Great, but could have been so much more.

Rating: 8/10 (17 April 2019)

Fantastic film, but it honestly left me wanting more.
First, I really DID NOT like the CGI elements they added to this film, I know they weren't crazy abundant, but it seemed like every chance they got in a fight they felt like they had to make the arena seem larger than life? I didn't fully understand that, I mean I know they didn't want to probably hire a bunch of extras for scenes...but what stopped them before? I mean it's apart of the Rocky universe.
Second, I don't necessarily understand the entire Drago saga? I understand that perhaps he would have had some backlash for losing to Rocky Balboa, but Rocky is arguably (probably) the greatest boxer in the history of the sport. Wouldn't, in time, the Russian government is accepting of the fact that their guy lost...I mean look at Rocky's resume.
Third, I think the film really missed the mark on the whole point of the story. Obviously, this whole film is about the redemption of Apollo, but wasn't Apollo not there for Adonis? Don't get me wrong, I don't want to smear the Creed name, I'm a huge Apollo fan. The story though could have explored the feelings of resentment that Adonis may hold towards his father. I mean, what if when Drago shows up and they bring up the Father aspect, what if Adonis would have been like, "Screw him, he wasn't there for me". They really could have explored that.
Then you have a Rocky swing in and talk about the importance of Father-son (yadda yadda yada). You have Adonis see the fault of his ways and agree to the fight. Ok, this is where things get tricky...you don't have them fight twice. Let's face it that whole, lose then redeem yourself, kind of became lame after Rocky III. You have them fight in just one fight, however during this fight, Adonis can see that Viktor is struggling to win, but he is doing it for his FATHER. Adonis then finishes the fight but acknowledges that in some weird way Viktor and he are the same on a bunch of levels.
OBVIOUSLY, my version of it has a lot of holes...don't pick it apart lol. I did enjoy this movie and I'll more than likely watch it again.