CHEER! - (8 stars out of 10)

Rating: 8/10 (19 February 2019)

The stage curtains open ...
In what is basically a re-make of Rocky IV - the predictability of Creed II does not hurt this latest installment into the Rocky franchise. Michael B. Jordan reprises his role as Adonis Creed with the ever reliable and faithful, Rocky Balboa (Stallone) by his side.
When Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) and his son, Viktor (Florian Munteanu), show up in the United States right after Adonis has been crowned the Heavy Weight Champion of the World, it doesn't take long to see why. Viktor has been training under his father's tutelage and is hungry for the belt that Adonis now possesses. Old wounds are opened when images of his father's death flash across tv screens, and Adonis takes the challenge and loses badly. Now with a daughter and fiance to think about, Adonis finds himself digging deeper inside of himself than he's ever had to before to face Viktor once more - in Moscow, Russia. But this time, Rocky is in his corner.
I was thinking to myself - this is just basically Rocky for a new generation. In the first Rocky movie, Balboa loses by split decision. Same thing happens to Adonis Creed in the first Creed film. We already knew coming in that Adonis was going to win this one. So, a repeat of events - the only difference is, they combined the 2nd Rocky with the 4th and delivered Creed II. And yet, I still really liked it. There is a lot of style, eye candy, a strong soundtrack and even stronger characterizations. This is a good movie ... for a new generation. Even for those of us who were around when the original Rocky films were in the theaters.
I highly recommend this one. A worthy entry into a solid film franchise. Something tells me we will undoubtedly see a Creed III down the road. And why not? If it stays as entertaining as the first two, I'd go watch it.