OldBoy

**SPOILERS WITHIN**

Please continue pre-release discussion here.

Movie:
"Creed II" (Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Tessa Thompson, Florian Munteanu, Phylicia Rashad)

Release Date:
11/21/18

Rating:
PG-13 (for sports action violence, language, and a scene of sensuality throughout.)

Running Time:
130m. (2h. 10m.)

Budget:
$40 million (estimated)

IMDb Synopsis:


IMDb Info and Rating:
8.3 (454 votes as of 11/18/18)

Rotten Tomatoes:
Fresh:24 Rotten:9 (73% as of 11/18/18)

Metacritic:
65 metascore ('Generally favorable reviews' as of 11/18/18)

Trailer:


Poster Art:

dex14

Very much looking forward to this tonight.

dex14

Great sequel. Not better than Creed, but still very good. As it has been said, the idea of this was kind of hokey, but the approach is the best way they could've done it.

I was surprised by the structure at first in having the Creed vs Drago 1 happen so soon. Though as soon as it happened, I thought back to the trailer and what was shown and could then foresee what was going to happen. I guess it shouldn't have been a shock considering the structure of Rocky IV as well.

Creed vs Drago 2 was great. Those punches were hard. I loved when Adonis was down and just starts punching the canvas to amp himself up.

This was 100% Jordan's movie (he is fantastic) and much more of a CREED movie than Rocky. Rocky has an arch, but not as much as the first Creed.

Really liked the last scene and the way it was edited to go back and forth with the two grandkid introductions.

JeremyM

Agreed, and I liked the little insert of the Dragos at the end as well.

It's remarkable that they have managed to create characters that are as memorable and likeable as the ones from the original series in Adonis, Bianca, and even Little Duke. I honestly don't know how Jordan wasn't nominated for best actor in the first film. I know he won't be for this one since it's a sequel and all.

My favorite scene was early on, where we find out that Adonis has been learning sign language. Great bit of "show-don't-tell" storytelling there.

I also loved the line where Rocky finally got a call about the burned-out streetlight: "How long has it been out? To be specific, a couple of years." There were a lot of great little Rocky moments though I agree it is largely and rightly Adonis's film.

Dolph was great as Drago as well.

stingermck

Great sequel. As good and if not better than I hoped it would be.

I was already getting emotional when the original music kicked in, but when Ivan threw in the towel, the tears started.

Good to see Bridget Nielson have a cameo. She was stone cold. I felt so bad for Ivan and Viktor at the party.

It was good to see Apollo's trophy room. It's easy to forget in the story how big he was before his fight with Rocky.

And agreed, Jordan is amazing. I wonder where and if they go from here.

islandclaws

Anyone else hoping Clubber Lang would be the guy running the desert gym? Man, I would have lost my shit if that happened.

Liked this as a Creed sequel, liked it even more as a Rocky IV reprise.

Stallone is such a talented filmmaker; to create a character(s) that endures for all these years and he has something new to say every time. The passing of the baton from "Rocky" to "Creed" has been handled wonderfully.

I'll be sad when/if they make "Creed III" because you KNOW he's killing himself off.

Spiderbite

Both of us going in with high expectations, my son and I walked away disappointed in this movie. It is still entertaining but nowhere near as good as the first Creed (though it is better than Rocky IV which isn't saying much).

We both thought the middle dragged. A lot of this movie felt more "soap opera" than the movies that came before it. I know, I know...Rocky movies thrive on cheesy drama but this was just dull drama for the majority of the time (at least dealing with Creed's shit).

I actually felt more sympathy for Drago and it is kinda bad when I want the "villain" to win in any movie. This is kinda ironic since I wanted Jordan to win and kill Black Panther.

I thought Lundgren was great and was actually able to act in this one. Rocky had a few great moments and he is always at his best when discussing Adrian. It never fails to choke me up when he is talking to her at the cemetery or when he just discusses her with someone else.

