A Reel Review: CREED II

In 1985, the third sequel in the ROCKY franchise capitalized on the United States vs. the Soviet Union thing that the 1980’s were famous for. Very much a product of its time with its flag-waving and MTV rock videos, the film sent Rocky Balboa to Russia to fight the pride of the Soviets, who had just killed the great Apollo Creed in the ring. The events of ROCKY IV changed the character of Rocky forever, and still have an impact 30 years later in the sequel to the ROCKY spinoff series, CREED. 

Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan), the son of Apollo, is challenged by Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), the son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), who had killed Apollo in the ring 30 years prior. Creed takes on the match, despite the reservations by his trainer and mentor, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). 

One of the more fascinating elements of the CREED films is playing catchup with our characters. Rocky is still a grieving widow; still mourning the loss of his wife Adrian, estranged from his son (again), and living a life of solitude now that all of his friends have passed on. Creed is on the rise in his boxing career and is taking steps to build a family with his girlfriend Bianca (Tessa Thompson). Ivan Drago in the meantime, had his life destroyed after his loss to Rocky 30 years ago; having lost his wife, career, and country…and is using his son as a way to get revenge and perhaps get their family back together. 

While it is a joy to drop in on these characters and see how they’re doing, these are also important steps to provide motivations for all characters. Rocky just wants to live what’s left of his life in peace, the Dragos want their family and respect back, and Creed still can’t seem to step out of his father’s shadow. Once these motivations are set, things are fine…but the script never seems to dig any deeper than that. Creed himself comes off as a smug ass for most of the film, and even by the time the credits roll, we’re not sure if he learned anything or not. 

Steven Caple Jr., who is directing only his second feature film, keeps the plotting very tight…in fact a little too tight as the film is insanely predictable. Every fight (save for the last one), character beat, and action can be seen from miles away, and there are literally no surprises to be had. The fights are wonderfully staged, it hangs its hat on the ROCKY legacy/nostalgia, and it delivers on making us feel comfortable more than shocked or surprised. With that, the film feels very small. But the good news is for the first time in this 40 year-old film series, the opponent isn’t just a bad guy; Victor Drago has good reasons to fight that nearly make us want to see him win and succeed. 

Michael B. Jordan in his second round as the son of Apollo is good in the role, even though his character still doesn’t seem to have learned anything from his journey in the first film. But his physical work is incredibly impressive. Sly Stallone slips back into Rocky Balboa with ease, and a dramatic showdown he has with Dolph Lundgren is wonderfully played by both men. Florian Munteanu is a monster in the ring with a massive screen presence, despite only delivering a few lines in Russian. Tessa Thompson is very good as always, even though her character only exists to straighten Creed out every now and again. CREED II also has a few good cameos from past characters which work very well. 

Despite how safe and predictable CREED II plays it, the film still functions just fine on its own, and the conclusion of the final boxing match finally gives us something new in the ROCKY series. It gives us a satisfying wrap for several characters at once, and as good as the scene is between Rocky and Drago, it feels like we get cheated out of just one more to really close things out. But overall CREED II carries on the tradition and story of ROCKY quite well and gives long-time fans of the Italian Stallion what they are looking for. CREED II isn’t a knockout, but lands enough punches to win.  

BOTTOM LINE: See it