Creed II delivers an unwlecome gut punch!

Rating: 2/10 (25 November 2018)

Creed was not only the best Rocky Legacy film, but possible the best sports film of all time. Hell, I can tell you now that Creed is in my top films ever made, period!
Nothing about this sequel does this franchise justice. Creed had drama, conflict, humor and action, and from the opening sequence, it continued to build until that climatic end. The sequel makes you fight to stay awake, and cross your fingers that there will be a payoff. Once the closing credits rolled, that track was best part of a terrible film.
This film was cursed from the jump and despite efforts, everyone involved dropped the ball. Stallone write a script and was set to direct. Wiseley, they took the reins from Sly, but I have to say Stephen Caple was the wrong guy for this job. There was no excitement, no comedy and no true gripping conflict. Everything about this film was forced and rushed. The story itself had great promise, but they just couldn't tell the story in a way that stirred up emotion. I have seen a couple honest reviews of this title where the reviewers advise how bad this movie is, but claim true Rocky fans will appreciate the message and story. Sorry, I don't have that appreciation. I don't think they could resurrect the story because they threw too many twist into this in order to stir drama, but since it was poorly planned and executed, you are left feeling like the director didn't know the stakes of what he was taking on.
I honestly don't know what happened to Coogler. His name was never mentioned early on, then he advised that he was working on Black Panther, but the productions timeline for Black panther and production schedule for Creed II didn't overlap. I don't know if Creed was a one off story for Coogler or if he had a fall out with the studio, but they murdered the franchise by not allowing Coogler to continue his vision.
There is nothing like great promise going to waste and this title fell far short of the goal. My nephew thought the movie was epic, but he also thought Venom was the best action film of the summer.
I gave this two stars. It would have been a single star, but I will carry one star over from the original film to give this a second star. Please save your time and money, this was a heartbreaking attempt in film making history.