Creed II

Rating: 6/10 (9 December 2018)

The first Rocky was brilliant, the five sequels were a mixed bag, and the comeback Creed proved the series could still pack a punch, so there was a good amount of buzz for another instalment to the boxing series. Basically it has been years since Adonis "Donnie" Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) was defeated in the ring by "Pretty" Ricky Conlan. Buthe has scored a string of victories, culminating in a victory over Danny "Stuntman" Wheeler (Andre Ward) to win the WBC World Heavyweight Championship. Now a worldwide star, Adonis proposes to his girlfriend, singer-songwriter Bianca Taylor (Tessa Thompson), who has progressive hearing loss. Bianca suggests starting a new life together in Los Angeles, but Adonis is reluctant to leave his life behind in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, former Soviet boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), who killed Adonis's father, Apollo Creed, in the ring 30 years earlier, sees an opportunity to regain the glory that was taken from him after losing to Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). With the assistance of boxing promoter Buddy Marcelle (Russell Hornsby), Drago wants to pit his son, Viktor Drago (Florian 'Big Nasty' Munteanu) against Donnie, to fight in Moscow. Rocky refuses to support Adonis's decision to accept Viktor's challenge, Donnie feels betrayed and decides to leave for Los Angeles. Adonis and Bianca settle down in a luxurious apartment in L.A. close to Donnie's adoptive mother, and Apollo's widow, Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashad). As Donnie and Bianca settle on the west coast and prepare for the upcoming match with Viktor, Bianca learns that she is pregnant. Donnie recruits Tony "Little Duke" Evers (Wood Harris), son of his father's trainer, as Rocky's replacement. Overwhelmed with all the recent developments in his life, Donnie rushes into the match, Rocky watches it on television at his restaurant. Donnie seems confident in himself, but Viktor has some powerful shots, the match ends when Viktor lands a brutal chest shot, hitting him while he is down, he knocked unconscious and his rib is fractured, Viktor is disqualified for this illegal move. Viktor retains the World Heavyweight Championship, and becomes extremely popular in Russia, winning a series of fights given top billing. Donnie's body and ego has been shattered, he becomes increasingly disconnected from Bianca. Mary Anne reaches out to Rocky to help Donnie out of his slump, he and Adonis make up, and eventually Donnie recovers from his injury. Rocky agrees to train Donnie properly for a rematch against Viktor, who is suffering near-torturous levels of physical tests by his father. At a State Dinner, he and Ivan meet Ludmilla (Brigitte Nielsen), his mother, and ex-wife, for the first time several years, she abandoned them both following the loss to Balboa. Bianca gives birth to a baby girl, she and Donnie name her Amara, they are saddened when their concerns about their child come to life, their baby has inherited her mother's progressive degenerative hearing disorder. Viktor continues to taunt Donnie publicly, he is constantly pressured by his father to regain their honour. Rocky takes Adonis to a decrepit location in the California desert to retrain, describing it as a place where fighters are "reborn", there he Donnie undergoes a rigorous and brutal training regimen with Rocky, focusing on fighting techniques and training his body to absorb heavy impact. It is known that Viktor's fights have never lasted beyond the fourth round, something that Donnie uses to his advantage when entering the rematch in Moscow. In the tenth round, Adonis unleashes a furious rage, managing to land a sequence of effective blows, knocking Viktor down twice. Viktor's mother Ludmilla departs from the match when the fight shifts in Donnie's favour, Viktor is being emotionally knocked, and Ivan is concerned for his son as he is cornered and receiving multiple strikes without returning any blows. Rocky watches in amazement as Ivan throws in the towel, conceding the fight to Adonis to ensure his son isn't seriously injured or killed. Though Viktor is ashamed, Ivan assures his son it is okay that he lost and embraces him. As Bianca enters the ring to celebrate with Donnie, Rocky lets Donnie have "his time", he takes a seat and watches them from outside the ring. Viktor and Ivan are later training together back in Ukraine. Rocky travels to Vancouver to make peace with his own estranged son, Robert (Heroes' Milo Ventimiglia), and meets his grandson Logan (Robbie Johns) for the first time, noting how much he looks like Adrian. Donnie visits Apollo's grave where he makes peace with his deceased father and the burden of carrying on his legacy, and he and Bianca introduce him to his granddaughter, who is sporting hearing aids. Also starring Andre Ward as Danny 'Stuntman' Wheeler, Jacob 'Stitch' Duran as Stitch, Christopher Mann as Dr. Percy Ewell and Michael Buffer ("Let's Get Ready to Rumble!"). Jordan shines as the tested boxer who faces many challenges, both in and out of the ring, Stallone has slightly less time onscreen, but remains great as the former boxer turned mentor, it is a welcome return for Lundgren still being mildly sinister, and Munteanu is equally nasty as his son, the cameo from Stallone's former wife Nielsen is alright. It may not be as fresh as before, it is a little predictable in parts, and the dialogue is somewhat clichéd, but you do root for the characters and get involved with the story, it has a well-made (and necessary) montage sequence, and the often hard-to-watch and emotional fights are gripping, a most worthwhile spots drama. Good!