Creed II is a solid sequel, but it is missing a little somethin’ somethin’, Ryan Coogler. The director of the first Creed and of course the instantly iconic Black Panther is still a producer on the film. But the emotional anvil that came along with his 2015 effort that expanded the Rocky universe and even resulted in a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for Sylvester Stallone, is ever so slightly missing from this second Creed chapter.
Michael B. Jordan is back as Adonis Creed and as the follow-up begins, our favorite boxing spawn has completed six fights since the one that put him on the map at the conclusion of the first film. Next up is the big one—a battle to determine who will be the heavyweight champion of the world. But something is lurking beneath the surface and it is teased ever so mildly (we kid) from the first moments of Creed II.
The death of Creed’s father hangs emotively over the first film, but it is the centerpiece of the sequel. The man who killed his pops, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), has a son Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu). Viktor has been trained as a boxer with what seems like one mission—to avenge dad’s loss to Rocky all those years ago. Since Rock is Adonis’ trainer, it appears we have two camps on a collision course of destiny.
After the originality that was achieved with Creed, the almost too-obvious plot of the sequel feels a bit contrived and that’s one aspect that lends itself to having the follow-up not possess the same type of weight. That is fascinating, given that revenge, retribution and wanting to make a name for oneself—a thunderous theme from the first film—are all solid foundations of powerful cinematic moments. As such, one would think that Creed II would pack quite the punch in the heart. It’s odd that it doesn’t. But then again, it’s a sequel and those have a long history of emotively missing the mark set by the original.
What pulls at the heartstrings is what’s happening for Adonis at home. He and Bianca (Tessa Thompson) are getting serious. In fact, after scoring a victory in that title fight, he drops to one knee and proposes. They get engaged and then… they get pregnant! Nothing like having something to fight for with the fam at home to encourage a boxer to rise to the occasion that is a battle with a Drago.
Where Adonis gets into trouble is when he thinks of the fight as a chance to “rewrite history.”
Jordan continues his hot streak that began with Fruitvale Station. He commands in Creed II and the challenges that accompany any sequel are what finds the actor rising to the occasion. This is a film that has been decades in the making. After all, it was Rocky IV that found the senior Drago doing damage of the deathly kind. There must be a whole mix of emotions that comes along with not only gearing up for a title fight, but one against the son of the man who took your father from the earth. Jordan handles that conflict powerfully and that is no easy task. Much of it has to be internalized, something that forces an actor to find their mettle. What the actor does in his first sequel signifies that his ascent to the top of talented thespians of his generation is warranted.
A sequel is tricky, one must find the emotional center that was established in the first film and replicate it, but simultaneously expand it in fresh directions. Given the Drago-Creed rich history, especially the way it is used as a mirror for life in this picture, it could have proven a tall task. Instead, the feelings we would expect from a complicated web that is revenge and retribution, come through in Jordan’s performance.
Thompson too continues to impress. After stealing scenes in Thor: Ragnarok and Annihilation she shows a level of acting awareness that is sublime in Creed II. She is a spoke in the ensemble wheel and knows that this is her scene partner Jordan’s film. As such, she supports, as the best supporting actors and actresses know how to do. She’s a powerful performer and when the scene calls for it, Thompson delivers. Another layer of emotion evolves from her character’s struggle with hearing loss. Given the fact that she is a singer, it is an added weight that this film greatly needs, especially when it comes to whether their child will inherit her hearing issues.
Stallone gives us a Rocky that is not as leap off the screen as he was in the first Creed. Don’t expect the Academy to come calling again with another nomination for his second effort as the aged Balboa. There’s a plot line involving his estranged son that seems a bit forced and obvious, what with all the father-son issues that permeate Creed II. Sadly, the film doesn’t need that but perhaps, filmmakers are setting up some dramatic weight for the third installment.
Director Steven Caple Jr. does fine work with what he’s given from the screenplay by Stallone and Juel Taylor. Again, the film misses the input, writing-wise, from Coogler. He co-wrote the screenplay for the first Creed and his powerful prose is notably absent from the follow-up. Now, Stallone won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Rocky all those years ago and nobody knows the characters who inhabit this world better than him. It’s just in the Creed universe, the key to success (in every sense of the word) is Coogler.
When judging a Rocky movie, the level of kudos mirrors how well the fight sequences are choreographed, executed and captured. Caple Jr. does a decent job with the handful of matches that are featured in Creed II. But none possess the power that was exhibited in that final bout at the end of the 2015 flick. Again, it seems that the difference between Creed and Creed II in every single category is the absence of Coogler.
Still, in the lexicon of the eight Rocky movies, Creed II is more in the top half than the bottom half. It’s interesting, it feels like a little bit of Rocky II with its fighter trying to find his mojo with a better half expecting a baby. Obviously, it has shades of Rocky IV for obvious Drago-related reasons, but also in how the big fight takes place in Russia and the parallel training montages that showcases Adonis getting whipped into shape while Viktor does the same. There is even a bit of Rocky III in there too, what with the Balboa-Creed training in Southern California bit.
Where Creed elevated the Rocky franchise to a place that it hadn’t seen (i.e. Oscar love) since the 1976 original, the sequel feels a bit like the rest of the Rocky sequels… not quite as good, but still majorly entertaining.
Grade: B-