Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Dolph Lundgren, Florian Munteanu, Brigitte Nielsen, Wood Harris, Milo Ventimiglia, Andre Ward, Max Kellerman, Michael Buffer, Scott Van Pelt, and Roy Jones Jr.
Grade: A+
The goosebumps felt when Adonis and Rocky face off against Viktor and Ivan Drago in the ring before the rematch commences quells all concerns on if revisiting this story was worth it.
Summary
In Kyiv, Ukraine, an aged Captain Ivan Drago (Lundgren) gets up early and wakes up his son off the couch, current heavyweight boxer Viktor (Munteanu). As Viktor has some breakfast, Drago goes to the front porch and scans the city. Later, the two set out for Viktor’s fight, as Drago is his trainer. At the fight is promoter Buddy Marcelle (Russell Hornsby). After Viktor destroys his opponent, Buddy is impressed.
Over in the states at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Adonis Creed’s (Jordan) girlfriend Bianca Taylor (Thompson) walks through the backstage area. She looks out at the crowd and puts her hearing aide in before confidently telling herself how they got this. She goes to the locker room to see Adonis getting ready while photographers take pictures of him. At this point, Adonis has won six straight fights since losing via decision to “Pretty” Ricky Conlan at the end of Creed. Tonight, he’s facing off against 33-0 Danny “Stuntman” Wheeler (Ward) for the heavyweight championship of the world. Max Kellerman and Roy Jones Jr. are on commentary and bring up Adonis losing to Wheeler in Creed during their sparring session when Adonis was wagered his Mustang. Roy says the rumor is that Mustang is on the line again. After they turn off the TV in the locker room and the photographers are sent away, Bianca reminds Adonis to keep his right hand up because Wheeler is strong with both hands. In sign language, she jokingly asks if he took a shit yet, as a callback to the previous film before Adonis’s fight with Leo Sporino. He chuckles and confirms. Once she leaves him alone, Adonis’s trainer in the legendary Rocky Balboa (Stallone) walks over to say there are only three steps into the ring. Tonight, it’s going to look as high as a mountain. When Adonis climbs through those ropes, it’s going to be the loneliest place in the world because he’s going to be in there with another fighter who wants to take him out. He wants Adonis to figure out if he’s here to prove things to other people or to prove something to himself. Adonis knows it’s himself, the right answer. He then jokes with Rocky asking about his hair, so Rocky admits he combed it because he considers tonight special. With this, Rocky tells him to go prove it.
He puts Adonis’s hood on and tells him to get his Mustang back. In the fight, Adonis has an action-packed, back-and-forth affair with Wheeler. Buddy is in the crowd, and trainer Tony “Little Duke” Evers (Harris) is in Wheeler’s corner still. After some while, Adonis gets the TKO win. He’s now the world heavyweight champion. Kellerman comments how this is the first step for Adonis to build his own legacy, and he can’t wait to see what’s next.
Hey, join the club.
At the hotel after the fight, Adonis shows Rocky the engagement ring he bought because he plans on proposing to Bianca. He didn’t show Rocky before because he didn’t know if he was going to win. Rocky asks what that has to do with it, and Adonis actually doesn’t know. He just wants Rocky’s advice on what to do. After they joke around, Adonis asks what he did, so Rocky recalls what he did in Rocky II. It was winter, it was snowing, they were at the zoo, and they stopped by the tiger exhibit. This is when he asked Adrian, “If she would not mind marrying me very much”. He admits it was a dumb way of saying that she was his world and she made him better than he deserved to be. Even so, Rocky tells Adonis to turn off his brain and to let his heart do the talking. Adonis likes this and is about to go into the room before asking Rocky if he’s good. With a smile, Rocky assures him that he’s doing great. Adonis goes inside the hotel room, drinks some champagne in a panic, and tries to mime how he’s going to propose. Finally, Bianca gets out of the shower. When she’s drying off the in bathroom, Adonis attempts his speech at the doorway and gets on one knee with the ring. Bianca didn’t have her hearing aid on until the point where he got on his knee, so she missed everything he said. Once she turns to see him with the ring, she closes the door on him in shock. She starts asking if he’s serious, and he’s sure he is, though he gets a little hurt realizing she didn’t hear what he said. She wants to know what he said and opens the door, prompting him to boil what he said down to “Nothing that you don’t already know”. She wants him to remind her, so he gives 1/10th of the speech he gave previously, talking about how he loves and needs her. Bianca is a little frazzled by all of this, but Adonis persists, saying she’s the only one he wants to share his moments with. With this, he asks her to marry him. She accepts (“Yo!”), and they get intimate right after. Meanwhile in the Ukraine, Viktor is hard at work unloading cement and then destroying another opponent in a fight that night.
After this victory, Viktor and Drago are approached by Buddy in the parking lot. They have already dealt with each other before, and Buddy notes how good Viktor is looking. He says it’s time.
Back in the U.S., Bianca asks Adonis if he’s ever thought about going back to Los Angeles, but he knows she’s a Philly girl. She agrees, but she likes the idea of having more space, how his mom is out there, and she could get her music out to more people, with Adonis agreeing that the labels are all out there. Bianca feels like she has done everything she could do in Philly and time isn’t on her side considering her progressive hearing loss. Adonis knows what she’s saying, but what about Rocky? Bianca tells him that Rocky has his life, but they have to start theirs. Meanwhile, Rocky takes his morning pill and looks at old pictures on the fridge of his family, reminiscing. He goes to the cemetery to talk to Adrian’s grave. He says he’s tried to call their son Robert (Ventimiglia) a few times, but he’d hang up every time Robert was about to pick up because he honestly doesn’t know what to say to him. What if he’s moving on and Rocky is this “chunk of yesterday trying to be today”? He questions what he should do, going through a hypothetical of just asking “Hey, how you doing? What’s it been? A lot of years?”. He doesn’t know what to do. After a pause while he looks over at Paulie’s grave, he looks back to Adrian, “I miss you”. Meanwhile, Viktor and Drago are in Philadelphia, and Drago looks at the Rocky statue in disgust. Next, the two stand at the top of the famous “Rocky Steps” at the Art Institute and scan the city they are about to wreak havoc on. That night, Adonis and Bianca pull up to Max’s to get some food in the Mustang he got back. Bianca notes how happy he’s been since he got the car back, so Adonis admits it’s the only thing his father left him, along with those hands of his. They walk in and all the customers and workers greet Adonis since his celebrity is at its peak right now. It’s a far cry from where he was at when he first went to Max’s in Creed. Rocky shows up to Adrian’s, and hostess Isabel, who we haven’t seen since Rocky Balboa, tells Rocky that there is some big guy there waiting for him. He said that Rocky will know who he is. He’s sitting by himself. Adonis is eating with Bianca, and a customer tells Adonis he needs to take this fight to “shut this dude up”.
