It seems that the 2010s and beyond will be the age of movie franchise reboots. The Creed franchise, a continuation of the Rocky Balboa universe, is yet another reboot of a beloved movie franchise. Unlike the Star Wars sequel trilogy, I find the Creed movies fine additions to the Rocky series. Having a Black lead actor is going to piss off a lot of people, but other than that, I don’t see strong SJW overtones as we have witnessed in Disney’s Star Wars.
Creed II brings back the infamous Ivan Drago, father of the film’s primary antagonist, Viktor Drago. The story goes as expected: Adonis Creed faces off against the evil Russian and gets roughed up in the first fight. We then have a training montage and Creed wins the second fight in the end.
While Creed II’s formula might be a copy-paste from the prior Rocky movies, it is still an enjoyable flick. Parts of the movie were slow-moving, particularly those with Creed and his wife. Also, the training montage was not as exhilarating as those from the Rocky movies or first Creed, but it was still enjoyable. There are also moments revolving around the young Creed’s new family and Rocky reconnecting with his son and grandson. These moments slowed down the film and may have been slightly too prominent in the movie’s runtime, but they were important to the franchise’s storyline and contributed to the lessons that I was able to take away from the story.
Despite the slower moments and lackluster montage, Creed II was an enjoyable flick. My only other gripe was the lack of realism. Any real boxing fan knows that the American crowd would back the non-Black Viktor Drago. Since they were adding ESPN clips to make the movie world more immersive, they could have added a scene with people calling Creed nigger on Twitter.
Takeaways
Now, I wouldn’t write a movie review without touching on some philosophical aspects. Creed II is not as inspirational as the first, or maybe I am just jaded, the wide-eyed youngster embarking on a journey to China long dead. Still, the movie has several lessons that we can learn:
Living in a Great Man’s Shadow
Both Adonis Creed and Viktor Drago live in the shadows of their fathers who were boxing legends. While Adonis chooses the life of boxing, Viktor is pushed by his father to bring glory back to the Drago family and to Russia. This may seem to be a violation of Law 41 of the 48 Laws of Power, which teaches us to avoid living under the shadow of a great man, but both fighters prove their own meddle in the ring. This is similar to how Alexander the Great was influenced by his father but made a name for himself in the annals of history.
The Power of Purpose
It is implied that Adonis’s loss in the first fight against Drago due to his lack of his own purpose. He wanted to avenge his father and his family’s legacy but was not in the fight for himself. After his daughter was born, Creed thought more of his family and they gave him purpose. In my mind, vengeance and hatred are powerful fuel, but they burn quickly. Love (or at the very least passion for protecting and providing for one’s home) might not have the explosive power that hatred does, but it is longer burning.
Vengeance and Redemption
Both Creed and Drago seek vengeance in the film. Adonis Creed wants to avenge his father’s death, so he takes the fight with the younger Drago. On the other hand, Ivan Drago wants to redeem himself and his family in Russian society and bring glory back to his country through his son. In the end, Ivan throws in the towel to stop his son from being pummeled. The fleeting praise of the Russian people is not worth losing his son over.
Hypergamy
Scenes in Rocky IV heavily implied that Ivan Drago’s wife only married him due to his place in Soviet society. This theory is proven correct when she returns after Viktor makes a name for himself. As expected, she leaves again when Viktor loses the fight. How this factual tidbit regarding woman’s nature made it past today’s SJW censors is a mystery to me.
In Conclusion
Creed II is an enjoyable movie, and a rare example of a Black heterosexual male character. It’s been done before, but it is still worth a watch if you are a fan of the Rocky franchise.