‘Creed’ series could go distance
If this year’s soft reboot of “Halloween” bridged old and new fans to an iconic horror franchise, “Creed II” does the same for devotees of the “Rocky” series. Lithe, quick and powerful, this sequel to 2015’s Michael B. Jordan spin-off packs an emotional punch that leaves room for future installments without Sylvester Stallone.
Adonis Creed (Jordan) is now a world boxing champion who’s made a name for himself under the guidance of Rocky Balboa (Stallone). No longer in the shadow of his father, the late
Apollo Creed, Adonis is eager to lean into his family’s legacy when a challenger from the past comes back into the ring.
Stallone’s grayed Rocky, a “chuck of yesterday trying to fit in,” is served well in the supporting role as Adonis’ pragmatic and goofy coach. Having overcome a cancer diagnosis in from the last film, Rocky’s shaken up but not beaten by the strained relationship he still has with his son. One gets the impression with lines like “I’m not gonna be here forever” and shots of him swallowing pills that the original champ is gonna join Creed Sr. by the third act. But, alas, that doesn’t happen — something that’s looking inevitable for the third entry in this spin-off series.
Rocky is celebrated as a hero in his native Philadelphia but his former Soviet rival Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) is in ruin after the fateful match in which he unapologetically killed Apollo Creed. “Everything changed that night,” the senior Drago menacingly tells Rocky. He’s been holed up in Ukraine intensely training his brick wall of a son Viktor (Florian Munteanu) in an attempt to bring honor to the Drago name.
Viktor is a bearded, hulking brute who has the hunger to fight like a stray dog because he has nothing to lose. The Dragos aren’t mere “Boris and Natasha” caricatures. There’s glimpses at them dealing with the decades-long trauma after Ivan’s wife (Brigitte Nielsen) abandoned them for a cushy life after the events of “Rocky IV.”
On the home front, Adonis proposes to longtime girlfriend Bianca (the always delightful Tessa Thompson) within the first 20 minutes of the picture. She and Jordan have palpable chemistry and their moments together, signing messages to each other between the ropes and learning about her pregnancy are some of the film’s most heartfelt.
The Dragos are brought into the fold by a slimy and opportunistic promoter eager to capitalize on Adonis’ recent world boxing champion title by challenging both sons to a match. The grizzled Rocky advises Adoupstart nis to ignore the dare, especially when the young Creed can’t give a legitimate reason for why he’d pursue it.
Of course, Adonis defies all advice from his loved ones and enters the ring with the burly European within the first hour. And he’s promptly pulverized into a bloody pulp suffering broken ribs and a ruptured kidney in a humiliating defeat that disqualifies Ivan for kicking Adonis while he’s down. But this clearly isn’t where the story ends — the battered protagonist is down but not out as he recuperates with the help of Rocky to challenge his competitor once again. This time, however, it’s in Moscow.
Jordan gets ripped — even more so than when we last saw him in “Black Panther” — to fend off his colossal foe. Plenty of callbacks to the original “Rocky” — think of that shot of Stallone sprinting across the docks — are echoed in an entirely familiar training montage.
The matches between Adonis and Viktor are captivating even for nonboxing fans wrapped up in the drama as slow-motion punches swing right at the camera. This deeply personal, high-stakes battle is a chance to change history for both characters who may become just as iconic as their predecessors to a new generation.
Though “Creed II” is serviced by the callbacks to its roots there’s a quiet confidence that this series could go the distance with or without the charms of its previous star.