Assuming he’s talking about Wheeler, Adonis thinks it’s a little early for a rematch. However, it’s not Wheeler. The customer tells the bartender to turn the TV up, prompting Adonis and Bianca to look over. At the same time, Rocky goes over to the “big guy” waiting for him. It’s Ivan Drago in the flesh. Rocky hasn’t seen him since Rocky IV. Drago notes the pictures on the wall but wonders if there are any of him. Rocky assures him there are no pictures of “that”. Getting to the point, Rocky asks him why he’s in Philly. Drago realizes that Rocky doesn’t know. Back at Max’s, Adonis and Bianca see on SportsCenter the report on Ukrainian boxer Viktor Drago officially challenging Adonis. A press conference was held that day in Philly by Buddy. They show a clip of the conference where Buddy is sitting next to Viktor and Ivan Drago. He goes on about how serious this is because they came all the way to Philadelphia. He assures the journalists that Viktor is no Wheeler and says Adonis fought Wheeler three years too late anyway, adding that it was an easy match. At Adrian’s, Drago tells Rocky that people here love Rocky. In Russia however, people didn’t want to associate with the Drago name. Everything changed that fateful night in 1985. Rocky points out how long ago this was, but it was like yesterday to Drago. Rocky questions if he came all the way here to tell him that, and Drago starts to get angry. Back at Max’s, the news anchors talk about how it’s no coincidence that Drago’s son shows up just as Apollo Creed’s son claims the belt. Another clip is shown of the press conference where Buddy says this is the fight the world wants to see and the one that Adonis should take, “… unless he’s afraid of history repeating itself”. Naturally, they cut back to SportsCenter where they remind the viewer of the exhibition match turned ugly when Ivan Drago legitimately killed Apollo Creed in their one fight from Rocky IV. They also talk about how Apollo’s trainer at the time in Rocky was heavily criticized for failing to stop the fight. Adonis is locked in on the TV watching it.
Bianca has to remind Adonis that this is all a publicity stunt and to not worry about it. However, Adonis looks back at the TV when they show how Rocky went to Russia and beat Drago in his own backyard.
Back at Adrian’s, Drago tells Rocky that he lost everything because of him, country, respect, and even his wife Ludmilla (Nielsen). Changing the subject, he tells Rocky how stray dogs in the Ukraine go for days without food. People spit on them. They have nothing. No home. The only will to survive is to fight. All his son knows is to fight and earnestly tells Rocky, “My son will break your boy”. Rocky gets up from the table to call it a day but adds that they put “strays” away around here. Drago stands too, and the tension reaches a near boiling point as Viktor enters and stands by the door. Drago ends up walking away. Before leaving, he sees a picture of Apollo and says it’s a good picture. Later that night, Adonis is hitting the heavy bag angrily, and Rocky shows up because he assumed Adonis would be there. Rocky knows it’s too early to be training for a fight, but Adonis doesn’t break eye contact with the bag while saying he needed to clear his head. Rocky gets it. It’s cheaper than a shrink. That’s for sure. Even so, he knows what’s going on and tells Adonis to not let these guys get inside. He knows how he’s feeling. Nevertheless, he reminds Adonis that what happened years ago doesn’t pertain to him. Apollo wanted that fight. It shouldn’t have happened, but it did. Rocky just wants him to let it go. Adonis calms down somewhat but asks if he’s seen Viktor fight. Rocky has seen him on TV and such and knows he’s big, but he’s raw. According to Rocky, he’s no mean machine like Adonis is. Moving on, Rocky decides to hold the bag for him to help Adonis finish the workout. At home, Adonis takes out the WBC World Heavyweight Championship and looks at the side plate pictures that include Rocky and Apollo. Following this, he rewatches footage of the Apollo/Drago fight, including the aftermath of Rocky holding Apollo in his arms after he died. By this time, Adonis can’t watch it anymore and shuts off the iPad. At Bianca’s concert, Adonis has a special seat on the upper deck. Buddy approaches, compliments Bianca’s voice, and apologizes for the theatrics that took place at the press conference. He does defend what he said though, adding that people like a good show.
Adonis tells him how this was a grimy move, but Buddy explains how it wasn’t personal. He’s not proud of what boxing has become, but that’s the game. Adonis knows he’s just trying to get paid, but Buddy acts like it isn’t. He reminds him that the “Rumble in the Jungle” didn’t manifest itself. Somebody had to will it into existence, so he’s doing the same here.
He insists he wants the same thing Adonis wants. In the history of boxing, there have been 77 heavyweight champions, but he asks Adonis how many the general public actually know. It probably hovers around 4 or 5. The belt isn’t enough. He knows you need a narrative and adds that Apollo knew that. A visibly bothered Adonis tells Buddy to quit while he’s ahead, prompting Buddy to note that he has the quality of self-preservation over Apollo. When Adonis looks at him angrily, Buddy says that this thought process he has must be Rocky whispering in his ear. He compliments Bianca’s voice one more time before leaving. Later that night, Adonis goes straight to Rocky’s house to talk, so they go on a walk. As Rocky rambles about how the city won’t fix the streetlight outside of his house, Adonis gets straight to the point and says he has to take the fight against Viktor. It’s the last thing Rocky wanted to hear right now. Rocky just wants to know why. Obviously falling into the trap they set, Adonis is pissed that these guys killed his father and they’re parading around talking shit. He can’t let it slide. He’s the champ, so he figures he doesn’t have a choice. Hearing the word “choice”, Rocky tells him that it’s the same thing Apollo said when he died in Rocky’s hands. Look what Apollo’s choice put his wife Mary Anne (Rashad) through, Adonis’s mother. Rocky pleads with him not to bring all this stuff up again, but Adonis is confused because he thought Rocky would get it. If he doesn’t take this fight, he has to live with it. Rocky counters by saying Viktor was raised in hate. He doesn’t want Adonis to do it. Adonis points out how Rocky did it, but he argues this was different. Rocky was supposed to be in that fight with Drago, not Apollo. He could’ve thrown in the towel, but he didn’t. He has to live with that. When he did get in that ring with Drago, “That guy broke things in me that ain’t never been fixed. It’s not worth it”. Still, Rocky wants to get to the heart of the issue. Why does Adonis want to fight? He knows what the Dragos are fighting for, but what about Adonis? Adonis has everything to lose, and Viktor has nothing to lose.
