Creed II (2018)

Director Stephen Caple Jr. has pulled something off here. He has taken a story which is very predictable and cliched and made it incredibly watchable. I have to hand it to him as everything about Creed II is rather average, yet he has found a way to make it quite entertaining despite just how by the book it all feels.

Normally Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson are actors I enjoy watching. I didn’t feel either of them was doing their best work here. The script is paint by numbers and neither is given much to do that doesnt feel like we’ve seen it 100 time before.

The film’s story is filled with cliches about daddy issues, creating legacies, toxic masculinity. The film is a spiritual sequel to Rocky IV and it milks all of that for what it is worth. Very little here feels fresh or relevant. But despite all that Caple has made a striking film to watch which grips you to the end.

So Creed II is mostly eye candy with little substance. It’s basic yet stylish. It is fun if rather disposable. The Rocky series has always been a rather sentimental affair so perhaps this is fitting. Despite my better intentions I did end up enjoying it.

Creed II
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Dolph Lundgren, Phylicia Rashad Brigitte Nielsen
Director: Stephen Caple Jr.
Writers: Sylvester Stallone, Juel Taylor