There were a couple of really bad moments as well with the worst being the fiancee singing Creed's intro to the ring in the final fight. That was hilariously bad. Actually, almost every scene with the girlfriend/fiancee was pretty bad in this and slowed the movie to a halt every time.

I felt that there was zero work involved in Creed getting the title and I just didn't feel emotionally involved in that even after watching the first Creed again just the other day. Plus...why was everyone telling Creed not to fight Drago immediately when basically no one even had a clue who he was or how they would match up?

Apollo didn't need to fight Ivan because he was way past his prime and they knew the guy meant business. Viktor just looked mean to them and he was as big as a fucking monster. But everyone still knew very little about him. Mickey knew Clubber was going to beat the shit out of Rocky because he did his research. Yeah, Rocky made a minor off hand comment about seeing a fight or two on the TV but it just didn't seem very genuine of Rocky to know for a fact that Drago might kill Creed #2.

And fuck the music in this film. I know that they want to separate it from Rocky and Adonis needs his own theme but the hip hop choices in this movie were poo. And the Adonis theme, while halfway decent, doesn't have the pump of the Rocky theme. They give a little taste near the end but by that point, it is too late and since you were never pumped up in the training montage, and because you had to listen to generic movie music during the majority of all the fights.

But with all that said, the movie is still entertaining. I would basically watch Stallone cut his grass so anything with him in it is usually welcome. Jordan does a great job as Creed. The Drago storyline is interesting and sad. Didn't expect the Brigitte Nielsen cameo, so that was awesome. The father/son dynamic running throughout the film is nice. The fight scenes are terrific (other than the music). The movie just needed to be thinned by about 20 minutes.

My rating: ***1/2 out of *****

MY son, who generally overrates everything gave it the same exact score which really surprised me.

An aside question...has Stallone every said why he didn't get the original actress to portray Mary Anne Creed for these movies? I know she didn't do much in the originals but I always liked her in them.

Why So Blu?

Just got home from this and I liked a lot. I do like how they added depth to Ivan Drago. You can obviously fill in the blanks and imagine what has happened in the almost 35 years since Rocky 4. They even brought back Brigitte Nielsen, too.

I see the basic template of the film as basically an homage/remake of Rocky 4. It didn't bother me at all.

OldBoy

what was the reason Coogler didn't come back to do this? i know he and Jordan work well together and many times...

TGM

Black Panther 2?

fumanstan

Very good sequel. I agree that it's not as good as the first Creed, but given the subject matter and characters, it's so much better then it really has any right to be. Especially as a sequel to Rocky IV, which has a kind of goofiness/camp looking back to that era. But the Drago's are great; I was hoping we'd get to see and hear more of Ivan rather then Dolph doing a lot of staring, but I guess that matches Drago from Rocky IV. Seeing Brigitte was completely unexpected but awesome. Ivan throwing in the towel at the end hit me hard, and glad to see them mix up how these fights end.

The fights are excellent as always; the Creed movies seem to really get up close and personal, so those body blows that break Creed's ribs were intense. Unlike Spiderbite, I liked the middle part of the movie and seeing Creed's recovery go along with his personal life and baby. Training in the desert wasn't as interesting or impactful as I thought; usually those training montages get me amped up, but it was really just about standing toe to toe against an unnamed big dude which wasn't particularly amazing.

Great seeing Milo back at the end.

I wonder if this series will continue to get milked, i'm not sure where else to go from here.

Black Panther.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creed_II

stingermck

I'm down for a Drago movie now. They were not the villains of this. Pride was.

OldBoy

i figured that, but they both did BP. i guess Coogler just needed more time to do post and stuff?

OldBoy

think i'm going to see an early showing tomorrow, like 10a something. hopefully see the original tonight, depending on how long tday dinner goes. i haven't seen since theater whenever it came out...

OldBoy

Do you think it essential to watch first just prior to this especially if you haven’t seen since theater, 2015? Or too much in short span?