Rocky: “When a fighter ain’t got nothing to lose, he’s dangerous!”
Adonis: “I’m dangerous!”
Adonis stops and realizes Rocky thinks he’s going to lose. Rocky didn’t say it, but Adonis can tell. Adonis reminds Rocky that he said Viktor didn’t have enough experience and is raw, which makes him question why Rocky doesn’t think he can’t beat him. Rocky insists that’s not what he’s saying and talks about how he won’t be here forever. He wants Adonis to do some smart thinking. Adonis is offended by this and talks about how Rocky’s “smart” decisions have led him to be alone in his house, how Adonis has been the one taking care of him, and how Rocky doesn’t have anyone else. Adonis says he’s taking the fight with or without Rocky. So, Rocky tells him to do it without him. As he walks back up his porch, Adonis notes how Rocky is walking out on him and how at least he doesn’t have to worry about throwing in the towel this time. Internalizing the hurtful comment, Rocky just comments “Yeah” before going back inside. Adonis goes back home in anger and lets Bianca know Rocky isn’t training him for the fight. Bianca is shocked that he’s actually taking the fight, but Adonis ignores her and goes on about everything they have been through and how he took care of Rocky when he had cancer. Bianca thinks he may have his reasons, but Adonis doesn’t buy it. He doesn’t think he needs Rocky. Sometime after, Adonis and Bianca move to Los Angeles and buy a new house. Following this, they have dinner with Mary Anne at her house and Bianca tells her that she signed with a record label, she’s up for tours this summer, and things are looking good. Mary Anne asks how Rocky is, but Adonis just says he’s bothered by all the traveling and doesn’t divulge into details. He is about to break the news to the fight to her because he assumes she already knows, but Mary Anne takes it in a different direction. She “knows”, but what she knows is that Bianca is pregnant. This causes nervous laughter from both Adonis and Bianca because they don’t think Bianca is pregnant. Then, Bianca has second thoughts and spits out her wine. She tries a pregnancy test right after, finding out Mary Anne was right. Bianca is pregnant, and both of them are in shock. She wanted kids eventually but not this soon.
She’s not sure if they’re ready yet, prompting Adonis to say, “Let’s get ready, then”.
Later, Bianca is on the phone with her aunt telling the news to her family while Adonis is talking with Mary Anne. After Adonis and Mary Anne talk lovingly about Bianca, he finally tells her that he’s taking the fight with Drago’s son. She just says “Okay” at first, so Adonis doesn’t think it bothers her. It does, but Mary Anne reminds Adonis that he’s a grown man, so it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks. He doesn’t need her blessing. She also correctly guesses that he clearly doesn’t have Rocky’s blessing either. Adonis doesn’t think Rocky understands because it wasn’t his dad. It changed Adonis’s and Mary Anne’s lives. Adonis questions if she even misses Apollo, and Mary Anne can’t believe the audacious comment. She knows this is not about her or Apollo, reminding Adonis how he became the world champion without his father. Adonis wonders why he doesn’t feel like it, so Mary Anne says that if Apollo was here that he would say that it didn’t feel like it when he was on top either. Sadly, he’s not here. With this in mind, Mary Anne just hopes that Adonis will be there for his child. That night, Adonis and Bianca lay in bed together and playfully talk about the baby until Bianca considers the sobering thought that it might be possible the baby can’t hear, as her hearing issue could be hereditary. Adonis promises her that everything will be fine. The next day, Adonis drives over to the Delphi Boxing Academy, the “Home of Apollo Creed” and the place that wouldn’t accept him years ago due to Tony. He meets with Tony in his office over the fight. Tony isn’t sure about it because of the history, but Adonis reminds him that Tony’s dad was involved with Drago too since he was Apollo’s trainer. He admits Tony was right before about not wanting to train him because he wasn’t ready, but Tony says this is different. The unorthodox Viktor is a monster. He’s not sure if Adonis is ready for all that, but Adonis says he has to be. If Tony isn’t going to do it for him, he asks Tony to do it for his dad and Apollo. They can beat what those two couldn’t. In doing so, they can change how his dad and Apollo are remembered. This is their chance to rewrite history.
Meanwhile, Viktor is training intensely with Drago in Kyiv. At one point, Drago is driving while Viktor runs in front of him on the street. They stop, and Drago tells him to run faster when he demands it.
Back at Delphi, Tony admits Viktor’s record might be light, but he’s no undercard. He wants to make sure Adonis is with him all the way, and he assures him that he is. With this, Tony agrees to be his trainer, and the fight is official. Both Adonis and Viktor start training hard. Back in Philly, Rocky watches the HBO special interview with Adonis promoting the fight, and Max Kellerman brings up how Rocky isn’t in his corner this time around. Adonis just says that Rocky is taking family time. Even so, Tony is a good replacement, noting how Tony’s father taught Apollo everything he knows. He’s confident that Tony will have him ready for this fight. At the weigh-in, Victor and Ivan Drago stand off against Adonis and Tony on stage. Drago looks at Adonis and tells him he’s much smaller than his father. This sets off Adonis who pushes Drago, so Viktor pushes Adonis back and moves him substantially. Adonis wants to fight right there but is held back by his team. Drago just gestures Viktor to leave, so they do. On the night of the fight, Rocky is in the basement kitchen of Adrian’s kneading dough. At the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Adonis is in the locker room getting his hands wrapped. He’s noticeably anxious. Rocky goes upstairs to the main part of Adrian’s since they’re closed for the night and turns the fight on his TV to watch. Coming out to Jaden Smith’s “Icon”, Adonis makes his entrance and sets the tone. He’s focused. The two meet in the middle of the ring, and Adonis refuses to touch gloves until the ref grabs his glove and forces the action. Tony reminds Adonis that Viktor thinks he’s going to run right through him. He’s going to show Viktor how this is his house. The bell rings, and Adonis is the aggressor to start, utilizing the jab and going to the body. At home, Rocky is watching intently and shouting what he should do. Adonis gets in some more shots and Viktor takes it until throwing a hard punch. Adonis blocks it but is still moved back against the ropes because of Viktor’s power. Rocky can see it from a mile away. Viktor is baiting him. Just then, Viktor capitalizes and finishes the round strong, hitting him with some clean shots that knock Adonis silly.
