Review of Creed II (2018) by Chris R — 26 Nov 2018

When I first heard the premise was going to be about Adonis Creed facing off against Ivan Drago's son I was extremely concerned given that Rocky IV was known for being the most bizarre entry in the Rocky franchise and Creed being the most grounded sequel in the series, I didn't know how these 2 could possibly work together.

Luckily I'm happy to say that Creed 2 succeeds in giving a satisfying & worthy sequel that's worthy of carrying the name Creed. The film could easily have failed if not done properly but luckily some great performances from Michael B Jordan, Sylvester Stallone & surprisingly Dolph Lundgren elevate this film to another level of depth I never would have expected.

Some may complain the Rocky films have become stale & formulaic but true fans of the franchise know that's exactly what we want in this series, we want the inspirational moments, we want the big final showdown, but we also want it to be done with enough freshness for the films to stand on their own.

If I did have a flaw with the film I guess it would be that the dialogue isn't as strong as the first but the rest of the film works great because the film doesn't just give us super heroes & villains, it gives us humans with emotions dealing with real issues many of us can identify with, that's what made the first Rocky such an amazing film for so many of us.