The natural continuity of the franchise, with the usual ingredients you're looking for (if you appreciate this saga).

Rating: 7/10 (17 July 2019)

I think it's the natural continuity of 2015's Creed and I think that answers most of the questions that could be asked about the evolution of the characters.
About the tackled topics... The emotion, the general atmosphere, the messages conveyed, as well as the specific "soul" of the Rocky/Creed franchise : everything is there. It is faithful to the standards we like to find (when we appreciate this saga) ; these values as well as this energy, both touching and electrifying, specific to these films.
It's cool to see all these different characters evolve, especially since several characters seen previously, come back to show up the tip of their nose in this episode (not only Ivan Drago ...).
So if you liked the first part of Creed, Rocky IV, Rocky Balboa (VI) ... I think it might interest you, because it connects and solves different things in these movies.