Creed 2 is the sequel to Creed which was the reboot of the classic Rocky franchise. Bit of a mouthful really. I found the first Creed film to be a decent installment in the franchise, adding a nice modern feel to the Rocky formula; nicely blending current and classic. Steven Caple Jr. takes the reins now, as opposed to Ryan Coogler.
Generally speaking, Creed 2 rides the same wave as its predecessor; a boxing film similar in story to previous Rocky films, but with a lot of heart and well-rounded characters played by the perfect actors. As usual, Michael B Jordan proves to be one of the most talented actors of his generation, and his abilities are tested even more so than the previous film. Many emotions are put on display from Jordan here; anger, confusion, frustration, but also sheer happiness, even some scenes showing a more vulnerable side to the character of Adonis Creed, including scenes in which he breaks down in tears, or even acting slightly awkward (humourously so) as he is unable to handle certain situations with his girlfriend.
The supporting cast are also excellent. Stallone and Tessa Thompson return to their roles and provide Creed with something to fight for, a reminder of why he boxes which only drives him more towards succeeding, therefore providing some much needed motivation for him to beat his opponent.
Speaking of which, the part of this film I was most interested to see was the revenge element of the story; Creed faces off against the son of the man who killed Creed’s father. Purely based off this information alone, you would assume that the fights would carry a lot of emotional weight, therefore making what happens inside the ring a lot more meaningful than a standard boxing match; if Creed wins the fight against Drago, he may finally feel some form of closure after losing his father. Unfortunately, I felt this aspect of the film to be surprisingly unexplored. Aside from a few lines here and there, the whole revenge element which I was almost certain would be the driving force of Creed wanting to win the match is almost absent, and the fights feel almost standard due to this.
Florian Munteanu plays the son of Ivan Drago, and he fits the character just fine. Nothing particularly special is brought to the table with this character, but Florian manages to play the role of an insanely muscular and brooding thug with ease. One thing I found to be rather unbelievable was the fact that these two opponents were actually able to box each other seeing as Drago looks to be about two weight classes heavier than Creed. Even a small scene that takes place during the weigh-in seems to gloss over this plot hole.
A nice surprise that this film delivered was that it actually delves into the domestic side of the Drago’s life, and really hits home that their lives aren’t very easy, or filled with much father-son respect or love. This was a pleasant change which I thoroughly enjoyed watching, seeing as many previous Rocky antagonists are simply just men with muscles who want the glory of winning, so have some antagonists that felt like actual humans was very nice to see.
The first Creed film contained one of the best fights I think was ever put to film, all edited and filmed to look like one single shot, and it was astounding. I hoped that this film would find a way to somehow top that, though it doesn’t. The fights are still spectacular though; brutal and hard-hitting, I swear I could almost feel some of the hits landing with the impact of a wrecking ball. I was even reduced to taking up an old habit of biting my nails due to how intense some moments were during these fights. When Creed was up against the ropes being pummeled by Drago, I very nearly looked away.
Despite following some of the same beats as its predecessors (training montages, motivational speeches, etc.), Creed 2 manages to add something that does feel slightly more fresh, and that is mainly due to Jordan’s fantastic performance, showcasing just how wide his range is, with help from some fantastic supporting characters, brutal fights and a decent opponent. Although some aspects of the film were not explored as much as I personally would have liked them to have been, Creed 2 is one of the better films in this franchise and was a blast to watch.
My Cinematic Ramblings 