The first three Rocky movies were incredible. After that they became enjoyable but not favorites. Too much formula and not enough new territory.
The first Creed movie in 2015, gave birth to a new era of the film series. In that movie, Apollo Creed’s illegitimate son decides to pursue a career in boxing and recruits Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) to train him.
Creed was a really good movie and audiences have been craving a follow up. Well, Creed 2 has arrived, and it is worth seeing.
In this film, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has catapulted to fame and success in the boxing world since the original film.
For those not familiar with Rocky history, in Rocky IV, Former heavy weight boxing champion Apollo Creed is killed in the ring by Russian boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). It then becomes the theme of Rocky needing to avenge his friend’s death by facing off in the ring with Drago in Russia.
Drago is back in Creed 2, and he brings his son Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu) with him. Ivan has trained his son Viktor his whole life to be an unstoppable monster in the ring. A promoter sees the dollar signs around the idea of a son versus son grudge match in the ring, Adonis versus Viktor.
What entails is rather formula at this point in the Rocky series. There is not a lot of originality to the film, but it’s a feel good one just the same.
The biggest flaw in Creed 2 is how Jordan plays the character. Rocky was always a likable hero. In Creed 2, Adonis is a bit of a dick. Yes, it gives him room to change as a part of the storyline. However, it makes it hard to root for him.
The supporting performances by Stallone and Lundgren are very enjoyable. It’s always fun to see an actor return to a role after many years away. The last time these two actors faced off in these roles was in 1985.
Tessa Thompson turns in an endearing performance as Adonis’ love interest, and Phylicia Rashad is a near perfect in her role as Apollo’s widow and Adonis’ adoptive mother.
On a scale of 1 to 10, Creed 2 earns a respectable 7.
Peace. Love. Trust.