I’m not sure why I should write anything new here. If I followed the example set by Creed II, I would just paste together reviews from previous Rocky movies, no problem. Perhaps it’s fitting that this franchise which proudly announced it was bankrupt of ideas when Sylvester Stallone single-handedly won the Cold War in 1985 should return to the same boxing match that opened said film – only this time fought between sons. Gosh. What a twist.
Generously lifting major plot elements from Rocky II, Rocky III, and Rocky IV, Creed II –the sequel to Creed—painfully demonstrated it has no new thoughts to add to the Rocky peak, but that shouldn’t stop any random goldfish from enjoying this film, or guessing every plot point hours in advance. At the opening of the film, Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) – the son of Rocky’s frenemy Apollo Creed – becomes 
heavyweight champion, just like dad (and just like Rocky in Rocky II). And just like Rocky III, his championship belt is soon challenged by a hungry collection of slag. Only this slag isn’t Mr. T, but Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), the nemesis from Rocky IV.
Perfect as he was in personifying the comic book Cold War villainy of the USSR, Dolph Lundgren is Swedish, of course, not Russian. That’s why his name is “Dolph Lundgren” and not Dolphmitri Ludkrensky. I always wondered how Swedes felt about that. Oh, here’s a question: if Sly isn’t around, does Dolph actually exist?
As Ivan Drago killed Apollo Creed in Rocky IV, the stage is set for another Creed v. Drago death match featuring their sons. I am fascinated by both the appeal and pure 100% American cheese of this plot. And, of course, the boxing follows the exact blueprints laid down in Rocky III and Rocky IV while adding in the romance and family elements of Rocky II, this time featuring Bianca (Tessa Thompson) instead of Adrian (Talia Shire).
Maybe for somebody else this is new material, or a refreshing take on an old formula, but I found Creed II the same way I found that 1998 shot-for-shot remake of Psycho: why was this made? Who is it for? If we are
establishing Adonis Johnson (sorry, “Donny,” and no, I’m not kidding) as his own person with his own perspective and his own path, why are we making him travel the exact same roads as his father and his mentor?
This is an irrelevant thought, but I do love how boxing in the Rocky world is presented as nearly pure and wholesome, as if the real life version of the sport isn’t dominated by slimy promoters. Yeah, get a heavyweight champion not to have an entourage and a PR team. Good luck with that.
There’s nothing especially bad about Creed II. And I very much enjoyed the three seconds of unexpected material dealing with parenting issues. This entire film, however, has been done already, sufficiently, and not quietly. Every plot point already lies entrenched on a pre-existing graph. And, yes, it bloody well does matter because Creed and Rocky IV were pre-requisite viewings to comprehend this film properly. Giving it a modern powerpoint makeover doesn’t make it any better, it just makes it something akin to a remake. The Rocky world is repetitive enough without remakes.
The new champ rises up from the floor
When a challenger knocks at his door
This guy may be green
But he looks pretty mean
Fear not, Donny, we saw Rocky IV
Rated PG-13, 130 Minutes
Director: Steven Caple Jr.
Writer: Sylvester Stallone, Juel Taylor
Genre: Seen it
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Those who believe the Rocky world began with Creed
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: People who remember stuff
