Review: “Creed II” (2018)

Movie fans have endless debates on whether or not crappy sequels ruin the accomplishments of the original film of a franchise or previous successful films of a franchise. Some say yes some say no. Now I am on the mind set that a great movie in my opinion stands on it’s own regardless of what came afterwards, however it is still extremely sad to see a once-great actor in a once-great franchise currently act completely bored in a piece of cinematic turd that can’t hold a candle to the work that came before it. And sometimes sequels are so bad that one has to make an effort to block the crappy events that took place in the crappy sequel when enjoying the original.

For years Star Wars fans wanted a sequel trilogy where we got to see Luke Skywalker act as the most powerful Jedi in all the galaxies and when we finally got him in the Kathleen “Feminazi” Kennedy produced- soyboy-directed “The Last Jedi”, Luke Skywalker was a lonely pessimistic menstrual old fart who got put in his place by a know-it-all Mary Sue.

Another example is Holly leaving John McClane after the second installment of the “Die Hard” franchise. I mean think about it, after all the shit that man went through for that woman, the ungrateful bitch still divorced him. Sometimes when I watch the original “Die Hard” I find myself yelling at the screen “Don’t bother John! Find a back door and leave and let that fucking cunt be killed by Hans Gruber cause she’s going to leave you anyways.”

So when Stallone officially announced that Ivan Drago was going to return in the sequel for “Creed” I was really, really, worried. “Rocky 4” may not be the best “Rocky” movie but it is the greatest “Fight Movie” in the history of manly fucking cinema. I love the “Rocky” franchise and I really fucking love “Rocky 4”. These Low Testosterone-Gender Fluid-Vagina Hat Wearing- Beta Clowns that cried like infants when Hillary Clinton lost the election, have been trying to make Manly Classics such as “Rocky 4”  illegal because they have been programmed to hate everything that glorifies freedom and everything that they have ridiculously labeled as “Toxic Masculinity”.

“Rocky 4” is a very 80s movie and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. The 80s was a manly decade & the 80s ruled! But the “Rocky” pictures have varied in tone and the tone of “Rocky 4” is very different from the tone of “Creed” so I was worried that they were going to shit all over the character. It is okay for characters to be a product of their time especially when that time was fucking amazing. A lot of people have wanted Arnold Schwarzenegger to return to the “Predator” franchise but judging how he’s going about the Terminator films and how shitty the last “Predator” movie was, I say keep Dutch in 1987 where he belongs.

“Rocky Balboa” was a great movie & it was the perfect ending to the Rocky Saga. The film was a love letter to the characters, the film’s history and it’s fans. Even though Stallone was very good in “Creed”, the movie took a big ol’ shit on what “Rocky Balboa” accomplished by ignoring the journey the character went through in the previous chapter.

And even though part of me still wishes Stallone would have finished the Rocky Saga with “Rocky Balboa”, what’s done is done and I still like “Creed”. Over the course of time I grew to like the picture more. I’ll take a fucking “Creed” over a Paul fag’s so-called “Ghostbusters” movie  any day.

Ryan Coogler responsible for convincing Stallone to return to the franchise that brought him fame and fortune, who directed the first film and later the very overrated “Black Panther”( “Blade” was better motherfuckers!) Did not return for the sequel but he hand-picked his replacement Steven Caple jr.

In the manly year 1985, in what was supposed to be a friendly exhibition bout that turned into a bloodbath that stunned the world. Russian boxer & manly man Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) beat the living shit out of iconic boxer Apollo Creed. Creed died in Rocky’s arms & of course this led to the epic showdown between Rocky and Drago.

 

In “Creed 2” we find out what became of Ivan Drago and just like Sensei Johnny in “Cobra Kai” we find out time & life have not been kind to Ivan Drago. As the famous saying goes “Victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan”. After his defeat to Rocky Balboa he was viewed as a failure by his countrymen, his wife divorced him and lives with his son ( Big Mofo Florian Munteamu) who he trains as a boxer.

Meanwhile Adonis Creed’s life is going great. He just became the World Heavyweight Champion, he seems to be accepted now by the boxing community and public alike & his relationship with Bianca is still going strong. A promoter seeks out the Dragos and issue a public challenge to Adonis to fight Viktor Drago the son of the man who killed his father in the ring.

