By Travis Johnson
Make peace with the fact that Creed II is not going to be as good as Creed, much as no direct Rocky sequel is as good as the original Rocky. Instead, enjoy what the film is doing – furthering the generational themes the first tackled.
Creed II sees Adonis “Donnie” Creed (Michael B. Jordan) going up against Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), the son of Russian boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), who killed Donnie’s father, Apollo, in the ring, before being summarily beaten into the canvas by Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), who is now Donnie’s coach.
Now, you know that, and we know that, but the powers that be want us all to pretend we don’t, judging from the official synopsis:
“Life has become a balancing act for Adonis Creed. Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight, he is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family’s past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring. Rocky Balboa is there by his side through it all and, together, Rocky and Adonis will confront their shared legacy, question what’s worth fighting for, and discover that nothing’s more important than family. Creed II is about going back to basics to rediscover what made you a champion in the first place, and remembering that, no matter where you go, you can’t escape your history.”
…which is so vague it might as well be Stewie’s description of Brian’s novel on Family Guy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTSGp4UdEvQ
Still, at least the two pics also released today look good:
Directed by Steven Caple, Jr., Creed II is in cinemas from November 29, 2018.
