Underwhelming Sequel to Rocky 4

Rating: 6/10 (26 November 2018)

This was like my dream movie and I was so pumped to see it, and as the movie went on my excitement started to dwindle, and then by the end of the movie I was like, "That was it?"
For a movie that felt like a direct sequel to Rocky 4, it just didn't leave much of an impression. Right from the get-go, the son of Creed is challenged, and after Rocky bows out, Creed goes at it with the son of Duke... and since this is early in the movie, we know how this goes down.
So Creed is hurt, has a kid, and of course Rocky comes around and then the final match happens. If anything, it was a good final match even if it did feel more cinematic than real this time.
Of course, I can't end this review without talking about Ivan Drago. Honestly, there really isn't much. If I didn't know anything about Rocky 4, I would have forgotten all about him. I really didn't understand his motivations at all. He's mad because Rocky beat him and humiliated him? I highly doubt that was the case. Adonis Creed at least had a more believable motivation in the mix, however Viktor Drago didn't really have much personality for me to leave much of an impression. There's also a subplot with his mother that doesn't make too much sense.
Also the last time we left Rocky, he had cancer and it's briefly mentioned in this movie but really the whole movie is about him trying to reunite with his son. That's pretty much the arc of Rocky in this one besides him training Creed.
Unfortunately this one just didn't have the same impact as the first Creed did. I was really looking forward to this one, but it just felt there. The matches just felt like they were there, but it didn't leave much of an impression for me. Hopefully the inevitable Creed 3 will be better.