Cards on the table. I’m a huge fan of the Rocky franchise. It’s been so interesting to watch where the series has been and what it’s become. The first Rocky film won the Academy Award and is still one of the greatest sports films ever made. Sequel fever hit and with every subsequent feature and the series delved more and more into the outrageous Rocky formula that is chicken soup for the 1980s soul.
Then three years ago, director Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Black Panther) approached the series and gave it brand new gloves as he told the story of Apollo Creed’s son and his hopes to be a boxing champion similar to the father he never knew. It somehow took familiar elements of the early movies of the franchise and gave them gravitas in a very good movie that possibly needed no sequel.
But this is the Rocky franchise we’re talking about. Sequels are a given.
Creed II ups the ante in every way possible. This movie plays off the Most American Movie of All Time Rocky IV where we saw Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) kill Apollo Creed in the ring, only to have Rocky seek revenge in the ring.
Now, Adonis (Michael B. Jordan) is currently the most celebrated boxer and enjoying his fame and future with Biance (Tessa Thompson). However, he is soon publicly challenged by Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), the son of the man who killed his father.
Relatively untested Steven Caple Jr takes over the director’s chair from Coogler and has big shoes to fill. Thankfully, he’s surrounded by a crew (Coogler, Stallone, Jordan) that make this sequel flow and fit well with the first Creed. Coogler is producing, while Sylvester Stallone cowrote the screenplay. And for anyone doubting, Stallone knows his craft having written some of his best roles.
Creed II feels tonally similar to the first movie by keeping it very emotional, focusing on the day to day human elements of Adonis’s life and also has the ability to put viewers right into the ring and feel every impact as the music swells up and makes your heart do the same.
Considering the premise of being Rocky IV Part II, this is a silly movie in concept. However, it’s played off as quite serious and each actor is fully dedicated. I was impressed they went into the subplot of Drago and his son and the fallout of his loss three decades previous. While there may be sluggish moments for those waiting for a movie strictly about boxing, the fact that they gave each character a quality plot made the ending feel earned.
At its core, Creed II is a story about fatherhood – What a legacy means, the struggles to be an example, and the sacrifice behind it. With this morality tale, Creed II feels far more important while watching it, than it probably is in reality.
Creed II is a bit too hokey to achieve greatness, but it manages to balance the line of silliness and serious drama. As a possibly weak end to the cinematic year approaches, Creed II is a highlight that may have you feeling every punch and cheering at the end. B
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