MGM
Ryan Coogler’s sequel to the many Rocky movies was a surprise in a lot of ways, and it was considered a vital, fresh new way to approach the creaky boxing series. The story and direction had a new style, and Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson were a great on screen couple. I have a fragmented history with the Rocky series; I first saw bits and pieces of the third one on TV as a kid, recognizing Hulk Hogan and Mister T but not getting the context. Later I saw Rocky IV which was delightfully over the top. And finally, many, many years later, I saw the first one. It’s pretty good.
Creed II continues the tale from the last movie, showing the hero Adonis ‘Donnie’ Creed (Michael B. Jordan) moving up through the ranks to take the heavyweight championship title in the opening scenes of the movie. This is where it starts. A mysterious man named Buddy Marcelle (Russell Hornsby), who turns out be a promoter, is watching carefully from the sidelines.
And then, a shocker (if you haven’t seen the previews) — it appears that Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), the man who killed Apollo Creed in Rocky IV has a son, a giant, muscular fiend named Viktor (Florian Munteanu). Viktor was raised to blame Rocky for his troubles, and how his father became a pariah after his epic loss to Rocky that also ended the Cold War. So he has a chip on his shoulder, and believes that defeating (or more specifically, ‘breaking’) Adonis is the way to take revenge and cleanse the shame from the Drago name.
Donnie and Bianca (Tessa Thompson) have their own new plots — engagements and family changes, with new risks and possibilities, like Bianca’s new singing career (which doesn’t really go anywhere much). So when the challenge comes down as we know it will, it is no surprise that Donnie accepts it despite the objections of Rocky and disapproval of Tessa and Donnie’s mother (Phylicia Rashad returning). The reasoning behind his decision other than ‘it’s the movie’s plot’ is a bit murky, and thus the drive for a while isn’t quite as compelling.
But of course, eventually the arc switches around just like in Rocky IV, a mirror from the past. We get the same sort of magnificently over the top montage, and an ‘it’s all down to this’ and ‘he’s got a lot of heart.’ The cookie cutter plot is as predictable is it is admittedly effective as a fun time. But it cannot reach the emotional depths of the past movie. Part of this is due to the script, of course, once again co-written by Stallone, so that should explain much.
There are other positives — the motivations are more interesting here, with each boxer fighting against a villain in their own minds. That makes things more complex, instead of a simple ‘Us vs Them’, and Florian Munteanu does well as young boxer mired in emotion. Similarly, Dolph Lundgren has a great handle on his character, with a sort of granite pain that matches well against Stallone’s muted energy.
Michael B. Jordan is a phenom, naturally, projecting off the screen and capably pulling off impressive physical deeds. He continues to have effortless comic charisma and a winning rapport with Tessa Thompson, although I would’ve liked to see more of the arc that is mainly implied on their relationship evolving. The boxing scenes are done well, with only a few split second camera holds that got a bit tiresome.
The weaknesses are the dips into blatant exposition (done by real life boxing commentators and reporters who are not good actors), which are wholly unnecessary given what we see on the screen. The plot is also quite simple, and there is only one small twist to the ending I didn’t completely expect — one I liked, so I would’ve liked at least a little more risk. I think the audience could’ve handled it, although they were only rooting for one person to win it all.
Creed II has a run time of 2 hours 9 minutes and is rated PG-13 for sports action violence, language, and a scene of sensuality.
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