Creed II ★★★
THE eighth film in the Rocky series, Creed II, again aims to reinvent the franchise.
However, unlike Creed in 2015, this time it’s not quite as successful.
There is nothing wrong with the acting talent on display – even B-Grade action star Dolph Lundgren puts in a good effort.
Steven Caple Jnr’s direction is sound, even though it’s only his second feature film, and the boxing sequences are excitingly staged by Daniel Bernhardt, the fight choreographer for Atomic Blonde and John Wick.
The problem is the manufactured and predictable over-arching story.
A team of six writers does manage to recreate the warmth and natural interactions of the three main characters from the first Creed film – Adonis Creed, his partner Bianca and trainer Rocky Balboa. They also achieve a nice balance with the depiction of villains Ivan Drago and his son Viktor.
But these are moments and overall, in seeking to build on the events of Rocky IV, all they succeed in doing is repeating them.
In the 1985 film you might recall that original foes Rocky and Apollo Creed are now well and truly close friends, content in their family lives and memories of past glories in the ring.
On the other side of the World, the Russian military has used dubious science to create a super boxer, Ivan Drago, who cannot be defeated. Against everyone’s best advice, Apollo accepts a challenge to fight the Russian in an alleged exhibition match.
The battering Creed receives causes his death and Rocky’s guilt from not stopping the fight early. Of course Rocky and America win the rematch.
In 2018’s Creed II, Drago returns with his ‘unbeatable’ mountain of a son, Viktor, to seek retribution and regain honor in Russia by breaking Adonis, the son of Apollo Creed.
Like his father in Rocky IV, an unprepared Adonis is goaded into a fight ambush.
So we get the first fight that leaves Creed hospitalized and the return bout with Rocky facing his demons in Creed’s corner.
Ultimately, the film is elevated by the cast. Stallone now plays Rocky as if he actually is that character and there is something very familiar and warming in spending time with him.
Tessa Thompson makes Bianca a key and formidable character while Lundgren is surprisingly effective in some of his scenes with Stallone and Romanian amateur boxer Florian Munteanu who plays his son Viktor.
The one I worry about a little is Michael B. Jordan. Since his terrific debut in 2013’s Fruitvale Station, Jordan has basically gone the popular entertainment route playing Creed twice and Black Panther. I’d like to see him in something far more challenging.
Creed II is solid popcorn entertainment but I think it’s pretty lazy to just rinse and repeat.
Then again, the Rocky franchise has largely been doing that for years. It’s just a shame that the promise of Creed doesn’t fully emerge with the sequel.
A large part of that might be due to original writer and director Ryan Coogler moving to a behind-the-scenes producing role.