Got around to watching CREED II. Really enjoyed it. Rocky/Creed is a franchise that always fascinates me when I discuss it with people, because we talk about it as though it was actual sports history. Stallone has been reported to say that he will no longer play the character of Rocky, so who knows where the Creed franchise will go from here.
The movie actually does a great job of progressing the story of Adonis Johnson (Creed) and Rocky while at the same time touching on the past. Doing a Son v. Son fight between him and Drago Jr (Viktor), was great. Bringing everyone they could back was great, even Bridgit Nielsen.
The actual fight is as unrealistic as any in Rocky as both fighters are in completely different weight classes even to the naked eye, but hey... ROCKY! The story is great, Stallone even co-wrote the script, the drama is gripping and the fight delivers. I cried, man. I'm a HUGE Rocky fan and seeing these characters again is like watching family. I don't care who hurts and why, I feel their pain. They do a great job of painting a sympathetic picture of Ivan Drago and why he pushes his son so much.
My only complaint is the soundtrack. Bill Conti's score is iconic. Now, the Creed movies are NOT a continuation, officially they are their own franchise. Rocky is a peripheral character, Adonis is the main focus. There is so much history, however, Michael B. Jordan was wise not to ignore it and instead embrace it and run with it. Therefore, I understand the lack of a shared soundtrack, but still... I argued in the soundtrack thread, it was what really sealed those movies as iconic. There is a small nod towards the end, but otherwise, the score is severely lacking.
