Film Review - Creed 2 (2018)

Creed 2 is not directed by Ryan Coogler this time (He left to make Black Panther) instead Steven Caple Jr takes the reins and this time Adonis Creed (Michael B Jordan) has to fight Viktor Drago (Florian Muntenau) the son of Rocky IV’s Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) who famously killed Apollo Creed in Rocky IV so now the sons will have the same fight their fathers once had 33 years ago.

Creed 2 is an okay Rocky sequel but Coogler’s absence is deeply felt mainly because I felt he was able to do a Rocky sequel in the first Creed film in 2015 while also telling a new story that made it feel fresh and new whereas here and it probably is due to the fact that Stallone is a screenwriter on this new film the old beats of the traditional Rocky sequels are back:

- The new opponent who tears through his competitors
- The loss of the eye of the tiger
- The hero having to deal with family affairs
- The training montage

And then the big fight and well you get the picture and look some of that was in the first Creed film but here it really feels more prevalent and as a result I felt a bit more bored with this sequel and look it isn’t bad but it really makes it feel more like we’ve been here before.

And Tessa Thompson’s character Bianca who was very memorable in the first film as this deaf woman who was still living a very full and productive life is turned into the new Adrian where she worries about her man, gives very concerning looks and sits at the side of the ring worrying about her man and boy does that get old after a while especially when she has a very touching side plot about her baby daughter.

As for the performances both Thompson and Jordan are great together and these 2 are among the best actors of their generation and really do a lot to make their material shine, Stallone is his usual self while it was fun to see Dolph Lundgren again as Ivan Drago and Mr Muntenau looks like a mountain as Viktor even if his dialogue is very minimal at times.

And so that was Creed 2 and its okay but the first Creed was a better film and felt more fresh whereas this feels like a tired Rocky sequel with all the old beats of the punching bag dusted off, 2 out of 5.