Review of Creed II (2018) by Kurt M — 14 Dec 2018

In 2015, Creed came out of nowhere to become one of my favorite films that year, proving there was still life in the Rocky franchise after all these years. With powerhouse performances by both Jordan and Stallone, when a sequel was announced, you could imagine my anticipation as well as my expectation.

Safe to say, this is a great movie & one that lives up to the first Creed film,.

On some aspects even being a better entry into the Rocky Anthology series.

Rocky 4 is a childhood favorite of mine; completely cheeseball in its 1980's execution but so bad that it is good. SO to take the lore of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), who killed Creed's father in that movie, and inject a next generation dynamic into it involving the two sons.

Well, just take my money now.

Lundgren is great, as is Stallone. And thankfully they do not make this movie about them and their past. Instead, it is amazingly crafted and builds off the perfectly laid foundation of thirty years ago, allowing for the tension of the two lead characters (Jordan and newcomer Florian Munteanu) to be instantaneous.

This is about the new blood, and it shines through with perfectly placed subtle hints to the film that came before it.

That being said, Michael B. Jordan steals the show and this is a Creed movie.

Not a Rocky movie;.

A Creed movie.

I truly believe this guy is one of the best actors working today, and Jordan, although brash and full of ego, portraying this champion displays signs of the broken young man, who never got the relationship with his father he yearns so much. In turn, this is both his guiding light but his downfall and it makes for a rollercoaster two hours & fifteen minutes.

For some one who has lost their father, it definitely pulled on the heart strings and made Creed very relatable.

No Rocky series movie would be complete without a kickass training montage and it provides one of the most brutal ones to watch. The boxing choreography is still vicious and damn near perfect, and the soundtrack perfectly placed at times to help convey the gravity of the situations at hand.

A perfect blend of nostalgia, mixed with a look into the psychology of two tortured young athletes, I can't say enough good things about Creed 2. Director Steven Caple Jr made a knockout (PUN INTENDED) of a movie and one of the best movies of the year.

Grade : A -.