Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Creed II

I really wanted to see Creed II when it was first released but I somehow never made it to the theater (maybe it was because I saw Bohemian Rhapsody so many times in November).  I decided to make the time over winter break and I am so glad I did because I really loved it!  When Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) wins the WBC World Heavyweight Championship, he is pressured into accepting a fight with Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu) who is the son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), the Russian prizefighter who killed Apollo Creed in the ring.  Thinking that Adonis is taking the fight for the wrong reasons, namely to prove something to his father, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) refuses to train him.  Adonis is heavily outmatched and essentially loses the fight but retains the title because Viktor hits him when he is down and is disqualified.  Meanwhile, his fiancee Bianca (Tessa Thompson) has given birth to their daughter Amara who is born deaf.  Adonis eventually realizes that he wants to fight for her and agrees to a rematch in Moscow after a brutal training regimen in the desert with Rocky.  The climactic battle between Adonis and Viktor is exciting and everything we have come to expect from the Rocky franchise (I cheered out loud) but it is the emotional journey that both fighters take that make this movie so good.  Both characters are weighted down by their respective fathers' legacies and they have to overcome those expectations in order to win.  I really liked that Viktor is a sympathetic antagonist and, while I wanted Adonis to win, I really felt Viktor's pain, especially in the scenes with his mother (Brigitte Nielsen).  Jordan and Stallone give very affecting performances and I really liked the chemistry between Jordan and Thompson.  Definitely go see this inspiring movie, if you haven't already!

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