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Creed II – Film Review

Cast: Michael B Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Wood Harris, Phylicia Rashad, Dolph Lundgren, Florian Munteanu

Director: Steven Caple Jr

Synopsis: With the World Heavyweight Championship title now under his belt, Adonis Creed faces a new threat to his title, in the form of Viktor Drago, the son of Ivan, the man who killed his father Apollo…

Review: Every so often, a film comes almost completely out of nowhere, with little fanfare and just absolutely blows audiences away. An example of this would be 2015’s Creed, the seventh entry in the Rocky franchise. It reinvigorated a series that hadn’t had an entry for almost a decade. As such many might have assumed that it had fought its last fight and was out for the count, this is until one Ryan Coogler came along, and a new champion of the franchise was born.

That champion is Adonis Creed, who has in the wake of his bout with Ricky Conlan, has gone on to enjoy a tremendous run of success that leads him to the World Heavyweight Championship title. However trouble is brewing as Viktor Drago the son of Ivan Drago, is emerging as a very credible threat to his newly won title. Complications further arise when after Adonis proposes to Bianca (Thompson), she becomes pregnant with their first child, leaving Adonis with a dilemma as to whether he should take this challenge on, given what happened the last time a Creed faced off against a Drago. To say there’s history and bad blood between the Creeds and the Dragos would be putting it mildly.

One significant factor that made the first film such the knockout success it was, was the trio of terrific performances from its three leads and the chemistry that they had with each other. Michael B Jordan is once again terrific in the lead role, with excellent support from the great Sly Stallone once more. Likewise for Tessa Thompson, although she is an integral figure in Adonis’s life, as they are both about to go on the most personal of journeys together. There is considerably less development on her own life and career when compared to the first film. Though this is understandable considering the challenge Creed is facing from Viktor Drago, who is desperate to prove himself to his father, and as a fighter. There is an attempt to develop his character, but it falls short of making him a truly compelling character. He is built like a tank though, and that doesn’t bode well for Adonis.

Due to his involvement with some rather obscure Marvel property called Black Panther, Coogler stepped down from directing duties. Now merely on board as executive producer, with those gloves were passed to Steven Caple Jr. Though not as visually as impressive as the work that was accomplished with the first film (there’s no masterful one take fight scene), Caple fills his shoes admirably well, as the fight scenes are once again very raw and rough in their execution. The camerawork really makes you feel those punches as they fly in, though some more footage of the fights would have been most welcome as some fights are montage-d through rather quickly.

This being the eight film in this franchise, it does follow similar paths that previous films in the franchise have, which may lead to criticism from some quarters. However, if you walk into a Rocky/Creed film, or indeed almost any boxing film, the chances of seeing a good training montage, some well executed fight scenes, mixed in with some deeply moving and personal family drama, are quite high. What matters is if the film is done with care and continues the story in a compelling manner that was brought to life so effectively with Creed, which this film does like a champ.

Though not as impactful as its predecessor, this second round of a revitalised franchise continues to bring that heart and emotion, boosted by three superb performances from its three leads, and some well executed fight scenes.

Creed – Film Review

Cast: Michael B Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Tony Bellew

Director: Ryan Coogler

Synopsis: Adonis Creed is the son of the legendary boxer Apollo Creed, and when he realises he wants to emulate his father and become a professional boxer, he seeks out his father’s old rival, the one and only Rocky Balboa, to train him.

Review: You would think when a film series gets to its seventh instalment, that it’s possibly running out of ideas and that it may be time to put the series to bed. Yet certain franchises keep roaring on with some making over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office. While not quite making those mega bucks the likes of Star Wars and Fast and Furious has been making, the Rocky franchise has come out fighting with a remarkable revival and has reinvigorated the it when many thought it was on the ropes and down for the count for good.

The main focus of this new chapter is on that of Adonis “Donnie” Creed, played by Michael B Jordan who despite being in a decent well paid job, strives for something different, namely to become a legendary fighter and to emulate the great achievements of his father. With six chapters coming before it, the production team behind the film had a choice, do you go with the established formula that the previous films set out, or try to reinvent the wheel and start fresh. Thankfully, the decision was evidently made to go with the former and tread familiar ground by using most of the notes from mainly the very first film in the franchise, and it does this in glorious fashion, providing a brand new Rocky for a brand new generation.

With the abysmal critical and commercial failure that is Fant4stic unfortunately attached to his CV, Michael B Jordan really shows us what he’s all about as the titular character. He’s driven and determined, but at the same time, feels weighed down and somewhat insecure by the name that he possess and also the legacy of his father. His breakthrough role came with 2012’s Fruitvale Station (which Coogler also directed) and with this, he truly cements himself as one of the finest young actors working today. It is his movie, and he owns it, and was mighty unlucky not to land himself an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

Stallone as Balboa, in arguably the role that also made his name in Hollywood, is equally tremendous and gives quite possibly the finest performance ever in his long and illustrious career. The sheer enthusiasm of the young Creed gives him a new breath of life, after watching all those he loved slowly fritter away, and when Creed is offered a massive opportunity, it spurs Rocky on even more to see the young fighter succeed. Stallone has been getting nominations and awards aplenty, and a well deserved Oscar nomination too.

Coogler’s passion for the franchise is very apparent, and through his expert direction and the striking cinematography, the fight scenes are tremendously well handled. They’re extremely gripping to watch as you will Donny to succeed in his fight against some extremely obnoxious opponents. As the audience, you want him to succeed in his quest to become as good as his father was.

A perfect example of the underdog story, using the benchmark that was laid down by the first movie, and done right is just about every way possible. This re-imagining of the 1976 classic ensures that franchise is once again pulling punches aplenty, and will probably have a lot more fights in it in the years to come.

Uplifting, powerful and gripping, producing arguably career best performances from both Jordan and Stallone, Coogler has maybe given the franchise its best movie yet.