Check out this Creed II movie review. Be aware there’s SPOILERS beyond this point. Celebrity Myxer had the pleasure to see an early screening of Creed II. Here’s our opinion of the film…
The movie’s first scene opens to a decrepit Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundren), who was once the glorious golden imagine of the Soviet Union at a time in history when U.S. & Russian tensions were extremely high. Now he’s a shame to his country, his family name is disrespected, the love of his life fled, and slum stricken. All he knows is boxing- which he never gives up. He passes through his apartment and punches a beast of a man in the chest on the couch and walks out the door. This mammoth awakens and joins Ivan to run in the icy winter weather of Kiev, Ukraine. The beastly man is Viktor Drago (Florian “Big Nasty” Munteanu), son of Ivan. Raised in hatred to one day reclaim the glory of boxing to the Drago name. Fast forward a tad to a boxing match with youth Drago and it shows his massive size and raw power dominating an opponent kissing the mat with a KO. The only African American man in this country marvels at the bout…
The following scene opens to Bianca (Tessa Thompson). If you remember B’s partially deaf and it’s silent until she plugs in her hearing aid to unveil her peering the curtains from the backstage onlooking the crowd eagerly chanting Creed’s name and his arrival. You can see the fear in her face but that moment reassures her. She mutters, “we got this!”
All of this is brilliantly captured in one take… Adonis (Michael B. Jordan) is in the zone, fully dressed in boxing attire, warming up, surrounded by media folks. Someone utters, “clear the room.” Bianca signs to him an awkward but necessary note. She reassures him of victory. She exits.
Adonis continues his in the zone warm up. You hear a towering prominent voice in the distance. It almost sound like it’s in his head. It’s ‘Unc’ or Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) who is Adonis’ trainer and mentor. He said to the eager fighter, “You know there’s only 3 steps when you walk in that ring… Yet it’ll feel like you’re climbing a mountain.” Characterizing the uphill journey of championship boxing matches. As Rocky gets more into Adonis’ head they both seem somewhat telepathically connected. They slowly gravitate towards each other in a boxer’s one-two step dance… throwing subtle low left punch, subtle low right punch. This pep talk solidifies Adonis’ mind frame for the bout. He crushes the defending champ and is crowned the new heavyweight champion of the world. The same shady character spectating in Kiev marvels at this bout as well…
This seedy person is boxing promoter Buddy Marcelle (Russell Hornsby). His Don King-like demeanor is eager to connect the fight of the century. The fight that drudges up the past. Creed vs Drago… This time the sons relive the match. Marcelle returns to Kiev to inform Ivan it’s time to challenge Creed. The trio return to the States, to Philadelphia to be exact and host a surprise press conference to announce it. Adonis is oblivious of this challenge, he actually learns of it via a fan pointing it out while he’s on a date with bae. ‘D’ is furious by this and talks to Unc about, who tries to persuade him not to take the fight. He asks Don what is he fighting for but is given a cliché answer. The same answer his father gave- which led to his demise. Rocky refuses to train him. Adonis takes the fight regardless of his support… this hurts him but he moves forward.
Adonis seeks training in the help of Duke (Wood Harris) son of Tony “Duke” Evers. Duke senior was Apollo’s trainer and urged Rocky to “throw in the Damn towel!” but he didn’t. This is another deeper connection to the fate of the sons.
In the course leading up to the epic battle; Adonis proposes to Bianca, moves to Los Angeles (where his mother still lives) and gets her pregnant. They have fears the child with be born deaf as it is could be hereditary.
Creed vs Drago fight takes place at Madison Square Garden. Rocky watches the fight on television. Adonis’ head is not right for this fight. In the first round he comes out aggressive, Drago allows a few punches to land but he’s baiting him until he strikes. And when he does it’s with raw devastation. Creed barely escapes that round but words do ensue. The second round begins Viktor’s vicious attack. In the following round Ivan instructs Viktor to “break him” just as he was instructed decades ago. He delivers a rib cracking blow to Adonis. It gets Don so out of character that he’s not listening to Duke yet barking commands of what he knows but is not executing. Instead of stopping the fight despite best advice, Creed’s arrogance leads him back into the ring. Victor is given final instructions by Ivan to “finish him.”
