Creed II (2018)

Directed by: Steven Caple Jr. | 130 minutes | drama, sports | Actors: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Dolph Lundgren, Florian Munteanu, Russell Hornsby, Wood Harris, Milo Ventimiglia, Robbie Johns, Andre Ward, Brigitte Nielsen

In this sequel to ‘Creed’, young world champion Adonis Johnson, the illegitimate son of late boxing legend Apollo Creed and pupil of Apollo’s great sporting rival and later best friend Rocky Balboa, faces the biggest challenge of his life. He is challenged by Viktor Drago, an adversary who is inextricably linked to Adonis’ family history. Viktor is the son of Ivan Drago, the emotionless super athlete and fighting machine who brutally ended the life of Apollo in the ring (see ‘Rocky IV’). All of this happened in a rather oversimplified, overly patriotic Cold War setting that portrayed Apollo as a symbol of good and free America and Ivan as the incarnate personification of the evil Soviet empire.

‘Creed’ was a fresh, vibrant and stylish new chapter in the Rocky series in 2015. The film breathed new life into the saga and passed the torch to a new generation in the form of boxing talent Adonis Johnson (perfectly played by Michael B. Jordan). In ‘Creed II’, Adonis works his way up to world champion in the heavyweight division. Also on the relational level he stands for a milestone thanks to the beckoning fatherhood. But just then the ugly side of his troubled family history emerges in the form of challenger Viktor Drago. This boxer is not only a ferocious, ruthless and spartan-trained wrecking machine, but also the son of the man who killed Adonis’ father.

While ‘Creed II’ has the storytelling potential to become a classic in the sports and drama genre, the film doesn’t quite deliver on its promise. ‘Creed II’ is certainly not bad. The fights are intense, well choreographed and quite realistic (somewhat different from the old Rocky movies, where cover still seems to be an undiscovered phenomenon). In addition, Sylvester Stallone remains amiable and charming as the lived-in father figure Rocky.

“Creed II” just relies too heavily on Adonis’ struggles with his relationship and impending fatherhood. This part of the story degenerates just too often into syrupy melodrama and is overshadowed by the much more interesting, but unfortunately underexposed subplot surrounding father and son Drago. We see how Ivan’s home defeat to Rocky, which cost him his status, reputation, fortune and wife, has turned the former Soviet hero into a broken, bitter and vindictive man who uses his son as a revenge vehicle to polish up the tarnished family reputation. The one-dimensional comic book villain from ‘Rocky IV’ gives way in ‘Creed II’ to a layered character of flesh and blood, a figure who alternately inspires both disgust and pity (and even a little respect towards the end). While watching ‘Creed II’ you regularly hope that the camera will switch more often from the worries of Adonis and his wife Bianca to the more Shakespearean epic about father and son Drago.

As far as the build-up is concerned, ‘Creed II’ follows the standard format that almost all Rocky films have: the pumped-up run-up to a big fight, the main protagonist who gets a good beating, intensive training sessions under primitive conditions and a final fight that is as spectacular as heroic. The end result: a decent film, but one that colors within the lines a bit too well and at times even lapses into stale clichés.