Creed II (2018)

Director: Steven Caple Jr.
Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson
Runtime: 130 minutes

Synopsis: Adonis Creed returns to the ring to face Viktor Drago around 30 years after their fathers' famous fight. 

• Performances: 8/10

Why? No real complaints here. Stallone proved that his excellent take on the most famous boxer in cinema history - which earned him an Oscar nomination 2 years ago - was not a fluke as he once again delivered an emotional, down to earth performance that served as a beautiful send off for the character (he announced yesterday on Instagram that he was retiring from the role). Thompson was great as usual and the return of Dolph Lundgren as Ivan Drago, who in my opinion is the greatest opponent Rocky ever faced, gave me chills. Florian Munteanu, who played his son and main antagonist Viktor, was also phenomenal in the role, capturing the coldness and determination his father showed before him. Finally, Michael B. Jordan did not disappoint in the title role, despite some questionable line deliveries that had more to do with the dialogue he was fed than his actual performance. 

• Screenplay: 6/10

Why? My main issue with the first "Creed" was the fact that it cruelly lacked originality. Its sequel unfortunately suffers from the same problem. The plot is almost an exact replica of the one used in "Rocky IV", and I felt at times that Stallone, who wrote both screenplays, just took the one he developed in 1985 and made a few adjustments to it to better fit Adonis' narrative, which were all thrown in the film's slow and quite frankly weak second act. Apart from that, the film also had entertaining fights, awesome training montages, lots of inspirational speeches (some cheesy, some not) as well as a very well executed coach-fighter relationship in both corners, and, at the end of the day, that is all that matters to fans of the franchise.  

• Costumes/Makeup: 7/10

Why? Not a lot to say here. The boxing outfits of both competitors were great, and the makeup used to replicate injuries was convincing.

• Editing: 6/10

Why? The training montages may not have been as well made as the ones featured in Rocky IV, but they were still pretty solid and did get me pumped. The fights were also very well edited and never seemed to drag. However, the second act could've and should've been a lot shorter in my opinion, as it resulted in issues that seriously hurt the film's pacing.

• Cinematography: 5/10

Why? Much like the script, no risks were taken in that department. It also had some lighting problems as some scenes looked a bit too dark, and a lot of shaky cam shots I didn't particularly find pleasing to look at. I did, however, enjoy the perspective shots used in one of the fights as it made us look at it from Adonis' point of view. 

• Score/Soundtrack: 7/10

Why? The score wasn't as motivating and inspirational as the ones used in other sports films, but it was still used in and effective way. The soundtrack, on the other hand, was phenomenal and synced well with some training and fight scenes, which I have to admit, was pretty awesome.

FINAL GRADE: 7/10

Note: The final grade is definitely not a 5, and definitely not an 8. I still can't decide if it's a 6 or a 7, but for now, I'm opting for the higher grade simply because I do believe that it'll entertain fans of the franchise.