Creed II (2018) - 8/10

Man, the randomizer really loves picking the second films out of a series to go first for some reason. But, I will respect it and jump into the middle of the Creed trilogy since it is a great sequel film and is able to stand on its own anyway. No need for a big intro on this one, let's just jump into it.

1. Acting 

The greatest part of the Creed films has been its acting. In fact, Creed II may have the best acting of the entire series. That effort is, of course, heavily due to its fantastic lead, Michael B. Jordan. Jordan is a phenomenal actor and his second outing as Adonis shows he has both a ton of range and a deep understanding of who Adonis is. Jordan runs through the entire gamut of emotions and it all feels so authentic and real. There's even a few times that all he does is grunt in character and he conveys more than an other actor could in an entire film. It's a special performance - which is crazy considering it's not even his 'best' work. 

Going round for round (boo that pun) with Jordan is the wonderful Tessa Thompson and arguably her best turn as Bianca. Bianca's role feels like it got a bit reduced in the edit, but Thompson does an incredible job with her moments in the film. She too, runs the full gamut of emotions and Thompson is able to convey so much with every single expression and glare that emanates from Bianca. 

This film also serves as a final goodbye of sorts to the character at the heart of this boxing mega franchise. Sylvester Stallone dusts of his Fedora and turns in one of his best performance as Rocky Balboa. Rocky's journey is coming to a close and Sly is able to imbue him with the type of gravitas and wisdom that comes with age. However, he also has a flip side where he is still a stubborn and fearful of being honest about his loneliness. Sly's performance may not show off the more overt emotions that we see from MBJ and Thompson, but it is very compelling in its reservation. 

The supporting cast also does great work in this sequel. Phylicia Reshad returns as Adonis' adoptive mother and she does a ton with her limited screen time including a fantastic kitchen discussion with Adonis that feels all too real. The villains for the film played by Dolph Lundgren and Florean Munteanu also manage some solid efforts with small bits of screen time. They aren't given a ton to do other than be intimidating, but the few glimpses we get at their relationship manages to get sold effectively - even with minimal dialogue. 

2. Cinematography 

Another strength of the film is its cinematography. It doesn't quite reach the heights of its predecessor, especially in the fight scenes, but it has enough style to make things very compelling visually. 

One of the most important aspects of a 'Rocky/Creed' film, of course, is the boxing. The camera work and editing for the fights in Creed II are definitely up to snuff. The camera is always kinetic and its employment is creative enough to give the audience a wide array of shots/angles. The only real complaint may lie with the integration of some of the crowd CGI. This isn't a Creed II specific issue, just a reality that having a CGI crowd can be difficult to pull off at certain times/lighting conditions for this type of film. 

The other obvious touch to the films visual language is the use of color grading to distinguish between the two rivals. Adonis' scenes are largely vibrantly lit and have the modern look to them. The one exception is in the middle section of the film when Adonis is recovering from his injuries. The lighting choices transition to a much more muted and darker tone to reflect his inner turmoil. Drago's scenes, on the other hand, are largely lit using a deadened blue/green to symbolize the darker and more dreary place that his character is coming from. Then later in the movie, it brightens a bit. Specifically, I think it adopts that 'modern' look to highlight Drago's successes as a boxer, but also provides juxtaposition for the dinner scene to give a sense that Drago doesn't belong in the 'world' that his mother resides in.  

3. Production/Costume Design 

I think there are a lot of smart choices being made from the production team throughout the film. However, let's start real quick by giving props to the makeup teams for all the 'injury' work they do for the actors. All of the boxing injuries look nearly indistinguishable from real injuries and adds a real sense of the harm the characters are enduring through their battle. 

For the costume team - I like how Adonis starts the film wearing the same red, white and blue style shorts that his father wore during his rise to being a champion. Then during the final fight, it is replaced by an all black ensemble that references that look, but is now clearly distinguished from it. This is an obvious choice to mirror Adonis' inner journey to forging his own legacy while still recognizing his father's role in shaping it. I also think I clocked a few times where Bianca's outfits are meant to remind the audience of Adrian which is both a nice homage and a recognition of Bianca's role in supporting Adonis and his boxing. 

Another production aspect I liked was the selection for the training montage in the desert. Not only is the location picturesque and serves as a fitting background for the scenes, but its a reversal from Rocky IV. Instead of revisiting the cold and snowy Siberian tundra that Rocky went to before fighting Drago, the filmmakers played with expectations and opted for the exact opposite - a hot and dusty desert. It, like the character arcs of the film, hearkens to what came before while still crafting its own path.  

4. Writing 

I think one of the more difficult tasks for makers of a Rocky movie are creating something that is compelling when the audience largely knows what is going to happen. And since the plot of this film is very predictable, the writers seem to have understood a very important thing: these movies are not about the fights, they are about the fighters. Creed II is certainly a 'boxing' movie, but more importantly, it is a study of character. For that reason, it makes a lot of sense that the three main writers of the film were Ryan Coogler, Sylvester Stalone and Steven Caple Jr - all people who understand what is at the heart of these types of films. So even though a portion of this movie involves dudes punching each other over and over, the vast majority is spent learning about the characters lives, what drives them, and what holds them back. 

