Creed II (2018)

I'm not going to lie, the only reason I was excited about Creed II was the perspective of seeing Michael B. Jordan and his muscles on the big screen. Thankfully, that was not the only good thing about the movie. 

Much like its predecessor, Creed II follows both the personal and professional life of Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan). Adonis has just become the Heavyweight Champion of the World and proposed to Bianca (Tessa Thompson) when Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), Ivan Drago's (Dolph Lundgren) son, arrives in Philadelphia and challenges Adonis. Against Rocky's (Sylvester Stallone) advice, Adonis accepts the challenge while trying to keep afloat his relationship as well as a new paternity. 

The film follows the same formula of the other Rocky movies and therefore the plot is predictable —the trailers completely gave it away anyways— and doesn't have anything new to offer —not to mention the several subplots that barely go somewhere. Despite this, the story is quite engaging and enjoyable. 

The characters too are better than expected. What I mean is that they shouldn't work and yet they do. They don't have much development and Adonis doesn't have any depth whatsoever —while he really grows as a person in Creed, he stays pretty much the same in here. Maybe he even takes a step back as he's the hothead he used to be—, but I still cared about them, even about Viktor Drago as him and his father have more development than Creed and Rocky put together. 

Michael B. Jordan gives another charismatic and energetic performance as Adonis Creed and truly carries the film on his (broad) shoulders. He is a bit overacting when it comes to the drama but, overall, he is believable. It also helps that his chemistry with Tessa Thompson is wonderful. As for the supporting cast, Russell Hornsby steals his scenes in the role of a boxing promoter and Phylicia Rashad gives another striking performance as Adonis' mother. 

Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer, Warner Bros. Pictures

At last but not least the fighting. These scenes are amazing as they look intense and realistic, and the final fight between Adonis and Viktor, although you already know how it will end, will keep you on the edge of your seat. It was also kind of emotional, just like when the Rocky theme came on.