A fist-pumping sequel.

Rating: 7/10 (9 December 2018)

A few years since stunning the boxing world with an against-all-odds A few years since stunning the boxing world with an against-all-odds performance in the ring (in 2015's awesome Creed), Adonis 'Son of Apollo' Creed (Micheal B. Jordan) is now the Heavyweight Champion of the World. Yet despite all of his success and glory, the legacy of his late father still weighs heavy on Adonis' shoulders. His pride and stubbornness is pushed to breaking point when he's challenged by Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), son of the man who killed his father. Boxing movies have followed the same formula for decades: underdog + training montage + epic climactic fight = inspiration. Creed II is no trendsetter, but much like its predecessor, it delivers thrills (and feels) within the confines of convention. The script isn't the strongest and falls back on a lot of the same emotional beats as the first movie (although the Drago subplot is surprisingly effective), however there's so much energy both behind and in front of the camera that its narrative shortcomings can largely be forgiven. Replacing Ryan Coogler at the helm, relatively unknown director Steven Caple Jr. brings the requisite flair to proceedings both visually and aurally; his in-the-ring camera placement and soundtrack choices equally adrenaline pumping. As the eponymous pugilist Jordan is as riveting as ever, his superb physicality matched by his dramatic heft to give another well-rounded portrayal with more layers than expected in this type of flick. As his supportive yet fiercely independent girlfriend, Tessa Thompson is an ideal emotional sparring partner for Jordan, whereas Sly Stallone's humbled, wounded-dog Rocky has well and truly run his course in this series and needs to move on. It's not that the Italian Stallion is turning in poor performances, but his beaten down presence is now providing a thematic and narrative road block to the Creed franchise really lifting off. It arguably resorts to clichés and Rocky homages a bit too often, but this sequel still dishes up the fist-pumping rush expected from such a film.