Adonis, being the center of the film, has the most amount of time spent on his character. He largely follows the classic, but effective, hero's journey.  We rejoin Adonis' story not long after we left him at the end of Creed; except now he has finally completed his original journey to become the champion. Not only that, he (in a very adorable scene) marries Bianca and starts a family. However, despite his status quo, Adonis feels like somethings missing. He has lost a sense of who he is and why he is fighting. His call to adventure then, is an unexpected challenge from the son of the man responsible for his father's death and his fall comes at the end of the first act when he loses that fight. At this point we see Adonis has been fully broken not just physically, but mentally. In the second act we follow as he begins to heal his body, but he struggles with healing his sense of self. In the end, a timely visit from Rocky, the birth of his daughter, and some sage advice/introspection show Adonis that his 'need' is to start carving out his own legacy. He also realizes that he doesn't fight because of he expectations of being a 'Creed', but because it is who he is at his core. With his new resolve, he begins his rebirth in the desert with Rocky. And when he emerges on the other side changed, he is able to topple Drago and complete his journey. This is all classic mythological structure and I think it fits particularly well in a boxing movie since it is reminiscent of the tale of a warrior on a quest. 

As for the other aspects of the film, I think the writers made a lot of great decisions along the way. Using the first ten minutes to rush through Adonis' championship win, for example, does a couple of things. It bridges the gap between the first movie and this. It establishes the emotional place from which Donnie will start and fall from. It helps setup Rocky's sense of solitude as Adonis and Bianca get engaged right after the fight. And lastly it removes 'chasing a belt' as the goal for the film which would have felt cliche'd and allows for a more introspective journey. 

We also see another good setup from the opening moments of the film. Rocky's ending of reuniting with his son is established during his visit to Adrian's grave. Rocky also gets to serve as a mirror, or maybe preview, of Adonis' journey. Rocky's refusal to train Adonis is not one of spite, but he knows what is down that path because he already walked it. He knows that letting the past control your life only leads to pain - even if it is a sentiment he is struggling with himself in a different way. 

I also appreciate that 'villains' of this movie aren't as one dimensional as some of the more classic Rocky movies. We don't spend a lot of time with the Dragos, but the writers did give them a clear emotional arc to follow instead of just being the inhuman threat Drago was in Rocky IV.  

If I were to criticize anything, it would be a reduced arc for Bianca. In the opening moments of the movie we get hints that Bianca's hearing loss is getting worse and she expresses in early conversations how she wants to move to L.A. in order to make her music while she still can. However, her arc ends up taking back seat to Adonis' story line and she devolves into just being there to support Adonis. The closest we get is offhanded dialogue of her signing with a label or going to the studio. I get that she isn't the focus of the movie and there is only so much runtime to go around, but at the same time the writers seemed to signal there was more they wanted to explore and then never followed through.  

5. Sound Design

Not only do I really like the soundtrack of this film, but I really enjoy HOW the film uses its music and sound effects. For instance, there are tons of J and L cuts utilized to transition between scenes. And the integration of the original Rocky theme is also used to great effect. It isn't as withheld as its predecessor, but it gets used in both tender and exciting moments in smart ways. In particular the remixed version used in the desert training montage brings both a modern twist to the classic, but also is just plain invigorating and gets the audience excited for this fight after a very emotional second act. 

6. Editing 

In addition to the great J and L cuts that I already mentioned, the editing for the film feels both stylistic and confident. Its not overly showy, but its crisp and gives the film a sense of pace when it needed it, without rushing through the softer and heavier moments.  

I also liked how they adopted the HBO Sports format to build the story of the fights in a succinct way. It is another smart move from a practicality standpoint and it helps bring a sense of authenticity to the sports movie aspects.  

7. Visual Effects 

Most of the VFX that I noticed showed up in fight scenes. For obvious reasons it would be impractical to fill an entire arena for the fights. Instead it looked like the used a few plates that they filmed with an actual crowd, and then green screened the rest. The results are mixed. For a lot of shots you wouldn't notice, but there were a few where something just looked off.  

8. Originality or Strength of Adaptation 

This clearly isn't an original film, but it is one that smartly builds off what has come before it both in Creed and the rest of the Rocky films. The underdog tale gets a re-invigoration from a more nuanced character study while still preserving the fantastic boxing moments.  

9. Stunt Coordination 

The fight choreography for the boxing scenes was well executed. It doesn't quite have the same vigor or flair as the first film, but it does well to distinguish the differences of the characters by using different fighting styles. It also does what all great stunt work does - tell a story within the story. There is a clear rhythm and patter to the fights and the ebbs and flows of positive and negative moments helps keeps the audience engaged in what plays out (even if they know who is going to win the whole time). 

10. Direction 

Steven Caple Jr was tapped to replace Ryan Coogler after scheduling conflicts prevented him from returning for the sequel. It was a smart choice and for a good bit of the runtime I was under the assumption I was watching a Coogler film. Despite a limited filmography, Caple seemed up for the task and I loved a lot of the decisions he made along the way.  

Legacy/Final Thoughts

Creed II is a worthy successor to its predecessor and fits well within the Rocky series legacy. It also serves as a lovely send off to Sylvester Stalone who started it all 42 years before this film released. It's ultimate stand-alone legacy however, is probably just being another great entry in a beloved franchise. I'm just happy it was made by people who clearly understand and love the films, instead of being yet another Hollywood retread to make more money.