Adonis naturally wants revenge & wants to take the fight but Rocky does not want him to fight Viktor Drago and they become estranged due to the fact that Rocky warns him that if he accepts the fight he’s not going to train him. Adonis indeed does accept the fight and gets a reality check when his ass gets handed to him by Viktor Drago.

The movies formulaic and you can predict the turns for the most part the story will take. But as it has been said about movies “Sometimes it’s not what the movie is about but how you go about it that makes it a success.” Sylvester Stallone is back as writer of the franchise and unlike other people who developed a certain dislike for the franchise’s fan base, Stallone clearly still has love for the character and relishes the opportunity to still be in the role of Rocky Balboa & be a part of the franchise.

Kathleen Kennedy obviously did not have an understanding of the franchise she was becoming the head of and clearly had contempt for it and this is why so many fans have turned on them..Same with the shitty so-called “Ghostbusters” remake.  The makers of “Cobra Kai” and Stallone & Comp. have succeeded cause they have love for the characters they created years ago still and don’t run away from what made the series special. They fully embrace the nostalgia and relish it.

I like to point out a couple of negatives regarding “Creed 2”. The Rocky movies and “Creed” as well all have very good scores and soundtracks ( Some better than others but still all good I.M.O.)  but this entry of the series has the weakest music of the eight films of the series. Very much a let down. Also the character of the boxing promoter at the beginning of the film looks like he’s going to play a more integral part of the story and maybe the rest of his scenes were left in the cutting room floor cause he just sort of disappears in the second half of the film and fuck the haters! He is no match for Rocky 5’s George Washington Duke played by Richard Gant.

This actually feels more like a “Creed” movie than a “Rocky” movie than the previous movie. Sylvester Stallone in this installment takes more of a backseat to Adonis but he still has a nice character arc in the film. Michael B. Jordan and everyone else here does a good job in the respective roles and all have great chemistry with each other. Which leads me to Dolph Lundgren as Ivan Drago. Dolph Lundgren here was great and it was nice to see him tackle a dramatic role in a big studio movie and hopefully this will lead to more opportunities for him cause he deserves it.

Lundgren  as Ivan Drago in “Rocky 4” did not speak many lines but the lines he spoke have become iconic in manly cinema. I love the scene in Rocky’s restaurant where Drago shows up to confront Rocky after 30 plus years. There is still tension between both characters and Rocky is not necessarily pleased to see him. Lundgren here is able to convey the resentment he has felt all these years and both guys have a great scene together even though I felt it was a bit brief but still effective.

Ivan Drago has become what they refer to in America as a “stage mom”.  Someone who is pushing their child to rectify their mistakes or accomplish the dreams that they were not able to accomplish themselves. Viktor is trying to get his father’s approval while his father seems more interested in getting back into the good graces of the very countrymen the turned their backs on him.

Also Brigitte Nielsen is Back Ludmilla. The Ice queen left her husband & son for a clearly much richer & successful man. And when she surprisingly shows up at a dinner that father & son are attending, you can see the strong emotions that both men go through because of her betrayal and Lundgren here does a good job expressing sorrow with a facial expression.

When “Creed 2” started not getting the same positive reviews as the first one, I took that as a good sign. They make the woman the villain in a divorce which let’s be honest here men, we’re always made out to be the bad guys…Always. Also the movie is about Fathers and Sons and the importance of both in each other’s lives. And today that is also a “No-No” in our feminazi culture cause “Women can do it all by themselves & don’t need no men for anything”.

I actually liked “Creed II” better than part I. Part 1 was about Adonis becoming a fighter this one is about him becoming a man. I really feel that they should wrap it up with this one cause it wraps up things nicely, however it’s making money so I’m sure they’ll figure out a way to bring it back. I just don’t see Creed having as many movies as the Rocky Balboa character. And I sure as shit don’t want to see Rocky dying.

I’m glad they didn’t shit on “Rocky 4”. They actually filmed a brief fight scene between Rocky and Drago that got deleted but honestly or surprisingly you don’t miss it. This is a movie that I will watch again and one that has a chance for me to like it even more in the future.

After I saw the movie I called my father just to say hello. He still thinks of me as a Shithead but hey, they’re not going to be around forever and I just wanted to talk to him & say hi. I liked “Creed II”, it’s no “Rocky IV” but it’s still a good movie.

8/10