, “Fuck these people. What are we doing here? They all left you when you needed them.”
And Ivan really thinks it’s justified how they treated him because he lost a fucking boxing match.
You could see the insecurity and sadness behind all the anger and toughness in Viktor’s eyes. You could see so much in their quiet relationship.
Halfway through the movie, I was completely rooting for Viktor to win, haha. But not for Russia or his dad, for himself.
The moment his trash mother left for the second time was such a sad moment. You could see everything in his expression. I think it was also a wake-up call for Ivan, like, “What the fuck am I doing here?”
Throwing in the towel was a great way to end the fight. Telling him, “It’s okay. I love you either way,” was a really touching scene.
Man, I didn’t think I’d be so touched by a Rocky movie.
At the end, they both jogged in peace together, with no stress on Viktor’s face anymore.