Movie Review: Creed II

Creed IITech Evening News, December 2, 2018

Times Of India's Rating : 3.5/5

Avg. Users' Rating : 4.3/5

Rate Movie

CAST:	Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Dolph Lundgren, Florian Munteanu, Wood Harris, and Phylicia Rashad
DIRECTION:	Steven Caple Jr
GENRE:	Action, Sports, Drama
DURATION:	2 hours 10 minutes

• Creed II Movie Review

Critic's Rating: 3.0/5

With Creed, writer-director Ryan Coogler seemingly resurrected the Rocky franchise. By taking the focus away from Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and putting Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan), the son of his greatest nemesis and friend Apollo Creed in the forefront, Coogler kind of reinvented the wheel. So the great white hope called Rocky Balboa was mentoring a black boxer, while fighting cancer. It's no wonder Sylvester Stallone got an Oscar nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role. Creed II takes the story forward. Rocky fans know that Apollo was killed in the ring during an exhibition match by Russian boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) and thirty years later, his son gets a chance at revenge by fighting against Ivan's son Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu). Rocky advises him against the bout but the hot headed Adonis rushes into it unprepared, almost getting killed in the process. Emotionally and physically scarred, it's going to be long road to redemption for the young boxer but thankfully this time, he has Rocky in his corner...

Adonis is supposed to be the world heavyweight champion but we don't see any ostentatious display of riches around him. His sudden increase in wealth could have been a good plot point but director Steven Caple Jr has chosen to ignore that. So a world class athlete doesn't have endorsement deals, doesn't have an entourage, doesn't even own a stable of cars but leads a middle class existence. The director has chosen instead to focus on his emotional journey. We see him committing to long-time girlfriend Bianca Taylor (Tessa Thompson), a singer- songwriter who suffers from progressive hearing loss. She gets pregnant and later in the film it's revealed their newborn daughter Amara too suffers from hearing loss as well. Thankfully, the story isn't one-sided. We also see the bond that exists between Ivan and Viktor. The son is shown carrying the burden of his father's loss to Rocky and wants to do his utmost to redeem his father's honour. When he emerges as a probable contender and Ivan is welcomed back into the Russia's boxing elite, Viktor questions his father's decision of hobnobbing with the same people who deserted him when he had lost.

Basically, the film carries snippets from all Rocky films you've seen. It's a fanboy homage to all the Rocky fans out there. The first film was about the legacy of Apollo Creed, the second one talks about the influence of Ivan Drago on Adonis’ life. Now that the past has been tied up, the makers can take the franchise forward whichever way they want, focussing totally on Adonis and doing away with the Rocky storyline. Stallone has kind of announced its going to be his his last Rocky film, so that holds true in more ways than one.

The film is slickly shot. And the fight scenes are nicely choreographed. You feel the pain of the boxers as they slug it out. It's great to see Stallone and Lundgren for the last time together in a Rocky film. While Stallone is full of homilies, Lundgren is shown as a gruff father who nevertheless cares much for his son. The centrestage belongs to Michael B. Jordan, clearly one of the future superstars of Hollywood. He’s got a chiselled physique and acting chops to boot and makes ample use of them both with consummate ease. Mention must also be made of real life boxer Florian Munteanu, who not only makes Viktor Drago come alive physically but also makes sure you see his vulnerable side as well.

Watch the film to relive Rocky's amazing journey down the years. And be prepared to take part in Creed's adventures in future...

TRAILER : CREED II