Creed II: It's a Knockout!

Before I start this review I just have to say that I've never seen the first Creed. Actually, I've never even seen a majority of the Rocky franchise, except most of the first one. My friend wanted to see it, so I said yes. With that out of the way, let's dive into the review!

Creed II is directed by Steven Caple Jr. and stars Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Dolph Lundgren, Phylicia Rashad, and Florian Munteanu. Under the guidance of Rocky Balboa (Stallone) Adonis Creed (Jordan) goes up against Viktor Drago (Munteanu) the son of Ivan Drago (Lundgren). Now, let's dive into the review.

Since I haven't seen the first Creed, I have to judge this one on it's own. For many, the first one may be a lot better. For me, however, Creed II is one of my favorite movies this year. It's a great film. There's so much to love about it. The performances are great, especially Jordan's and Stallone's. Creed is now at a point in his life where he needs to decide what he's fighting for. This fight is a lot more personal because Ivan Drago killed his dad in the ring years and years ago. It adds another layer to the fight. The relationship between Creed and Balboa is fantastic. Jordan and Stallone have great chemistry. It felt like instead of acting, the director just decided to turn a camera on during one of their conversations. It was very believable. It was a nice father-son bond that they had. Creed's relationship with his girlfriend Bianca (Thompson) is also really good. I imagine that it was told in the first one how they got together. She's there for Creed even when it's a tough situation, but she's not afraid to tell him what she thinks. I also liked that the filmmakers gave more of a personality to Ivan Drago. Like I mentioned before, I have never seen the Rocky films (with the exception of most of the first one), but I read somewhere that Ivan is a very one note character. Without any spoilers, in Creed II they give him some layers. I disliked him, but I felt bad for him and his son. This movie has a lot of heart, too. It has a great message about knowing what you're fighting for. By the end, my eyes were welling up a bit. Another great thing about this film is the fighting sequences. They are fantastic. When one started, I never wanted it to end. Each punch was so crisp and it was beautifully shot. The director did a great job of using slow-motion when necessary. I felt like I was in the ring with Creed and Drago.

There's not a lot that I found wrong with this movie. I would've liked to have seen more with Balboa and Ivan Drago, because those two have a history. Besides the shot of them looking at each other before the fight, the two of them meeting in a restaurant in the beginning, and Balboa yelling at him, there's not a whole lot of interaction between the two. It would've been cool to see their rivalry parallel what was going on between Creed and Viktor. With that being said, I understand the decision. These films are meant to be focused on Creed, not necessarily Rocky. Other than that, I didn't really see any glaring issues with the movie.

Creed II was a surprise. I went in expecting it to be good and I walked out absolutely loving it. The performances, particularly Jordan and Stallone, are fantastic, the relationships are really interesting, it has a great message, a lot of heart, and the fighting sequences are spectacular. I would've liked to have seen more between Rocky and Ivan, but that's an extreme nitpick. If I were to rate it, I'd give Creed II a 9/10. Now I have to go watch the Rocky movies and Creed!