I either have this or Criterion’s Princess Bride set to go tonight on you alls que...

dex14

Watch Creed. And Rocky IV if you have time. That one is short.

OldBoy

I’ll probably just get 1 in, so Creed more essential, obviously?

dex14

Yea but IV is kind of too. If you’ve seen IV plenty of times and remember it well then I wouldn’t worry.

OldBoy

Yeah I do. Creed not so much. Just don’t want to overload. Thanks dex.

DJariya

Just got back.

It's very entertaining and a crowd pleaser. Jordan is solid again as Adonis and Stallone was great as Rocky.

Really liked that the story focused a lot on the Dragos and their issues.

The overall movie is very predictable and formulaic. It does feel like a new take on Rocky IV. But, I think for Creed/Rocky, you go in for the relationships and characters.

I have a question. Did Apollo's widow adopt Adonis? He kept calling her Mom. But technically they aren't blood related since he's the product of an affair. I remember in the 1st movie she originally found him in some juvenile detention center.

and I'm not sure this movie takes place in 2018. I think we talked about the confusing Rocky timelines in the previous Creed thread. This movie mentions that Adonis is 28. If he was born circa 1986 give or take, this movie would take place around 2014-2015ish. They did mention specifically that Apollo died in 1985.


I don't think they should do a Creed III. This was a good ending point. Otherwise you risk going on and becoming a parody like what happened to Rocky until they wrapped it up nicely in Rocky Balboa.

Spiderbite

^I am pretty sure Mary Anne adopted Adonis. I seem to remember him calling her Ma or Mom in the first one as well. I just don't remember if it was blatantly stated but it did seem assumed.

I would be stunned if they do not do a Creed III where Rocky dies. But other than Rocky dying, I don't see how they further the Adonis character except him dealing with a fight training with and then fighting without Rocky. But then they kinda just did that with this film.

They should stop but they won't.

They would have to come up with an interesting foil for Adonis that I just don't think they really have since they used Drago for this one. Maybe bring back a super cut Pretty Ricky from the first movie for revenge? He definitely had the crazy eyes down and seemed really menacing. Or another long lost son of Creed's and have Creed Vs. Creed? Or get Milo into training and have Robert fight Creed for a Balboa Vs. Creed fight? Guess they already fucked that up since he has shown no interest in fighting.

Better yet, Spider Rico and Tommy Gunn's offspring have a kid together (somehow) and then he fights Creed? I'll start working on the script now...

dex14

This had a great opening on Wednesday. It is definitely going to get a third. They need to create a new foil though.

JeremyM

Man, Clubber Lang in the desert would have been so great. I will never not rewatch this and think of that, islandclaws. Supposedly they had asked Mr. T to appear as a commentator in Rocky Balboa and he turned it down, though, so who knows if he would have even done it.

As far as where to take the series, it's tough. Ricky Conlan coming out of prison makes sense, but on the other hand, Creed already proved himself in the first fight. I don't really see the angle, but I'm someone who didn't really see the angle with this spinoff series to begin with and I'm happy to have been proven wrong.

It's funny, I thought the scenes with Adonis and Bianca were done really well, and others despise them. Such is life. The scenes with Adrian and Rocky (excepting the first film) tend to annoy me in the originals.

Also, I agree that the soundtrack didn't measure up. The last one had a mix of new rap and some older songs from Nas, The Roots, 2Pac, and so on. This had nothing old and the newer songs weren't particularly good (the one with Nas in this one was fine, the rest was meh). And I also agree that the training montage lacked the usual, ahem, punch.

JeremyM

Also, sign me up for a Drago film.

OldBoy

Ceed II...i just thought it was fucking fantastic. I don't know how Sly writes these things, but he kept the nostalgia, while still keeping it fresh. i did like this better than first, though haven't seen it in 3 years so memory little foggy. but, i loved the hell out of this one. even the quieter moments and they are many were superbly done. this was just exhilarating, heartbreaking, funny and well done all around. loved the Drago stuff and it all just gelled so well together.