At the end of the round, Tony reminds Adonis to stick to the gameplan, to stay off the line, and take his angles. Tony reminds him to block when Viktor goes for the left hook, and it just pisses off Adonis (“You think I don’t know that shit?”). Tony says if he knows it, then do it. In the other corner, Drago notes Adonis is afraid, and Viktor knows it too. Knowing this, Drago asks why Adonis is still standing. He gives Viktor his mouthpiece and tells him to “Break him”. In the second round, Viktor comes out strong. Though Adonis gets some shots in early on, Viktor takes control. After one punch that nearly takes him out of the ring, he hits Adonis hard with a body shot that drops him. Still, Adonis gets up and finishes the round with a solid hit back. At the end of the round, Tony is about to call the fight seeing the shape Adonis is in, even though Adonis insists he’s fine. Tony says he doesn’t have to prove anything and his ribs look broke. Even so, Adonis tells him he can’t, nearly getting emotional as he says it. In the other corner, Drago is adamant that Adonis is embarrassing them and it’s why everyone looks down at them. He even says it’s “why she left us”, referring to Ludmilla. Adonis demands his mouthpiece, so Tony reluctantly gives it to him. A worried Bianca watches from the crowd. Back in Philly, Rocky pleads “Don’t do it”. Tony turns to Bianca and shrugs as if to say, “What do you want me to do?”. Watching in Philly, Rocky wants the fight to be stopped. Still, the third round begins, and Viktor continues his dominance. He hits another shot to the ribs, and it takes Adonis to his knee. However, he doesn’t give Adonis time to get up. He just knocks him out right there and gets disqualified. Adonis retains the title because of this, but he’s down and out on the mat. Before knowing the results of Adonis’s condition, Rocky turns off the TV while he’s still knocked out cold. At the hospital, Adonis is still alive, but Bianca is told the results by the doctor. He’s got a cracked orbital bone, two cracked ribs, a grade-3 concussion, a ruptured kidney, and numerous contusions. They will heal with rest and time, though he will have to stay there for two days as a precaution. They are interrupted by a nurse telling Bianca she has a visitor.
It’s Rocky. He apologizes and says he should have been there while they hug. He asks if it’s cool to go see Adonis. In the hospital room, Tony gets off the phone and relays to an awake Adonis that the WBC is not going to contest the referee’s decision, so Viktor remains disqualified. So, the good news is that Adonis is still the champ. Bianca brings Rocky into the room, and him and Adonis share eye contact before Rocky tells Tony he did good. Tony sadly responds “We tried” before exiting. Rocky tells Adonis how he watched the fight back in Philly and how he showed a ton of heart. Adonis gets mad and tells him he’s not trying to hear any of that, prompting Bianca to intervene to remind him that he’s talking to his friend. Rocky understands though. Adonis persists with his aggressive responses and questions Rocky if he lost the fight before it even started. Rocky says this isn’t the case. Viktor is just big and has the reach, but Adonis is still offended and points out how Rocky is just now trying to train him and be his coach. He questions why Rock is still in the room and says he should be in Philly. Bianca knows Adonis is being overly hostile in the moment, but Rocky says it’s fine. He states a somber “I’m sorry” before heading out. Bianca goes over to caress Adonis and says Rocky loves him. Adonis changes the subject, wondering how their baby is going to look at him. Eventually, Adonis is let out of the hospital. As soon as he’s wheeled out, reporters mob him until he gets to the car. He gets home with Bianca and refuses her help getting inside. In the middle of the night, he wakes up to piss blood and has trouble opening up a pill bottle before stopping because he heard Bianca waking up in the bedroom. Privately, Bianca meets with Mary Anne and tells her that Adonis hasn’t been himself lately. She knows he’s been going through a lot and just started physical therapy, but he’s getting distant and becoming disconnected. It’s like nothing really matters to him right now including Bianca, which is new. Mary Anne advises her to care for him and love him but also to understand that Adonis is in a place only he can get himself out of.
Time moves on, and Bianca is getting more and more pregnant too. It’s also revealed that they’re having a girl.
Meanwhile, Viktor silences critics with a massive knockout win over Anthony Novak. Adonis is watching the report of it on TV, and Max Kellerman brings up his loss to Adonis in the post-match interview. However, Viktor asks rhetorically, “What loss?”. He doesn’t care about his win tonight. He just wants Adonis to fight him again. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t consider Adonis a champion. The challenge for a rematch is officially on the table, and Adonis hears it loud and clear.
My Thoughts:
Despite losing Ryan Coogler as director for the highly anticipated sequel, Creed II doesn’t miss a beat. With a screenplay co-written by Juel Taylor and Sylvester Stallone, the idea is simple. If Ivan Drago makes his long-awaited return in some fashion, the fireworks, drama, and unresolved feelings for all the principal characters will follow. With the inclusion of the head-turning Florian Munteanu as Drago’s son fueling the action as the protagonist’s newest and biggest challenger yet, the treatment practically writes itself. Nevertheless, the announcement of Drago’s return being the baseline for the sequel brought on early concerns. This decision still reeked of unoriginality. Creed beat the odds in avoiding being an unoriginal spinoff and exceeded expectations while carving its own path. However, bringing back Drago and giving him a son risks everything this movie’s predecessor overcame with its own voice and vision of the future that still managed to honor the past’s contributions without making it a glorified retread. At this point after Creed though, they should be pressing forward rather than digging up more old characters from the past to cash in on nostalgia. It just makes audiences think that they have already run out of ideas. With Creed, the ode to the past worked with Rocky himself being there because he was the star and had to be present to help new star Michael B. Jordan cross the finish line to be accepted by Rocky fans. Plus, the new mentor role Rocky was in was unique, it allowed him to face new challenges to further his character development outside of the ring, and it contributed heavily to Adonis’s journey. Be that as it may, the last thing you need when trying to build on this is continuously breaking the glass in case of emergency that is nostalgia, reaching back into the past because the creators lack creativity. An idea like this has Creed II threaten to reverse its upwards trajectory into the future when it should be moving forward into coming into its own thing. Ironically enough, it’s something Rocky himself tries to get Adonis to do throughout the events of this sequel, pleading with him to ignore the Dragos and all the negativity associated with them.
