I love John G. Avildsen and Sylvester Stallone's original Rocky, but I'm admittedly not up to speed on the glut of sequels that followed. Of course, I know enough about the core events to get by- Clubber Lang, Ivan Drago, the death of Apollo Creed- but I've never sat down for a Rocky marathon or anything of the sort. Out of all the sequels, I'm most familiar with Rocky IV, likely because my dad always tells the story of when he saw it in theaters back in 1985. According to the legendary tale in my family, people stood up and cheered when Rocky put the beatdown on Drago. And the standing ovation in this case is not a figure of speech- people literally got up and cheered. As the Cold War reached its close, the third sequel to an unlikely cinematic phenomenon became an unexpected point of catharsis for American audiences.
33 years after Rocky took down the Soviet supersoldier on his home turf, history is repeating itself. In 2018, I have to imagine Steven Caple Jr.'s Creed II will be playing to a different crowd than Rocky IV once did. Many have noted that Russia has returned to its position as the global enemy supreme, but what was once a Reagan-era fantasy is now a product of the Resistance in a post-election world. There's no obvious political subtext in this sequel to Ryan Coogler's surprise masterwork, and the story of Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu) is often so sad that it's hard to actively root for his downfall. But I have to say- this is just a spectacular crowd-pleaser. Watching Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) take on the son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) is just so, so satisfying.
Picking up a few years after Adonis proved that he was more than just a name, the young fighter is getting ready to become the champion of the world for the very first time. Only Danny "Stuntman" Wheeler (Andre Ward) stands in his way; of course, the lightning-fast young Creed makes quick work of the aging boxer, even winning back his prized Mustang in the process. Now at the peak of the boxing world, the champ takes some time for his personal life. With a little advice from Rocky (Stallone), Adonis proposes to Bianca (Tessa Thompson), and it's later revealed that the talented singer/songwriter is pregnant with their first child.
Yet across the globe, something else is going down. Ivan and Viktor Drago are training hard, guided by opportunistic promoter Buddy Marcelle (Russell Hornsby). Out of nowhere, the practically superhuman Drago challenges Creed to a fight, capturing the attention of the boxing world. For Adonis, this is obviously more than just another match- his father died at the hands of Ivan. Rocky is weary, Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad) is frustrated, and Adonis is so motivated by his own anger that he can't see the inherent danger of the fight.
From here, Creed II follows a series of setbacks and minor triumphs, with Adonis struggling to face off against this feat of impossible strength. Structurally, this presents something of a challenge for screenwriters Stallone and Juel Taylor, as the sequel lacks the simple and effective narrative thrust of its predecessor. It's a bumpier ride, and it's more prone to dull patches and sluggish detours than Creed ever was. Throughout, it's hard to escape the feeling that, in one form or another, we've seen this all before. It's the Rocky formula for a new generation; nobody could argue that Creed II is delivering anything novel.
But is there something poignant- and maybe even scary- in its beat-for-beat repetition of this story? How does the old George Lucas quote go? "It's like poetry, it rhymes." From what I can recall of Rocky IV, this film basically matches it at every turn. In theory, it should come off as rote and contrived. Yet the Creed franchise clearly made a crucial choice at a certain point in its development: the decision to make these cyclical movements part of its very narrative fabric. Ryan Coogler understood how to mobilize formula for an invigorating effect of his own creation, and we're lucky that Caple Jr. has an instinctual knack for it as well.
Still, it helps to come in and work with a group of great characters like Adonis and Rocky, who are so fully realized, allowing the drama to unfold with a smoothness and emotional charge that can't be faked. The formulaic core of the Rocky franchise is so perfectly contrasted by these challenging, unruly characters, all of whom undergo seemingly insurmountable physical and internal obstacles. I love how Adonis is slowly becoming a generational icon on the level of Rocky himself, embodied by Michael B. Jordan's sheer star power. The film allows Jordan's character to mature and grow as he faces fatherhood and marriage, but the looming shadow of his father still hangs over him in a way that he just can't escape. Meanwhile, Stallone reminded me of just how preposterous it was that he didn't walk home with that Oscar in 2016. Yeah, Mark Rylance was good in Spielberg's Cold War thriller, but Stallone knows the character of Rocky inside and out. It's a travesty he was never rewarded for it.
The film builds to a stunning crescendo of familiar beats- an electrifying training montage, a brutal, knock-down, drag-out fight, the booming thrill of that original theme music's arrival. It's rousing and just plain awesome, and I ate up every second of it like a kid in a candy store. You either buy Caple Jr.'s fresh "legacyquel" spin on the formula, or you don't. It's tough for me to imagine anyone not feeling a little rush of emotion when it all comes together, but to each their own.
