Review of Creed II (2018) by Johnathon W — 23 Nov 2018

Solid sequel to the excellent 'Creed' that while not as innovative, manages to be a crowd pleasing time at the movies. The cast is uniformly excellent across the board, with Michael B. Jordon continuing his charismatic and powerful turn as Adonis Creed, a boxer constantly having to prove things to himself and the world.

He gets wonderful support from the rest of the cast, with Sylvester Stallone molding his Rocky into a wise curmudgeon while Tessa Thompson is superb as Bianca, the love of Adonis's life. Dolph Lundgren and Florian Munteanu are also excellent as the Drago's, not playing them as straight villains but people with real pain in the past.

Behind the camera, director Steven Caple Jr. crafts a solid sequel but suffers from following the beats of previous Rocky franchises over trying something new. His direction of boxing fights isn't an innovative as Ryan Coogler either (no singe take fights here) but Caple Jr.

does add some nice modern touches, such as Bianca being a full partner in her relationship with Creed, with her own career ambitions as a singer (which merges nicely in the final bout). Overall, while not the original, an entertaining film from beginning to end and another worthy entry in the "Rocky" franchise.