Recently, esteemed Rocky actor Sylvester Stallone announced on social media that he was officially retiring the Rocky character in such a bittersweet post. His character has inspired millions and the world famous statue where people run up the steps and raise their fist in the air ala Rocky Balboa in Philadelphia. Creed II, which stars Michael B. Jordan as Apollo Creed’s son with supporting roles from Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, and Florian Munteanu(who played Ivan Drago’s son). The movie featured throwback appearances from Dolph Lundgren and Brigitte Nielsen, which brought a sense of nostalgia from Rocky IV.
The movie was extremely well put together and certainly brought closure to the Rocky series. Michael B. Jordan has such a way of bringing about emotion and determination as playing the character of Apollo Creed’s son, and Tessa Thompson showcases that despite her character having a hearing impairment that she could still have a prolific singing career. Florian Munteanu’s character as the evil Russian boxer reminded me of the 1990’s where Andrew Golota(although he was from Poland) would be disqualified repeatedly for hitting below the belt. Ivan Drago(played by Dolph Lundgren), played the role of the father that demanded that his son would carry on his legacy.
The scene where they trained in the desert was memorable and the fight scenes were pretty realistic in comparison to some fight scenes in the previous Rocky movies. When the championship fight took place in Moscow, Russia, it caused the audience to sit on the edge of their seats and cheer for Creed.
Overall, this brought about a tremendous closure to the storied rivalry between Rocky Balboa and Ivan Drago. The pain was felt for Creed and it’s a great movie for the whole family to enjoy. Madness To Creation rates this an 8 out of 10 stars for the cinematography, Stallone’s uncanny ability to tell a story, and Jordan’s impeccable ability to carry on the legacy of Apollo Creed. If anything, fans will appreciate the nostalgia brought on by Dolph Lundgren and Brigitte Nielsen as they both did tremendous in their roles.
The movie is currently in theaters. I would recommend seeing “Creed” before you go see “Creed II”.
