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In 2015’s Creed, Michael B. Jordan stepped up to carry on the crowd-pleasing legacy of the Rocky movies. And the follow-up, Creed II, finds the franchise once again paying tribute to earlier films with the return of a legendary rival with a painful personal connection.
Creed II continues the story of boxer Adonis Creed (Jordan) as he rises to the top of his career. After being named heavyweight champ, he’s given a very public challenge by Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), the son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), the ruthless Russian fighter who was responsible for Apollo Creed’s death. Caught up in the hype and the mind games, Adonis feels like he has no choice but to accept the challenge. But he’ll have to do it without Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), who refuses to stand by and relive the past.
The Creed sequel is everything that fans of the franchise expect: a little bit of hard-hitting action and plenty of drama. As the beloved heavyweight champ, Adonis is forced to face new adversity, battling the demons of his past in the form of the vicious son of the man who killed his father. Though the film features a few big fights and the typical training montages, the focus is on the inner battles. Adonis faces more than just Drago’s son; he faces his own fears, his feelings about his father, and his hopes for his future. Meanwhile, Rocky deals with his own feelings for the people he loves, and even the Dragos struggle with their bitterness and rage over decades of disgrace.
Of course, nothing here is especially new or surprising. Before the lights go down in the theater, you’ll already know what will happen and how it’ll all end. It’s so familiar, in fact, that it often seems to play out in a kind of shorthand. And, at times, the sheer predictability of the franchise’s formulas can be almost laughable, the drama over-the-top.
Still, the characters make it easy to overlook the film’s formulaic nature. Jordan’s Creed makes a likable hero: damaged but determined with the right kind of flaws. Once again, Stallone shines as the aging fighter who steps back into the ring as a wise coach—whose relationship with his friend’s son fills him with regret over the lost relationship with his own son. And fans of the franchise will love the return of Lundgren as Drago. And as Adonis battles his way through the film’s final match, the audience will feel the hits and cheer along with the raucous crowd.
It may not be surprising or original—in fact, its whole story is built around its connections to earlier films in the franchise. But Creed II is still a crowd-pleasing sports drama. If you’re a fan of the Italian Stallion, you’ll enjoy the continuing saga.
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