Creed II picks up after the death of Apollo Creed, leaving Adonis Johnson without a father figure and a boxing career built on borrowed name and borrowed history. The film wants to be a tribute to the man who raised him and a test of the legacy he carried forward. Mostly, it succeeds on the first count and stumbles on the second.
Apollo’s Legacy
The movie opens with Adonis, now a champion in his own right, trying to stand apart from the shadow of the man who trained him. His mother, Mary Anne Creed, shows up to remind him that he is still living off Apollo’s reputation, and that guilt hangs over every scene where he fights. He is not Apollo. He is Adonis, and the film spends its early hours proving that distinction.
Mary Anne’s arrival is the engine of the first act. She pushes Adonis to honor Apollo by becoming better than him, which means fighting the man who killed Apollo in the ring. That push is the emotional spine of the picture, and it carries the film through its quieter stretches.
Trailer, via Amazon MGM Studios.
Ivan Drago Returns
Ivan Drago returns from the cold war with a new face and a new cause. His son, Viktor, needs money, and the fight between Adonis and Viktor becomes the center of the film’s plot. The setup is simple: Adonis fights Viktor to raise the money, and the fight itself becomes a proxy for the old grudge between the two families.
The tension works because the film knows exactly what it is doing. It is not about the technical skill of the fighters. It is about the weight of history, and the fight scenes deliver that weight through slow-motion shots and close-ups on the faces of the men involved.
Rocky Balboa’s Return
Rocky Balboa comes back into the picture as Adonis’s trainer, and his presence gives the film its emotional core. He treats Adonis with a care that feels distinct from his own life, and that contrast is the heart of the film’s middle section. Rocky is the anchor of the drama, and his scenes with Adonis are the best moments in the whole movie.
The film leans heavily on Rocky’s presence to carry its themes. Without him, the story about family and legacy would collapse. With him, the film finds its footing.
The Fight Itself
The final fight is where Creed II either earns its keep or loses its audience. The buildup pays off in a way that feels earned, but the execution drags. The pacing slows to a crawl during the climactic rounds, and the stakes feel smaller than they should given everything that came before.
It is not a bad fight scene. It is just a less exciting one than the film’s marketing suggested it would be. The slow motion is used too often, and the editing cuts away from the action at key moments when the audience wants to see the punch land.
Where It Falls Short
The supporting cast is thin. Tessa Thompson appears briefly as Adonis’s wife, and her scenes add little beyond filler. Wood Harris plays a supporting role as a friend of Adonis, and his character exists mainly to provide exposition. The film is at its best when it focuses on Adonis and Rocky, and at its worst when it tries to expand its canvas with characters who do not earn their screen time.
The script also leans on the idea that Adonis is fighting to honor his dead father while also trying to prove himself as his own man. This is a fine theme, but the film spends too much time telling us about it rather than showing us. The dialogue is often blunt, and the speeches about legacy and honor can feel more like homework than like writing.
What Works
- The relationship between Adonis and Rocky
- Mary Anne’s push to honor Apollo
- The emotional weight of the final fight
- The casting of Rocky Balboa as the trainer
What Does Not Work
- The pacing of the final round
- The thin supporting cast
- Exposition-heavy dialogue
- Scenes that feel like filler
Creed II is a solid entry in the franchise, but it is not a great one. It respects its characters and its history, and it delivers a satisfying ending to the story it sets up. It just takes a while to get there.
The film honors Apollo Creed without repeating his story, and it gives Adonis a chance to become his own champion. It is a worthy sequel, even if it does not quite live up to the legend it carries.
Key Facts
- Title: Creed II
- Genre: Boxing drama
- Running time: Not specified in the source
- Score: 6.6 out of 10
- Lead actors: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone
- Supporting actors: Tessa Thompson, Wood Harris
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