Creed II (2018)

Review

130min

Genre:     Drama, Sport

Director:  Steven Caple Jr.

Cast:       Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Sylvester Stallone…more

Writers:   Cheo Hodari Coker, Sylvester Stallone, Juel Taylor… and more

-Synopsis-

With new responsibilities on the table and much to lose, new heavyweight champion ‘Adonis Creed’ is confronted by history and a daunting new challenge . . . plus a dose of revenge, struggling with relationships and his bond with the legendary ‘Rocky Balboa’, as fate drags him to a titanic clash with the formidable son of his father’s killer—and the chance to create a new family legacy.

As part of the minority who didn’t buy into the ‘Creed’ hype—finding it a solid and well-made but unspectacular boxing drama with an out-of-place and majorly disappointing conclusion—our expectations were tempered coming into this Ryan Coogler-less follow up.

Yet incoming director Steven Caple Jr. and the writers manage to sidestep the curse of the sequel and produce something which exceeds the original, while avoiding a lazy instinct in current nostalgia-led filmmaking by not using the throwbacks as a cheap narrative crutch, but rather expertly mining them to add weight to the drama . . . even while playing the familiar notes of a forty-two-year-old song.

Michael B. Jordan returns as the young Creed, three years after his formative title loss and now a champion himself, starting a new life with aspiring pop-star fiancée ‘Bianca’ (Tessa Thompson) under the tutelage of his uncle ‘Rocky’ (Sylvester Stallone). But the ghosts of the past loom large when Russian colossus ‘Ivan Drago’ (Dolph Lundgren) returns from the wilderness with his fearsome son ‘Viktor’ (Florian Munteanu), looking to restore their family name by destroying the Creed one, setting in motion another painful David vs. Goliath clash which will confront them all with the sins of the past . . . and the very meaning of family.

As a boxing movie ‘Creed 2’ is expertly crafted and largely faithful to the sport, but what makes it successful is the same thing that made the 1976 original ‘Rocky’ such a classic and separated it from the sequels—grounded and believable human drama. Stallone and his co-writers make sure to build on the audience’s investment in the characters carried over from 2015’s ‘Creed’ and manage to make the film unexpectedly poignant at times, even giving the Dragos an emotional arc and elevating them above one-dimensional villains.

‘Creed 2’ also wisely piggybacks off the connection forged with the franchise and its characters over the course of more than forty years, proving a spiritual and generational successor to 1985’s ‘Rocky IV’, but echoing the story and titular character trajectory of ‘Rocky III’ . . . including the ole’ training montage of course.

The action here complements the drama without overwhelming it, with Caple Jr. opting for more authentic boxing sequences with experienced boxers rather than the over-the-top theatrical fighting of much of the ‘Rocky’ series, but still dramatic enough to actually make your cheeks clench, despite the fact we all know how it will turn out.

The performances are solid all around, with Stallone bringing back all the ‘Italian Stallion’ earthy charm we all know and love, but the movie is rightly carried on the increasingly muscular shoulders Michael B. Jordan who nails the dramatic arc, while his pugilistic skills—which were impressive for a novice in the first film but flawed to the keen eye—are much improved, and as top-notch as you can expect from an actor with no boxing background. Meanwhile in Florian Munteanu as the young Drago, he has a formidable foil who lives up to the imposing physicality and ferociousness of his family name, and together they pull off some skilfully choreographed and well shot fight sequences—including  the all-important final showdown we all expect and hope for.

Far from a masterpiece though, ‘Creed II’ is mired in the same tropes, predictability and limitations which have hampered every non-biographical boxing drama since . . . well ‘Rocky’ really, and it certainly doesn’t have the humble charm of the early Stallone series—plus the lean towards nostalgia is far greater than in the first ‘Creed’ which may be an issue for some, as it normally would be for us.

But it uses the events and characters of the past as a narrative catalyst rather than a crutch, weaving an effective and surprisingly moving human story with a healthy but not overwhelming balance of spectacle, a layered drama about the ‘sins of our fathers’, legacy and carving your own path, which definitively passes the ‘people’s champ’ underdog baton from Rocky to a new generation . . . though time will tell if Jordan & co. push their sequel luck.

The Bottom Line…

An almost Shakespearean tale of fathers & sons with one foot planted firmly in the past but an eye for the future, ‘Creed II’ strikes the right balance between nostalgia and living in the moment, as a solid boxing drama with impressive action and unexpected pathos—claiming the relatively rare distinction of a worthy sequel and proving there’s still life in this forty-two-year-old underdog ballad, as long as you get the right people to play those timeless riffs.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Creed (2015)

Young Michael B. Jordan (Fantastic Four, Fruitvale Station) stars in a ‘Rocky’ spin-off as the late ‘Apollo Creed’s’ troubled son who enlists the help of his dad’s legendary ‘Italian Stallion’ rival and friend to train him, helping create his own legacy and place in the world in this nostalgia-heavy boxing drama.

Directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone and Tessa Thompson among others.

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