Creed II (12A)
The first Creed movie surpassed expectations to pack a punch with both audiences and critics alike.
Tapping into tradition while delivering in its own right, it would have worked just fine as a standalone outing; however, in this era of franchises and extended universes a sequel was inevitable.
Creed II takes aim at Rocky fans’ nostalgic feelings even more than its predecessor by putting Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis on a collision course with Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), son of Ivan (Dolph Lundgren) – the man who killed Adonis’ father Apollo.
This is as much a belated follow-up to 1985’s Rocky IV as the next instalment of the Creed series and the raw emotion provided by the father-son dynamic – with Sylvester Stallone’s returning Rocky filling in for Apollo as Adonis’ figurative old man – is intense.
Ryan Coogler’s sterling work on Marvel’s Black Panther meant he had to vacate the director’s chair this time around; not to worry, though, as replacement Steven Caple Jr makes such a fine fist of things the transition is pretty seamless.
This may be Caple Jr’s first mainstream cinematic effort but the 30-year-old shows creativity and flair behind the camera.
The boxing scenes in particular better the first film’s as Caple Jr takes all the elements of Rocky’s finest bouts and gives them a modern