Even Nu Drago is the same as Classic Drago

Rating: 7/10 (10 July 2019)

Creed II's predecessor was very well done, a strong vehicle for Michael B. Jordan to showcase his talents and a movie that was able to differentiate itself from all the other Rocky movies. Creed II, though, hearkens directly back to Rocky IV, in which Rock fights Ivan Drago, the man who killed Apollo Creed in the ring. This time, it's Apollo's son Adonis (Jordan) taking on, you guessed it, Ivan's son. After losing to Balboa, Ivan Drago returned to Russia in disgrace, and now he wants his son to exact revenge on his behalf. No clue why Ivan couldn't have done so himself 20 years ago. The story arc is also fairly routine for the series, with Creed (now champ) fighting and losing and fighting and winning and usually winding up a bloody mess at the end, no matter the outcome. Sylvester Stallone is still excellent as Rocky, and Tessa Thompson, although no longer a revelation (thanks to her work in Creed and the Marvel movies), is still quite terrific. The ring scenes are very well shot and will make your heart pound. A fitting coda to the series, if indeed that's the plan.