A move like this also opens the doors for future sequels to fall into this same storytelling trap. What’s next? Clubber Lang’s son comes for Adonis, and Rocky has to be reminded how Lang killed Mickey? Is every sequel going to be a retread of an old storyline? It becomes too predictable! We don’t want to doubt the screenwriters’ abilities, but we have seen this happen before with other franchise revivals. It’s risky, especially to go back this early in the Creed series for scraps because it comes off as lazy and makes audiences worried for the future of the series. Just like with Creed however, the gripping Creed II proves all the doubters wrong again and somehow makes what could have been a retread a fresh and hard-hitting sequel.
It gives Rocky something new to play off of to make sure he’s not benched in the narrative, the drama and emotional depth is heightened because of the surviving characters that saw Apollo die complicate our main character’s focus which increases the tension in each fight, Dolph Lundgren returns to one of the most iconic roles of the 1980s and does not disappoint, and the idea itself makes the sequel pivotal to the overall character arc of Adonis Creed. Despite our reservations, they convince us that this sequel going back in time with its premise was in fact necessary for Adonis to grow as a fighter and person. This was a story that had to be addressed for Adonis to move on and for either Rocky, Drago, or both to get closure, along with the Creed family as a whole and the fans watching. The reason Rocky IV was so crucial to the franchise, even with its lackluster reviews from mainstream critics, was because of how definitive it was. It changed the trajectory of every character’s lives moving forward through Rocky V, Rocky Balboa, and why Creed was developed. Even though he was an amateur at the time looking to make the switch into the professional ranks in America, the colossal power puncher that Ivan Drago was at his peak killed Apollo Creed in an exhibition match in front Apollo’s wife Mary Anne, Adrian, Duke, Paulie, and Rocky, with the latter holding the deceased Apollo in his arms in the ring with Drago looking down at the both of them. The repercussions of this moment weren’t just Rocky deciding to vacate the title, fight Drago for free in Russia, and winning to avenge Apollo and prove that his death didn’t happen for nothing. No, Apollo’s death was more than a boxing match. Since the funeral, the guilt-riddled Rocky never contacted Mary Anne. The last the two saw of each other was at the service where Rocky eulogized his friend and her husband. Still, what happened weighed on him because the media and more than likely Apollo’s family looked at the whole thing as Rocky’s fault. He should have stopped the fight.
They know it, and we know it, but Rocky never speaks out on the matter and takes full responsibility because that’s the man that he is. Rocky never lets Apollo look bad to the media or his family, but he knows the truth and knew Apollo better than anyone. He knows Apollo refused to end that fight.
Rocky wanted to stop the fight and had every intention of doing so, but Apollo demanded it continue, no matter what. It was a private conversation between the two, and Rocky went with it because it’s what Apollo wanted. Adonis did the same thing in Creed, and he does it again in Creed II when Tony wants to call the match after Viktor is beating Adonis’s ass. This is the doubled edged sword that no one acknowledges that is unfair to Rocky. The decision to let Adonis go out like a warrior after he refuses to quit is applauded because he goes the distance with Ricky Conlan and he technically retains his title after Viktor gets himself disqualified. If he didn’t refuse these calls by his trainers, his legacy would either be tarnished or look a hell of a lot different by the time this sequel comes around. Even though he was still considered one of the best to ever do it and was already retired for many years, Apollo had the same mentality because he’s a fighter at heart and refused to accept failure in such an embarrassing manner. It’s just looked at like the wrong decision because he lost in such a catastrophic way. That’s not fair to Rocky, but everyone talks about it in hindsight like they could tell the headstrong Apollo otherwise. In reality, there was no getting through to him. He didn’t even need to come out of retirement in the first place, but Apollo forced the action. Rocky can blame himself for not stopping the fight, but the fight shouldn’t have happened in the first place. It was all Apollo, but who is going to tell him “No”? Just like Adonis, you can’t get through to these personality types. They may acknowledge someone may have been right after the fact, but they are the type that have to fail first before they will accept advice or consultation of any kind. If they have their mind set on something but receive any kind of pushback, they lash out. This was the entire first act of Rocky IV with Apollo, and pretty much every argument Adonis finds himself in between these two movies.
It’s just how guys like Adonis and Apollo are, and it’s only further evidenced by how Adonis refuses Rocky’s advice of not taking the fight, Viktor knocking Adonis into the hospital, and Adonis still seeing Rocky as someone who turned his back on him when Rocky was just trying to help because he cares for him. The arrogance of Adonis in the first half of Creed II is astounding, as he simply can’t comprehend how Drago forcing himself into the Rocky timeline and consciousness by killing Apollo in the ring and feeling no remorse about it is what changed Rocky’s character arc forever. It changed him as a man. Rocky can’t articulate it to Adonis, but there is a reason that he’s trying so hard to convince Adonis to ignore the Dragos and not dig up all these terrible feelings. Even though Rocky beat Drago in the ring all those years ago, that was the least of it. As seen in Rocky V, the immediate effects of Drago that Rocky felt following the fight changed his life. Drago may have lost the battle, but he won the war, giving Rocky brain damage that caused his retirement just after Rocky won what he considered to be the best fight of his life. Throughout the fifth movie, he still has visions and migraines of Drago’s hits, and he holds his head because of the flashes of pain. Even if the brain damage wasn’t as severe as initially thought because he did return to the ring in Rocky Balboa, it was bad enough at the time that the doctors were firm in their misdiagnosis that Rocky’s career was over. The shower scene opening in Rocky V told it all, as Adrian held Rocky’s shaking hands while he recalled Mickey telling him how he’d fight so hard sometimes that he thought he broke something inside, how he thought he was going to die, and how the angels were pulling on him. After scarily mentioning how he can’t stop his hands from shaking and how he’s never felt this before, he told Adrian, “I just wanna go home, Mick”. This is what Drago did to him, and Rocky telling Adonis in Creed II “That guy broke things in me that ain’t never been fixed” is a reference to him thinking that he “broke something inside” because of how hard he fought Drago.
Even if he was doing it for Apollo, it was a life-changing experience that wasn’t worth it according to Rocky himself.
