The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
‘Rocky IV’-inspired ‘Creed II’ benefits
‘Rocky IV’-inspired ‘Creed II’ benefits from the further development of Adonis-Rocky relationship, but also from father and son Dragos
In 2015, “Creed” didn’t just breathe new life into the “Rocky” franchise — it gave it a major shot of adrenaline. ¶ With the highly talented Michael B. Jordan as the up-and-coming son of the late boxer Apollo Creed, an Academy Award-nominated performance by Sylvester Stallone as an aging Rocky Balboa and terrific direction from Ryan Coogler — who went on to wow much of the world with last year’s “Black Panther” — “Creed” was a cinematic event. ¶ It would be asking too much of Jordan, Stallone and new director Steven Caple Jr. — a Cleveland native who graduates to this big-budget Hollywood affair after writing and directing the Cleveland-set and -filmed low-budget 2016 drama “The Land” — to improve on “Creed” with “Creed II.” They do not deliver that particular knockout. ¶ However, “Creed II” is a worthy contender your time and movie dollars, a largely predictable drama but one that wins with its big moments.
It also is likely to delight longtime fans of the “Rocky” series thanks to its ties to 1985’s beloved “Rocky IV,” in which Soviet fighter Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) kills Apollo in the ring during their bout, Rocky subsequently besting Ivan in a match in Russia. “Creed II” begins with Adonis about to fight for the heavyweight championship.
“It’s just another fight, OK?” his girlfriend, Bianca (Tessa Thompson), assures him before the match. “You got this.”
She leaves the room, which is when we become aware Rocky is there, too, his back turned to Adonis. His prefight message for the young boxer: understand whether you’re fighting to prove something to others or to yourself.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, Drago’s son, Viktor (Florian Munteanu), is laying waste to dudes in the ring. As Rocky will later say, Viktor is raw but incredibly strong and powerful.
With a promoter, Buddy Marcelle (Russell Hornsby of “The Hate U Give”), pulling strings, two generation of Dragos show up in Philadelphia and start making noises about Adonis needing to give Viktor a shot at the title. And quickly — in one of the moments likely to delight “Rocky IV” fans — we get a meaningful reunion of Rocky and Ivan.
Adonis feels he has no choice but to fight Viktor, an opinion not shared by Bianca; his mother, Mary Ann (a returning Phylicia Rashad); and, especially, Rocky. In fact, Rocky tells his protege he will not have any part of this fight — the scars from not throwing in the towel when he was in Apollo’s corner during the fatal fight with Ivan being too deep — so Adonis will have to find another trainer. Understandably, this enrages the fighter.
“At least you don’t gotta worry about throwing in the towel!” Adonis spits at Rocky.
“Yeah,” the former boxing champ utters quietly, walking away from Adonis clearly conflicted.
We won’t spill all the details, but, as you might expect, the fight doesn’t go well for Adonis. The real story of “Creed II” is the fighter’s long journey toward a second bout.
For all its connections to “Rocky IV,” which include a fun cameo, “Creed II” borrows from at least two other “Rocky” entries. As scripted by Juel Taylor and Stallone — from a story credited to Sascha Penn and Cheo Hodari Coker — the film echoes the structure of 1982’s “Rocky III,” Rocky twice fighting Mr. T’s Clubber Lang in that film. Also, there’s a charming early scene in which Rocky tells Adonis about how he proposed to the now-deceased Adrian (Talia Shire), a moment from 1979’s “Rocky II.”
That’s all well and fine — you seldom go wrong these days feeding fans’ hunger for anything nostalgic — but the script leaves a lot to be desired. A handful of story threads and themes are developed but never quite fully realized, which is frustrating.
One theme that is well-cultivated, however, pertains to fathers and sons. In fact, you may find yourself surprised by how invested you have become in the Dragos by the film’s conclusion, a credit to the writers but also to Lundgren (“The Expendables” movies) and Munteanu, a former amateur boxer. Making his feature-film debut, the latter proves to be a promising actor in a handful of scenes throughout “Creed II.”
Of course, the stars of this show are Jordan and Stallone. While neither gives as impactful a performance as he did in the first film — don’t expect an Oscar nod for Stallone this time — the on-screen chemistry shared by the pair remains. It’s still easy to root for both of them.
Behind the camera, Caple, too, shows a lot of promise. He isn’t yet in Coogler’s class, but “Creed II” — despite a middle section that drags — is a step forward from “The Land.” It will be interesting to see what the young filmmaker does next.
With its visceral boxing scenes — expect to feel some of these punches — and solid performances, “Creed II” ultimately is a winner.
But let’s call this one a split decision.