Gonna fly now! The second installment in the Creed franchise is here. Starring Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed and Sly Stallone as Rocky Balboa, the saga continues; this time without Creed and Black Panther director Ryan Coogler. Instead, Steven Caple Jr steps in to fill the role. Does he get it done? Yes. Is it as good as the first one? No.
This film picks up after the events of the first film, Adonis is 6-0 and wins the heavyweight belt, but his celebration is short-lived when he is challenged by the son of Ivan Drago, the man who killed his father. I was pumped for this movie and the Creed v Drago idea seemed like the best way to go with the story. This movie was good. It delivered the action, the emotion, and parallels that all Rocky movies should have; however, Coogler's absence as director was something I definitely felt for the majority of this one. My main complaints have to do with the pacing of the beginning of the film. I felt that it was too rushed and the build up wasn't quite there for the main event. Creed and Drago's first fight comes quick and as always with these movies, it's pretty predictable what will happen. The training montages were strong, especially the second one, but they weren't the best I've seen. I think a lot of what I feel was missing from this film would have been better under Coogler's direction. Not to knock Caple Jr, he did a good job taking over, but I often times felt the energy was lacking in this one in comparison with the first. As stated before, I felt that the build up to the fight wasn't developed enough and that it was missing a few more passionate scenes.
As for the positives, I enjoyed all the stuff between Adonis and Bianca. The way they factored in her hearing loss with their newborn baby really worked and I liked how their relationship progressed. Adonis' relationship with his mom was fantastic as well as with Rocky. What was very surprising and satisfying in this movie was Rocky's plot line. I wasn't expecting this movie to dive into his relationship with his son and their disconnection over the years. By the end of the film when they reunite, it really works on an emotional level. The overall theme of father and sons/daughters was a nice uniting aspect of the film. I wish they had explored the reasoning behind the fight and why everyone was fighting more. The one scene where Adonis and Rocky argue and split up over the fight was the only time where I felt the intensity of the situation at hand. Too much of this movie was brushed over via montages. For example, there is a scene where Bianca is telling Adonis' mom how she feels he is disconnected, while it shows Adonis swimming in a pool. It would have been nice to see that disconnection and how Drago was weighing on him. I don't necessarily think this movie should have been longer, but rather better distributed in terms of what plot points got the most time.
A personal gripe of mine, which might just be mine, is I feel that neither of the Creed films have dealt with Apollo enough and shown the parallels with his son. I know that this is Adonis' story and he is trying to make a name for himself, but this is an epic saga in the end and it needs some epic moments. There was a particular shot in this film during the second fight, when Adonis is knocked down and about to lose. The camera moves up as we are looking down at Adonis sprawled on the ground. To me and the people I was with, we all thought they were going to do a quick flash cut to Apollo on the ground from Rocky IV. Something like that is all I'm asking for and I feel that it would've hit home for fans of the series. As for the rest of that final fight, it was awesome. When "Going the Distance" and "Gonna Fly Now" kick in, it's over. The high these movies leave you on is what makes them so great and is almost a guarantee every time you step into the theater.
That's pretty much all I have to say. One thing I forgot to mention was the score. I thought the score in this movie was definitely a downgrade from the first and that might have contributed to the missing moments of epic emotion. I just feel like this movie gets so close but never breaks through the ceiling for me. Other than that, this is a solid sequel which stays true to the franchise and could very well serve as a satisfying conclusion if that's where they go with it.
My Score: B-