Even if Viktor is 50% of what Ivan was, he’s dangerous. Rocky knows Viktor was raised in hate due to being trained by the terror that Drago was, and he doesn’t want Adonis to have to go through the trauma he went through that ended his career, especially if he doesn’t have to. It may have felt like a win for America after that bell in Rocky IV, but the reality of it all behind closed doors was much different. Seeing Drago kill Apollo led Rocky to live the rest of his life with the guilt of his best friend dying when he should have been in that ring instead of Apollo, but fighting Drago nearly destroyed Rocky’s mind, body, and soul. That is what Rocky is living with by the time Creed comes around, though Adonis’s heart, internal strength, focus, and motivation leads Rocky to push this aside in favor of finding a reason to overcome adversity and learning to fight again when he was at his lowest and willing to accept death. It creates this bond and love between them, with Rocky seeing Adonis as a nephew or even another son, allowing him to hopefully make up for what happened to Apollo by guiding Adonis. However, Drago reappearing brings up all these feelings that he intended on burying and leaving in the past for good. The lifetime of guilt that Rocky was this close to getting rid of has climbed out of the dirt to face him and take away the future of someone near and dear to his heart. Rocky can’t articulate it to Adonis, but it’s the reality of the situation. It’s thirty years of backstory and trauma that Adonis just ignores because the Dragos were talking shit. Again, it comes back to Adonis’s flaw of internalizing his true feelings and lashing out when someone throws out certain trigger words that are guaranteed to get a rise out of him. It’s an ego thing, or better yet, a pride thing. He sees this as his duty to defend his family name, not seeing that they know the emotional Adonis is just playing into their hands to get something they haven’t truly earned. The Dragos know it will get under his skin, promoter Buddy Marcelle knows it will work and doubles down on the tactics to Adonis’s face by causing a rift between Adonis and Rocky, and Rocky and Mary Anne know what the villains are trying to do, which is why they want to steer Adonis away from it.
Still, the only way Adonis can learn his lesson is he faces it head-on. He thinks it’s just another boxer that he has to go through to feel like the champion, but he doesn’t comprehend how different of a fighter Viktor is. It’s not just his immense size, the outrageous strength and power he has in each punch, and the reach he has on Adonis that makes this a bad matchup. Viktor has nothing to lose. When a fighter has this mentality of fighting for scraps like Viktor was in Ukraine while sleeping on his father’s couch, working a labor job in the day, and fighting at night, he’s dangerous because he has a different switch in his brain. Suffering, pain, and punishment mean nothing. He will kill to survive because survival is all he has. That’s how his father raised and trained him, with a chip on his shoulder because of life turning its back on Drago and Viktor seeing it in his dad’s face and in his heart every day of his youth. That’s the danger Rocky is talking about, but Adonis, who can’t take any conflicting thoughts without being offended, yells back at Rocky “I’m dangerous!”. He is indeed his dad’s son, as Duke told Apollo in the middle of “SuperFight II” in Rocky II that Rocky was dangerous, prompting Apollo to be offended enough to give him the same response Adonis does here. It’s a great foreshadowing of what’s to come.
Seeing Brigitte Nielsen getting the call to return in a major Hollywood production in 2018 was not something I was expecting, but I applaud the decision. Though it must have been awkward as hell for ex-husband Sylvester Stallone to see her knowing that she spurned him and the character of Ivan Drago to fuck Flavor Flav, her small return as Ludmilla Drago added to the gravitas of what Viktor is trying to accomplish, how he sees his father, and how important this match with Adonis is for the Drago name. In that scene at Adrian’s and the first fight with Adonis, we get little inklings of what happened post-Rocky IV for Ivan Drago, a mysterious bad guy that we never really got to know and always wondered about ever since the events of that movie. Considering how dominant he was in the two fights we saw him in, how could this man not go on to become a Hall of Fame boxer, especially after Rocky’s retirement following their match? In just two fights, Drago killed one of the greatest ever and took the other man in that conversation to the final round and nearly won. This is rather early in his career and should have been a positive if you think about it, but the fact that he didn’t win against Rocky was enough for it all to come apart. At Adrian’s, he attributes his loss to Rocky all those years ago and his failure to meet the impossibly high standard of excellence Russia had for him as to why his wife Ludmilla and the entire country turned their backs on him. First of all, it kind of makes Rocky fans smile because the fallout Drago dealt with for losing kind of makes up for the early retirement that he put Rocky in. What can I say? I’m vindictive. Second of all, it makes Drago more compelling than ever before, as there is serious care given to his character development this time around, which had to happen if they were going to make Drago’s return worth it. It turned what was a highly entertaining albeit one-dimensional comic book villain of sorts into a man who has faced a lifetime of tragedy and heartbreak due to his failures and has used it to fuel his comeback to get what he thinks is rightfully his.
They really gave Dolph Lundgren some great stuff to work with to make him this hardened, envious, hate-fueled antagonist after all these years who still can’t stand the sight of Rocky because of what happened. In doing so, Lundgren churns out his best performance to date. The seething hatred he possesses in just his death stare is the stuff of legends, solidifying Ivan Drago’s status as one of the greatest cinematic villains of all time in case anyone thought otherwise. Just like how we see a friend from high school as an adult, and all the memories come flooding back as soon we see them, the unspoken tension between Rocky and Drago as they look at each other speaks volumes. We don’t realize it’s everything we wanted out of this sequel until it happens. When it does, it takes Creed II to an entirely different level. The intensity of this scene alone, and Drago having the balls to sit alone in Rocky’s restaurant in Philadelphia to wait for Rocky to show up, was fantastically done. You can just feel the mood change and the feelings of what happened thirty years ago reenter both of their brains as they make eye contact for the first time since the 1980s. Lundgren’s conviction as Drago while he fights outright yelling as he details what happened to him over the years is incredibly well done. Who would have thought all those direct-to-video action movies would have led Lundgren to pull off this good of a performance? To further the Rocky lore, Drago draws us in as to why he has made it all the way to Philadelphia to have his son call out Adonis. Revealing how he was shamed for a lifetime and was forced to leave the Soviet Union because of his loss to Rocky is insane, especially because he put his career to the side just when it was really about to take off. You’re telling me he wouldn’t have mopped the floor with guys like Tommy Gunn and Union Cane? Had he just fled to America, he would have taken over the heavyweight division in no time! Nevertheless, you have to see it from Drago’s dark perspective. Imagine a superpower like Russia collectively shaming you and being disgusted with your public failure. Remember, Mikhail Gorbachev was even at that fight Drago had with Rocky, so everything really was on the line.
