Bullet Points: Creed II
It was Thanksgiving Day 1985. After partaking in the traditional Thanksgiving feast, I found myself like many people do… parked in front of the television watching football. During the breaks, commercials for the newly released Rocky IV were shown. Those commercials did their job, because before I knew it, my dad told me to hop in the car because we were going to the movies to see Rocky Balboa kick some Russian ass in the form of Ivan Drago!
When the news hit that Creed II was going to be released on Thanksgiving weekend and the movie would feature Adonis Creed taking on Victor Drago, with Victor’s dad Ivan Drago in his corner and Rocky Balboa in the corner of Creed… there was no question that I would once again find myself in a darkened theater watching Rocky and Ivan one more time.
- Ringside Report: As the movie begins, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) is moments away from challenging for the WBC Heavyweight Championship under the bright lights of Las Vegas. At Adonis’ side is his mentor and trainer Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and his girlfriend Bianca (Tessa Thompson). On Adonis’ waist after the fight is the WBC Heavyweight Championship… Meanwhile in the Ukraine, Victor Drago (Florian Munteanu) is beginning to make a name for himself in the boxing world. At Victor’s side is his father, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren)… Boxing promoter Buddy Marcelle realizes that the stars have aligned and given the history between the Creeds and the Dragos, a match between the newly crowned WBC Heavyweight Champion Adonis Creed and the hungry powerhouse Victor Drago is a pay-per-view goldmine.
- The Fight: In what felt like a blink of an eye, this huge pay-per-view boxing event is taking place. If the fact that this fight was taking place so early in the film was not a big red flag that things probably weren’t going to go Adonis’ way, the fact that Rocky refused to train Adonis for the fight should have definitely sealed the deal. Victor Drago beat the ever loving crap out of Adonis Creed. Victor would have likely been champion if not for a stupid mistake he made in the heat of battle. But at least Victor Drago left the Barclay’s Center on his own two feet, Adonis Creed was taken to the hospital with a litany of injuries… our hero, despite still being the champion, had officially hit rock bottom.
- They’ve Got Families: In typical Rocky fashion, we get to see the people behind the men in the ring and the emotional roller coaster of their personal lives. After the beating he takes, Adonis has to rebuild himself physically and mentally… he also has to rebuild his relationship with Rocky. In addition, Adonis has some life changing events as he proposes to Bianca and the two welcome their first child into the world… The movie also makes an effort to give Victor Drago some depth. He’s got the pressure of trying to succeed where his father failed and the anger he harbors towards those who abandoned his father after his loss to Rocky Balboa, including his own mother Ludmilla.
- The Main Event: With all the out of the ring drama out of the way, it is time to get back to some action including some classic training montages! Victor Drago finds himself training in more traditional manner inside a gymnasium, but Rocky takes Adonis out to the desert for some brutal training in the hot sun. These montages build up to the Creed/Drago rematch… a rematch that takes place in Mother Russia… and a rematch that going in I assumed would have a much different outcome than the first Creed/Drago fight, but they did manage to work in a little twist to the finish.
Creed II much like the original Creed, is a continuation of the Rocky Balboa story, but at the same time is a retelling of the tale. The tale works and the fact that there were people in the theater cheering for Adonis Creed before the movie was all said and done is proof of it.
But the real draw for me was Rocky Balboa and Ivan Drago and I was not disappointed. Witnessing Ivan Drago come back to the United States and see first hand how beloved Rocky Balboa was and comparing that to how he was shunned by the Russian people after his loss to Rocky, really made me feel for Ivan Drago and humanized the Russian monster. And then there’s Rocky Balboa… possibly the most beloved character in cinematic history… seriously, who can hate Rocky Balboa? Probably the same people who hate Bonus Bullet Points… and the answer to that is, nobody!
- Familiar Faces: Brigitte Nielsen reprises her role as Ludmilla Drago, the now estranged wife of Ivan and absentee mother of Victor… Milo Ventimiglia, who we last saw as Robert Balboa in Rocky Balboa, was back as well.
- Rooted in Reality: Having actual boxing announcers like Jim Lampley, Roy Jones Jr. and Max Kellerman, along with iconic ring announcer Michael Buffer appear as themselves helped link the fictional history of Rocky Balboa to actual boxing history.
- If You Ever: …wanted to see a man take his newborn child to a boxing gym, then this is the movie for you.
- What’s Next?: It really felt like Creed II was the last time we are going to see the character of Rocky Balboa. But Hollywood being Hollywood, I can still see them trying to capitalize on the franchise that Sylvester Stallone started… maybe a spin off for Ivan and Victor Drago titled Drago, perhaps we will get a Mickey Goldmill prequel or they could even try to continue with a third installment of the Creed series without Stallone.