Victor uses Adonis as a human punching bag. Then attacks his ruptured ribs which inflicts so much pain crippling Creed to his knees. Drago delivers deadly blow to his temple while down. He sprawled out, and seems unresponsive…
Days later Don is awake and has a few visitors- including Rocky. Looking like a sad old dog he tries to talk to the kid but his rage pushes the mentor away. The Dragos are heroes again to Russian powers. As they dine with dictators in celebration, Ludmilla (Brigitte Nielsen) enters and is unemotional to the fact that she birthed Viktor. She abandoned him and Ivan a long time ago. Viktor storms out, Ivan chases and they argue about the fact that he does not know his own mother and the very people praising him now were the ones who outcast them. Ivan convinces him it happened because he lost.
The months to recovery for D are hard and dark. He’s distant, he’s lost. His mother best described his state of mind to his fiancee, saying he’s in a place where he needs solitude because only he can heal that damaged part of himself.
The only break in this status is the combination of Rocky returning to talk to him and the birth of his daughter. During the re-acquaintance with Rocky he gets the call that Bianca is in the hospital ready to deliver. Another life challenge hits him when they find out the newborn is born deaf. Rocky always has the perfect advise at the right time. Previously he coached him to let his heart talk when he purposed to Bianca, now he illustrated how his child is not feeling sorry for herself. Just love her and not feel sorry for her.
Creed is continually challenged by Drago because Adonis is still the champion due to disqualification. He must defend it or vacate it. Eventually he takes the rematch but this time he knows why he’s fighting and has Rocky back in his corner. Rock drastically changes Don’s training. He takes him to the desert, to a hellish place where boxers go to rebuild themselves. This unorthodox training is exactly what he needed because his mind and fighting style need to change to prevail Drago.
Just like Rocky’s bout with Drago, Creed’s rematch takes place in Moscow. He’s brought out not to an uber famous musician as history suggests but to the eclectic sound and light show of his fiancee’s music. The game plan is drastically different. Creed shows his fury in the first round while Drago asserts himself in the second. The duel goes double the distance Drago is used to- he typically KO’s his opponents before the fourth round. The two beat themselves silly- although Creed takes more falls early on the gets up every time.
On the sideline Ivan instructs Viktor to break him again. In a dishonest move me grabs Adonis arm and delivers a fracturing blow to the same ribs. In the corner Rocky asks but knows the answer whether he wants to concede. He gives him the most needed advice. He tells him he’s dangerous, a comment that resonated with him in Rocky’s description of Viktor early on. A fighter with nothing to lose the “dangerous.” Entering the round he guards his ribs and outboxes Drago with mostly one arm. He knocks him down. Everyone’s sentiment is on the hopes the beast stays down… But he rises. This suspense fest happens again, yet Drago manages to rise.
If the fight is to be determined on points, Drago is victor. Creed must KO to win. The tides are turning and Ludmilla abandons Viktor side at the ring just as she’s done before. Ivan notices this after she vanishes. Creed gets Drago on the corner ropes and beats him belligerent with a barrage of fists. Ivan rises and walks away. Rocky notices and looks in awe. Ivan seemed to walk away but is actually approaching the ring to throw in the towel.
Should You See Creed II?
Absolutely yes! I must say… Creed II was superb. Just like every Rocky movie the fight scenes had me on the edge of my seat… Up & down and even cringing or cheering at times. The story was brilliantly written and executed. There were many parallels to the classic Rocky IV film. There were many hard lessons learned for both Adonis and Rocky. I love the director’s twist in making the villain experience emotions rather than only having him be an emotionless robotic bad ass. We all assume Adonis would win. Rocky pictures are all about the underdog winning but we’re always drawn in by how he wins. This film made Adonis an underdog, again. It made him vulnerable. It broke him and rebuilt him. It forced him to learn who he really was and why he fights. This is a must see movie!
Have you seen the film before or after this editorial? What did you think of this Creed II movie review? What were some insights you gained from the film? Do you think there will be a Creed III… if so what would you want to see in the plot? Chat with me in the comments below!
