Movie Review: Creed II

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland










Michael's Movie Grade: B+


Review: We all know the Rocky formula by now and this movie follows it very closely despite this though it manages to still be an excellent movie in its own right.


What makes this movie work so well is that it hits so many of the emotional marks it is striving for. Though I would not endure what the title character (Michael B. Jordon) goes through for anything in the world, I understand why he feels he needs to do it. That is because true to the form of the Rocky franchise, this movie is not a film simply about boxing. It is instead about loyalty, love, family, and the understanding of why we fight. Though Creed steps into the boxing ring alone, he is not alone in their. He has his fiancée (Tessa Thompson), Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) and his family in there with him. This is something we can easily relate to our own lives. We may not step into a literal boxing ring, but there are days when we go through real hardships. However it is all in how we look at these hardships and who we take into the ring with us. Our love ones are what make us strong and they are the reason we are fighters. This is why someone like me, who could not care less about boxing still enjoys this franchise a lot and why what made the first Rocky work still makes a great movie today. We care about the characters and see their struggles as our own. We root for them because we root for ourselves. When in this movie things seem bad, we are crushed and when things go well we feel victorious. After the movie was over I walked down a flight of stairs humming the classic Rocky theme to myself, because I once again felt inspired.

Still it is hard to look at this movie as anything new. We have seen this all before and we know what is going to happen in each scene. This takes away the suspense for certain scenes in the way we had them seeing Rocky for the first time. This can also make certain scenes seem to drag when they set out to put you in suspense. You know what is going to happen and want to see it happen. You don't want the inevitable to be delayed because the movie can't follow the formula and keep you in suspense and you know it is going to follow the formula. Still despite this there is so much that still works here and fans of the Rocky movies and the first Creed will find this movie to be an excellent film, I sure did.


-Michael J. Ruhland