Geeks logo

Round 8

Review of 'Creed 2'

By Fanpicked MediaPublished 5 years ago 7 min read
Like
Copyright: Warner Bros. Pictures/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Much like its namesake character, the Rocky franchise can’t be kept down. Just when you think it has come to a grand finale, a new sequel is made. To be honest, while I think the original Rocky is a masterpiece of significant cultural importance, everyone admits that the series became a parody of itself with each new addition. Rocky 5 is universally seen as the worst movie of the bunch, and Rocky Balboa was kinda pointless and is seen as a cash grab. Sorry, but I felt that movie should have ended with Rocky dying in the ring, as that would be the only fitting send off to his character. Thankfully, the only good thing that came from Rocky not dying is that we have this new spin-off series in Creed, which breathed new life into the four decade old franchise.

Taking place three years after the events of Creed, Creed 2 continues the story of Adonis Creed, the son of Apollo Creed. Since last we’ve seen him, he’s gone on a winning streak, and has even won a world championship. However, this newfound fame attracts the attention of Ivan Drago, the man who beat Apollo to death three decades ago. Drago has a son of own, Viktor, and he has been trained to be every bit the fighting machine that his father was. After being publicly taunted by the Dragos, Adonis agrees to defend his championship in a rematch between the two family dynasties.

This new installment of the spin-off series was directed by newcomer Steven Caple Jr., although Ryan Coogler (the director of Creed) produced the film. All the major characters from the first movie return; Adonis, his love interest Bianca, his trainer Rocky, and his mother Mary Anne Creed (played by Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Sylvester Stallone, and Phylicia Rashad, respectfully). Dolph Lundgren returns to his iconic role as Ivan Drago (and yes, he does say a variation of his infamous “I must break you” line), and his son Viktor is played by boxer turned actor, Florian "Big Nasty" Munteanu. And there’s a surprise appearance from a character who you might have thought would be left out of this movie entirely, but you would be wrong.

I can’t really critique this movie without talking about its predecessor, Creed. As I mentioned, I’m of the opinion that Rocky Balboa was a missed opportunity, as having Rocky die would be the only direction to take the character, considering that his wife is dead, and he’s living a mundane life as a restaurant owner; he had nothing left to lose besides his life. However, being a mentor to another fighter was the only logical decision to use Rocky, if the series were to move forward. Having the franchise shift its focus to the next generation of another legacy character was a stroke of genius on Ryan Coogler’s part, and Michael B. Jordan delivered the performance of his career in the role (yes, before the director/actor duo went on to make Marvel’s Black Panther). I also liked the concept of Bianca being a singer who ironically has an hearing impairment (I can relate, having a sibling who has the same condition). And while Rocky’s struggle with cancer made for a good subplot, I was amazed that he still didn’t die in the end. Let me clarify that I don’t have it out for Rocky. It’s not that I hate the character and just want to see him die out of some twisted satisfaction, it’s that the character has been explored in every way he could be and the only remaining story to tell about him is his death, at least in my opinion.

Much like how Creed was a beat for beat retelling of the first Rocky, this movie closely follows the plot of Rocky 3, with some parallels to Rocky 4. The first sequence of the movie fixes a plot hole that was leftover from the first Creed movie, so I was grateful about that (as well as other callbacks to the previous movie). From there, it follows the story of Rocky 3, with Adonis being an underdog champion who has to have a rematch after the first title fight doesn’t go his way. All the usual tropes of a Rocky movie are present; the inspiration speeches, the training montage, and the return of the iconic musical score.

Michael B. Jordan once again makes the role of Adonis Creed his own, continuing to portray him as a man who doesn’t know his place in the world, feeling he must prove to himself and others that he is the master of his own fate, and will be as great a boxer as his father. Tessa Thompson is charming as always as Bianca, often being used as an emotional crutch for Adonis to fall onto. She’s now officially signed to a music label, and her career is ever expanding, although her hearing impairment comes into play in another plotline, but I won’t mention how. Stallone does well for himself in this eighth appearance as Robert “Rocky” Balboa, although he will never top his performance in the very first Rocky. This time around, he is conflicted about his estranged relationship with his now adult son. This subplot is downplayed a lot more than Rocky’s battle with cancer in Creed, to the point it’s almost an afterthought. It’s doesn’t even affect Adonis in anyway. In Creed, Rocky and Adonis depended on each other with their personal struggles, but Rocky doesn’t even talk to Adonis about his son, he talks about it to Adrian’s grave instead.

Dolph Lundgren, while never that great of an actor, does well for himself here. Since losing in Rocky 4, he has fallen from grace as the pride of a nation all those years ago. Now he’s trying to live vicariously through Viktor and his boxing career. Florian Munteanu is intimidating as Viktor, but that’s about it. He barely speaks, and only has one scene where he’s being highly emotional. In that way, he’s the most unwritten of all the Rocky opponents. In that one emiontal scene that he is in, you do feel some sympathy for him, but it’s fleeting. I think he could have used a few more scenes like those so that the audience would be hesitant to see him lose, which would be an interesting twist. And in a homage to Rocky 4, we see dueling montages of Adonis and Viktor training, but in contrast to Rocky training in the chilling tundra of Russia, we have Adonis training in the blistering heat of a Mexican desert.

That all being said, Creed 2 is a fitting follow up, but it’s lacking in a few areas. It has interesting filmmaking like having Adonis swimming in a pool as a voiceover is being spoken, but said voiceover gets muffled whenever Adonis’ head is underwater. It’s a neat trick, but that’s all. There’s brutal slow motion and freeze framing during the fight scenes, as if you’re playing a video game, but the fights in “Creed” had more emotion and doubt in them. In terms of storytelling, nothing new is brought to the table. The student and mentor relationship between Adonis and Rocky is the same as before. Adonis wants Rocky to train him, Rocky declines, but then changes his mind and trains Adonis anyway. In fact, other than training Adonis, Rocky doesn’t even need to be in this movie. The story would have worked just fine if Rocky and Adonis parted ways after Adonis won his championship. There’s even reports that this will be the finale appearance that Stallone will do as Rocky, and if that’s true, he could have gone out on a higher note than this.

Overall, this movie takes the franchise to its logical conclusion, with a fight that was three decades in the making. I give Creed 2 a well deserved four out of five stars. If you’re a fan of the Rocky series, or if you loved Creed, then this is one not to miss. The same goes if you want to see an uplifting movie with a sports theme and a message about the importance of family. It’s currently available on physical disk, on demand, and streaming services. That concludes this fanpicked review. And remember, when it comes to the media that you consume, be like Indiana Jones, and chose wisely.

Short Version

Pros:

  • Good to great performances from the cast.
  • Great production design during the introduction scenes of the fights.
  • Fixes plot hole left by the first movie, and has a surprise cameo.

Cons:

  • Story is predictable.
  • No evolution in the relationship between Adonis and Rocky.
  • Viktor could have been more fleshed out as a character.

Verdict: **** (4 out of 5 stars).

review
Like

About the Creator

Fanpicked Media

Watcher and critic of movies, television, and streaming media. Helping you pick the media that's best for your consumption.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.