They were ALL betting on Drago to overcome the American. The fact that he lost his own people during the fight because of the courage Rocky showed makes the fallout Drago speaks of not too hard to believe. The fact that his wife left, and he became this no-nonsense single father and trainer to his son makes a lot of sense. Even if he did fail, he would dedicate his life into training his son to make up for it. Just as Rocky has dealt with guilt and the loss of so many in his life while trying to get past what happened previously, Drago is on the other side of the fence, dedicating the entire second half of his life to getting this opportunity again by living vicariously through his son’s success, achieving revenge in some fashion on Rocky, and winning back everything he lost including his wife and country. What’s cool is that Viktor is still not lost in the shuffle when he very easily could have. Along with the intimidating presence of Florian Munteanu, who lives up to the Drago name by being a specimen with physical gifts that will surely give him a career in direct-to-video action movies if he wants it, they give us quite a bit of insight on the brute. Despite how tough Drago is on him, he loves his father and wants to do this partly for him. He holds this bitter resentment to all the dignitaries that Drago is trying to suck up to because he knows they turned their back on his dad when he needed them most. Why are they jumping on the bandwagon now? He refuses to associate with these people, including his own mother. Just Ludmilla’s appearance at the dinner, which is being thrown in Viktor’s honor because they see him as bringing glory back to Russian boxing, is enough for Viktor to excuse himself from the table. Viktor knows his mother is only there because of status and Viktor’s progress. It’s not out of love, and the same could be said for everyone at that table. In private, Drago tries to get Viktor to appreciate the moment, but Viktor angrily points out how they all ran Drago out and how Ludmilla might as well be a stranger to him because he knows her that little.
Instead of taking the Rocky III and IV approach that makes the domineering opponents Rocky faced as these pure villains who just want to fuck the hero up, Creed II refuses to fall into this trap.
Instead, we find ourselves empathizing with the Dragos for the first time ever after seeing what they are going through, and it’s happening at the same time the hero in Adonis is recovering physically and emotionally from the beating Viktor gave him. It’s a testament to how well this screenplay is written, as there is a serious amount of care in showing how the events of years prior have deeply affected all parties involved. It cuts deep seeing Viktor being incensed at these people, reminding his father how they all abandoned him including Ludmilla. Viktor thinks they should refuse their handouts because these people don’t deserve their attention now that they are on the rise. Sadly, the now world-weary Drago admits the reality of his failures and emotionally retorts that he lost, which in his old school mindset and all of their peers’ eyes, is a good enough reason to do what they did. It’s crazy, but it’s a way of trying to let the audience in on how a different country, culture, and tough family may respond to such things, and it adds a lot of intensity to the action to prepare us for the inevitable rematch between Viktor and Adonis. It means that much more after the viewer is let in on everything going on in their lives and why this win is so important to both fighters’ lives. It’s also why the closure of the Dragos’ character arcs and the growth they experience as father and son are just as moving, especially because of how unexpected it is. With Adonis, this rematch is a turning point and has to happen no matter what now, even if the first match’s outcome wasn’t what he wanted. In the fallout, not only is his confidence shot because everyone doubted him going into the first fight, and they were right because he only retained his title due to a technicality, but he has to deal with fatherhood for the first time after an unplanned pregnancy with Bianca. For anyone become a father for the first time, the stress is already at an all-time high, but this is just the tip of the iceberg for Adonis. He’s a world champion boxer and a threat that just put him in the hospital wants a rematch. Unfortunately, Adonis’s own pride won’t let him duck Viktor, so he’s stuck with two of the biggest challenges of his life simultaneously. On top of that, his support system is the lowest it’s ever been because Tony is useless, he pissed off Mary Anne, and he flipped out on Rocky.
The world is crashing down on Adonis, and he goes through this period of physical therapy where he’s just lost. The visual of Adonis working out underwater and then screaming to himself tells us all we need to know.
Bianca notices it because he’s never acted like this before. He shuts off from the world and doesn’t know what to do next. One day, he thinks he’s ready and heads to the gym to talk to Tony, but he ends up going right back in the car and leaving. Mary Anne gets worried enough to reach out to Rocky, who takes a 3-day train to visit Adonis. Upon seeing Rocky, he’s still unreasonably angry at him and tells him he didn’t have to come all the way to Los Angeles. Ever the caring soul, Rocky still breaks Adonis down piece by piece with his simple, yet eloquent perspective on life. Through Stallone’s wonderfully heartfelt delivery, he can make something out of nothing as Rocky, commenting how he didn’t mind the train ride because it gives him time to think and he sees these places whipping by the windows like postcards. After talking about how Adonis can be a better man, Rocky goes on to admit that he couldn’t think of many smart decisions he’s made lately, referencing the hurtful words Adonis said to him. Internalizing it, Rocky speaks on how he wasn’t there for his grandson being born and how it’s pathetic that he doesn’t even know him. Naturally, Adonis asks why he doesn’t just call him, but it’s true when Rocky replies that it’s not that easy. It’s easy for an outsider to come up with a simple solution, but they don’t know the nuance to it all and what led Rocky to this point in his life. When you miss out on so much, it’s hard to make up for that lost time. Because of this, Rocky boils it down to not wanting Adonis to make the same mistakes he’s made in his life. With this, he asks again what Adonis was really fighting for. Adonis admits he was afraid of the expectations of being the champ and not being able to do what Apollo couldn’t. Before, he felt like Apollo was a part of him and would help with his instincts in the ring. Now, he can’t hear Apollo anymore and doesn’t even know how he lost. Even after they buddy up again after Rocky explains how his style won’t work with a guy that big and Adonis questions if Rocky’s was better to which he jokingly replies, “I won, didn’t I?”, this isn’t the end of Adonis’s challenges. His daughter Amara is born, and it’s a moment of jubilation for the family and Rocky.
