My Review of 'Creed II'

I have to start off this review by saying that I’ve been a fan of the Rocky series for many years now. My perspective for this review will be biased. Luckily, my girlfriend agreed to come watch this movie with me despite the fact that she had no knowledge of any of the prior films. The only thing that she recognized was that Sylvester Stallone played the boxer named Rocky.

I’ve followed the Rocky series for a while and the franchise style has changed up so much throughout those years. The first movie was amazing but I found the follow-up movie to be a little unnecessary. The third and fourth movies have a special spot in my childhood because it introduced me to Clubber Lang and Ivan Drago. They played typical badass villains of the 80s era. I know both movies were super cheeseball, but I loved them. Rocky V was somewhat forgettable and was what many thought was the death of the Rocky franchise. Then the reboot Balboa movie came out. I really liked Balboa, I realize that it was a Rocky movie that pandered to the fans but it still worked for me.

Back in 2015, I was really worried when I heard the premise of Creed, because I wasn’t sure where they’d go. Another reboot of the Rocky franchise? Balboa was a nice ending to the Rocky series so this reboot had better be good! They delivered a great origin story. The movie felt fresh and familiar at the same time. They got the perfect cast and a great transition from the old guard to a new main character. It was apparent that this was no longer a Rocky movie. It was a changing of the guard with familiar themes.

The anticipation was high when Creed 2 was announced because we all knew it was bound to happen. Many were worried because of the absence of Ryan Coogler as the director and the fact Stallone would be co-writing the script. Hey, we should give Stallone more credit since he was the person that penned the first Rocky.

I can safely say that the Creed franchise is going in the right direction. It was really enjoyable. It had all of the things I could possibly want in a Creed sequel. The fight scenes were done really well, the training montage was great, and the throwback references were amazing! So in this sequel Creed is the champion and gets challenged by the son of Ivan Drago. Ivan Drago was the villain in Rocky IV. In Rocky IV, Drago killed Apollo Creed with Rocky in Apollo’s corner. Rocky still has major PTSD from that fight and Creed can’t let it go that the son of the guy that killed his dad is challenging him for his belt. Can Creed live up to his father’s illustrious legacy? Without spoiling the whole movie there’s a whole slew of other life things that happen in this movie as well. There were touching moments that pushes Rocky further away from the franchise.

I like this, because it’s solidifying Creed as the primary person of focus in the franchise. It makes the world more vibrant and relatable. Each of the characters continue to grow because of all the obstacles in their way while the past continues to haunt them. I loved all of it because I’ve been following the franchise for a while but what about someone that hasn’t watched any of the prior movies?

I asked my girlfriend what she thought of the movie since she came in as a blank slate. She told me that she enjoyed it and was able to keep up with what was going on. I was surprised she enjoyed it as much as she did considering it’s a sequel. Maybe I’ll be able to get her to watch the older Rocky movies with me so she can catch up with everything.

So overall I would give this movie an eight out of 10. It loses a few points for being predictable, but I didn’t want to go to a movie like this for major plot twists or anything. These types of movies are feel-good inspirational movies and that’s what they delivered. My girlfriend said that she’d give it around 7.75 out of 10. I think everyone should try to see it in the theaters if they can regardless if they haven’t seen the other movies. The theater provides a good atmosphere for this type of movie. In the theater you’ll enjoy being in the moment while gasping and cheering with the rest of the audience. There were a lot of people that really get into the movie at the theater we went to. This is a must see in the theater and a definite buy when it comes out on video.