"Creed 2" punches life into an aging franchise

Review: 4/4 starsWe’re now officially eight movies deep into the Rocky Cinematic Universe. Shocking, I know. But just when you thought that every last nook and cranny of that universe had been strip-mined for narrative fodder, along comes Creed II. Long after Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan)  becomes famous under Rocky Balboa's (Sylvester Stallone) mentorship, the youthful boxer turns into the Heavyweight Champion of the World. However  trouble comes to Philadelphia when Ivan Drago, the Russian boxer who put an end to the life of Adonis' dad, Apollo, lands with his child, Viktor (Florian Munteanu), to challenge Adonis. The latest Creed 2 featurette brings that battle front and center to cement just how high the stakes are in the sequel. Adonis could very well suffer the same fate as his father in the ring up against Drago's son Viktor, which only adds to the tension. Drago is using his son's abilities to get back out into the world after years of nothing, which he blames Rocky for.Creed II is phenomenal. Joke that it's Rocky VIII if you must, but there's way more to it than that. The emotional stakes that both Adonis and Rocky face, not to mention both Drago men, are effective and impactful. That's a true testament to Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone for sure. Tessa Thompson again is fantastic, while Phylicia Rashad lends some gravitas in her few scenes. Again though, this is about Jordan, and whether he's with Stallone or Thompson. The fight scenes don't have the style that the aforementioned Ryan Coogler brought last time, but they're still among the franchise's best. Very little here will surprise you, but damn if it isn't incredibly moving to watch. In many regards, Creed 2 fails to duck the blows that so many sequels before it have been struck by. It is grander in both scope and emotion; and in all honesty, Rocky and Adonis’s scenes together are arguably more exhilarating than the fight sequences, which are differently choreographed than the sweeping steadicam battles of the first film. Here, director Steven Caple Jr. shoots mostly in a handheld, intimate style. In an homage to Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull - a classic of the genre - he peppers the boxing sequences with first person shots, meant to make the audience feel Creed’s pain, as if they’re being pummelled themselves.Don't expect Creed II to contend for Academy Award love like Creed did, but Jordan and Stallone are just as good this time out. The former is even more front and center, while the latter truly becomes a supporting character, though one with literally decades of history that both the actor and the audience is pulling from. This is an example of how amazing studio films can be when they actually care. The end result is a brilliantly entertaining movie with tons of heart.