From here, there's only one question to answer. If Creed II echoes its own series history, does it replicate the roaring effect that Rocky IV had on 1985 audiences? Well, since I saw it with a crowd of maybe 7 people, it's hard to say. But if I had seen this with a full house, I would have been leaping to my feet. Adonis Creed takes down Russia and enacts his revenge in the process.
C'mon. How the hell can you not cheer?
THE FINAL GRADE: B+ (8/10)
Images courtesy of MGM
33 years after Rocky took down the Soviet supersoldier on his home turf, history is repeating itself. In 2018, I have to imagine Steven Caple Jr.'s Creed II will be playing to a different crowd than Rocky IV once did. Many have noted that Russia has returned to its position as the global enemy supreme, but what was once a Reagan-era fantasy is now a product of the Resistance in a post-election world. There's no obvious political subtext in this sequel to Ryan Coogler's surprise masterwork, and the story of Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu) is often so sad that it's hard to actively root for his downfall. But I have to say- this is just a spectacular crowd-pleaser. Watching Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) take on the son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) is just so, so satisfying.
Picking up a few years after Adonis proved that he was more than just a name, the young fighter is getting ready to become the champion of the world for the very first time. Only Danny "Stuntman" Wheeler (Andre Ward) stands in his way; of course, the lightning-fast young Creed makes quick work of the aging boxer, even winning back his prized Mustang in the process. Now at the peak of the boxing world, the champ takes some time for his personal life. With a little advice from Rocky (Stallone), Adonis proposes to Bianca (Tessa Thompson), and it's later revealed that the talented singer/songwriter is pregnant with their first child.
Yet across the globe, something else is going down. Ivan and Viktor Drago are training hard, guided by opportunistic promoter Buddy Marcelle (Russell Hornsby). Out of nowhere, the practically superhuman Drago challenges Creed to a fight, capturing the attention of the boxing world. For Adonis, this is obviously more than just another match- his father died at the hands of Ivan. Rocky is weary, Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad) is frustrated, and Adonis is so motivated by his own anger that he can't see the inherent danger of the fight.
From here, Creed II follows a series of setbacks and minor triumphs, with Adonis struggling to face off against this feat of impossible strength. Structurally, this presents something of a challenge for screenwriters Stallone and Juel Taylor, as the sequel lacks the simple and effective narrative thrust of its predecessor. It's a bumpier ride, and it's more prone to dull patches and sluggish detours than Creed ever was. Throughout, it's hard to escape the feeling that, in one form or another, we've seen this all before. It's the Rocky formula for a new generation; nobody could argue that Creed II is delivering anything novel.
But is there something poignant- and maybe even scary- in its beat-for-beat repetition of this story? How does the old George Lucas quote go? "It's like poetry, it rhymes." From what I can recall of Rocky IV, this film basically matches it at every turn. In theory, it should come off as rote and contrived. Yet the Creed franchise clearly made a crucial choice at a certain point in its development: the decision to make these cyclical movements part of its very narrative fabric. Ryan Coogler understood how to mobilize formula for an invigorating effect of his own creation, and we're lucky that Caple Jr. has an instinctual knack for it as well.
Still, it helps to come in and work with a group of great characters like Adonis and Rocky, who are so fully realized, allowing the drama to unfold with a smoothness and emotional charge that can't be faked. The formulaic core of the Rocky franchise is so perfectly contrasted by these challenging, unruly characters, all of whom undergo seemingly insurmountable physical and internal obstacles. I love how Adonis is slowly becoming a generational icon on the level of Rocky himself, embodied by Michael B. Jordan's sheer star power. The film allows Jordan's character to mature and grow as he faces fatherhood and marriage, but the looming shadow of his father still hangs over him in a way that he just can't escape. Meanwhile, Stallone reminded me of just how preposterous it was that he didn't walk home with that Oscar in 2016. Yeah, Mark Rylance was good in Spielberg's Cold War thriller, but Stallone knows the character of Rocky inside and out. It's a travesty he was never rewarded for it.
The film builds to a stunning crescendo of familiar beats- an electrifying training montage, a brutal, knock-down, drag-out fight, the booming thrill of that original theme music's arrival. It's rousing and just plain awesome, and I ate up every second of it like a kid in a candy store. You either buy Caple Jr.'s fresh "legacyquel" spin on the formula, or you don't. It's tough for me to imagine anyone not feeling a little rush of emotion when it all comes together, but to each their own.
From here, there's only one question to answer. If Creed II echoes its own series history, does it replicate the roaring effect that Rocky IV had on 1985 audiences? Well, since I saw it with a crowd of maybe 7 people, it's hard to say. But if I had seen this with a full house, I would have been leaping to my feet. Adonis Creed takes down Russia and enacts his revenge in the process.
C'mon. How the hell can you not cheer?
THE FINAL GRADE: B+ (8/10)
Images courtesy of MGM
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