Nevertheless, Adonis and Bianca face a challenge that scares all parents. What if their daughter isn’t healthy? They teased it earlier in the movie with Bianca suggesting her hearing problem could be hereditary, but Adonis dispels this like any father and husband would. Everything is going to be okay, right? You have to stay positive, but how are you going to react when things don’t turn out okay? This is the question Rocky poses to the emotional Adonis but for good reason. It’s not Rocky being negative but rather him trying to ground Adonis and understand the reality of what’s happening and why he needs to be ready for anything, a life lesson for inside and outside the ring. Adonis tries to argue that he can’t think like that, but Rocky challenges him, “You gotta. I mean, how you gonna handle it?”. He gives him the basic question of will he love her. Adonis can’t believe what he’s saying. Of course, he will love his daughter, but that’s the point Rocky was trying to make (“Good, ’cause she ain’t feeling sorry for herself, and you shouldn’t either”). It’s one of those great exchanges where you walk away learning something just as the protagonist does. Still, it doesn’t stop Adonis from getting that feeling we all have at some point in our lives of “Why me?”, as evidenced by his watching of baby Amara and hitting the heavy bag and getting emotional because he doesn’t know what to do. It’s a powerful scene that encapsulates how excruciatingly difficult life can be (“Daddy’s being a bitch, I know”). All of it leads to much needed growth for Adonis. In Creed, he would have flipped out as soon as Bianca brought up her concerns for him wanting to fight Viktor again, but he’s different now. He’s a husband and a father. A lot of people are depending on him. He’s still Adonis, but he’s taking other people into account in his discussions now, which does mean growth. This doesn’t happen without Rocky, and it definitely doesn’t happen without Viktor nearly killing him. He acknowledges Bianca not wanting to end up like Mary Anne without her husband, but he combats this with that fire and belief he has in himself and their relationship.
They’re a team. It can’t go down like that again. He won’t let it happen. He has too many people that need him now and “That’s exactly why I can’t lose”.
Adonis apologizes because Bianca was right that he forgot about his family when he took the fight in the first place, but he knows he won’t be any good to anyone if he doesn’t settle this. Appealing to her thought process, Adonis knows she wouldn’t be any good to anyone if she didn’t do what she loved. The same thing applies here. He has to handle it his way, respectfully. It’s the only way he can move forward, “… but I need you. Both of you. I’ll beat him”. Bianca responding with “You better” is her giving Adonis the greenlight. She doesn’t like it, but after hearing him out, she does understand where he’s coming from. He’s right. If he didn’t handle this, he would not be any good to anyone. We know him too well at this point in the series to think otherwise. He has to beat Viktor, but Rocky is right. His style won’t work against someone that big. He needs to adjust. It’s just like Rocky had to learn from Apollo and change his style to beat Clubber Lang in Rocky III and why Rocky changed his workouts in Rocky IV to build up his body for the punishment Drago was capable of handing out. The same idea is applied in Creed II, with Adonis going through a ferocious training montage that is the best of the three Creed movies, training in a desert location to build Adonis’s mental and physical toughness in preparation for Viktor (“Since you’re going back to hell, you might as well get used to it”), and seeing Michael B. Jordan go through it like he’s preparing for war emulates the intensity Stallone had all those years back heading into the war that was Drago. When we hear “Take it to the body! Fight the pain” as Adonis struggles and falls on his face, but the eye of the tiger coming out and Adonis picking himself back up again (“Come on, get up kid. Get up”), will have you shadow boxing just watching it. It’s a great way to accomplish the same goals Rocky had in Rocky IV while differentiating this sequel with its complete reversal of climates. It was yet another genius decision, as was using Bianca’s abilities as a singer to lead Adonis to the ring for his entrance in Moscow. That’s a power couple right there.
Even though this walkout for the rematch was great, let it be known the best walkout entrance of any Rocky or Creed movie was the one for the first fight with Victor, with Adonis coming out to Jaden Smith’s “Icon”. It was unbelievably chilling. At the same time, Adonis wearing the black trunks to show the killer mindset he’s in going into the rematch was an awesome move. It’s one of my favorite costumes of the series, right up there with Rocky wearing Apollo’s trunks.
I also like how they turn the “I’m dangerous” line into Adonis’s calling card by the end to empower him.
Rocky: “Now he’s gonna come and try to break on that rib some more but that’s ok. You like the pain and you can take it. You know why? Because you’re dangerous.”
Adonis: “I’m dangerous!”
Rocky: “That’s right.”
For the record, there’s a lot of great Rocky humor too. His suggestion of naming Amara something simpler like Cate or Becky to which Adonis jokingly reminds him “You do know she’s gonna be black right?” was gold, as was the recurring gag of the streetlight being dead and Rocky calling the city asking seriously, “I mean how many guys does it take to screw in a lightbulb?” was hilarious. Pretty much all of the conversations with Rocky and Adonis are gems, and I just love how Rocky becomes his life coach for all the big moments in his life like his proposal in the first act or when Amara is born (“I’m having a baby Rocky” – “I feel like I’m having a baby”). I didn’t want it to end, which begs the question if this is Rocky’s swan song. We surely hope not, but the way they frame this fight, Rocky playing the role of life coach outside the ring and the trainer that Adonis needed in the ring, for a fight against an opponent only Rocky knows how to fight, made it seem like Rocky has done his part in Adonis’s life in setting him on the right path. That final conversation between the two could bring a tear to your eye, as Rocky sits on a chair at ringside with his back to the camera, as he looks satisfied with where Adonis is headed (“It’s your time”). He helped build him into a world champion boxer, a loving and caring husband and father, and how to take on adversity in and outside of fighting. It’s here that Rocky knows Adonis has to live his own life now. Thankfully, he’s ready. He’s got the heart. Even in the poster, Rocky is in the background looking at Adonis with concern because that was his role in Creed II. He didn’t want Adonis to make the same mistakes he did and saw that he was getting close to doing so. Now that Adonis has learned and experienced as much as he has in Creed II, Rocky can comfortably let go. It’s the parting of ways we’re not sure we can accept yet. Nevertheless, if this is Rocky’s last appearance in the franchise, this was a beautiful way to pass the torch, and that’s coming from the biggest Rocky fan you know. Rocky going to see Robert and his grandson juxtaposed with Adonis getting his closure with Apollo speaking to his tombstone was a heartwarming epilogue on all accounts.
Maybe this is the end, but what a ride it’s been.
Just like how Rocky II was somehow able to carry the momentum of the iconic first film, Creed II manages to pull off the same impossible feat by giving fans a tremendous second chapter in the story of Adonis Creed. With Sylvester Stallone’s heart illuminating the background and franchise star Michael B. Jordan shining his brightest holding the Rocky torch with a firm grasp, Creed II seamlessly preserves the boxing saga’s reign as one of the greatest franchises there is and maintains its high-energy, compelling character development through new and unique challenges, awesome action, and its authentic modern spin on the sports drama to continue its evolution as a franchise, while remaining true to fans of the original Rocky films.
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