was this movie re cut? odd things i noticed.

To the best of my knowledge, it was not re-cut.

When Ludmilla (Drago's girl) talks to Appollo's wife, she was probably just pretending to be nice since the fight had not yet even started and everyone was supporting Apollo. But you can quickly see her attitude change and her smug look once Drago starts demolishing Apollo.

I don't think Drago was reluctant or remorseful in the least bit. Maybe it was just his face that looks like that in some scenes. Dolph was trying to keep a stoic expressionless face. Drago was portrayed as more brawns and less brains, a Russian soldier who was following what his trainers, the politicians and his wife were telling him to do.

I don't think he was trying to kill Apollo. He just wanted to humiliate him and punish him for all the flak that Apollo and the American people had given him. In all honesty, the person truly responsible for Apollo's death is Apollo himself. His ego, his arrogance, his overconfidence.

On a side note, there was a scene cut from the final movie. It was the scene showing Rocky standing in front of the Boxing Commission and they refuse to sanction his fight against Drago. This scene is shown in the trailer but not in the final movie. I guess Stallone felt that it was redundant since the issue was shown in a newspaper clip as well as being mentioned by the commentator in the last fight.

"I'm the dude, playing a dude that's disguised as another dude".