InCinemas SG

Opening Date

29 Nov 2018

Rating

PG13 Some Violence & Coarse Language

Runtime

130 mins

Language

English with Chinese subtitles

Genre

Action, Sports

Director

Steven Caple Jr.

Cast

Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Dolph Lundgren

Synopsis

Life has become a balancing act for Adonis Creed. Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight, he is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family’s past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring. Rocky Balboa is there by his side through it all and, together, Rocky and Adonis will confront their shared legacy, question what’s worth fighting for, and discover that nothing’s more important than family. Creed II is about going back to basics to rediscover what made you a champion in the first place, and remembering that, no matter where you go, you can’t escape your history.

Reviews

By Jason Lin 29 Nov 2018

Creed II is an exemplary sport drama that inspires and engages the audience on multiple levels to prove itself to be one of the good reasons why people go to cinemas.

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Three years ago, Ryan Coogler went beyond the genre expectation of the rise of an underdog in Creed. He studied the protagonist’s perspective of proving himself without the need to walk in the shadows of his late father’s glory – Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) was the son of the late boxing legend Apollo Creed.

The first film’s formula of combining character study, emotions and scenes of technical boxing enabled it to become a success – one step, one punch, one round at a time.

The sequel Creed II helmed by Steven Caple Jr. brings Adonis Creed back to the silver screen at a new phase of his boxing career as he claims the title of light heavyweight world champion. Creed is no longer an underdog by default until someone with dark ties to his past comes along and disrupt his successful career.

The screenplay that is co-scripted by Sylvester Stallone (who also reprises his role as Rocky Balboa – Creed’s close family friend and trainer) might be perceived by some as dated, but the traditional formula of having someone face his own past never cease to move and inspire when in the right hands.

Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), the son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) – the boxer who ended Apollo Creed’s career and life, is now the underdog desperate to claim his rise. Drago is big and strong and has nothing to lose after undergoing a life of severe adversity and unorthodox training.

Creed on the other hand has everything to lose. Besides his newly-attained world champion title, Creed is in a new phase of his personal life where he is starting a family of his own. The complexity observed through the inner struggle taking place within Creed, which seeks to manage pride, ambition, family and living up to expectations, adds layers of merits to the film.

In the first film, Creed finds strength in Balboa. While he does the same in the sequel, what further empowers Creed is his newly found strength from his spouse and child. It was a nice moment when Bianca (Tessa Thompson) sang the entrance theme when Creed entered the boxing arena for the final showdown.

Genre-satisfying scenes of Creed undergoing grueling training and close quarter fight scenes in the boxing ring (photographed by Kramer Morgenthau) are still present to heighten viewers’ senses. At the end of the 130 minutes, Creed attempts to find the true reason behind why he is fighting Drago. Is he doing it to prove his worth to others or is he doing it to avenge his late father?

Creed II is an exemplary sport drama that inspires and engages the audience on multiple levels to prove itself to be one of the good reasons why people go to cinemas.

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Creed II