Creed 2 is emotional, hits every beat and tugs at every string
The eighth instalment of the Rocky Saga once again shows off the underrated acting of Sylvester Stallone in his finest role

The eighth instalment of the Rocky Saga once again shows off the underrated acting of Sylvester Stallone in his finest role
THIS, the EIGHTH(!) instalment of the Rocky saga shows once more the brevity and often under-appreciated talents of Sylvester Stallone, in his finest role.
His simple, heartfelt approach to Balboa is impossible to criticise.
He’s honest, troubled, schmaltzy and here, mourning not only his wife and friend, but his estranged relationship with his son.
On the other side of the world a similar thing is occurring with his greatest adversary. Ivan Drago (Dolph Lungdren), disgraced and shunned by the Soviet Union and his wife after his defeat in 1985, he has now pinned all his hopes and dreams of redemption on his son, Viktor (the absolute UNIT Florian Munteanu) and have their sights set on the belt held by the son of the man he killed in the ring... Adonis Creed (Michael B Jordan).
Creed is the champion, but critics are teasing him for fluking it - for getting an easy ride. His journey is about not just being a champ, but feeling it. His relationship with girlfriend Bianca (the eternally cool Tessa Thompson) takes an unexpected turn, meaning that any future plans now have extra weight attached.
Rocky IV was a life-changing event for me. Ivan Drago was GOD at Woodlands School in Derby, The queue of 12 year old boys at Kieran Mullen’s barbers, all getting a completely unsanctioned flat top haircut went on as far as the eye could see. So, sitting down for the rematch between Rocky and Drago and hearing the familiar rousing fanfare kick in was one hell of an emotional experience for me.
Look, I won’t waffle on, but I bloody LOVED it. It hit every beat, tugged every string and left me feeling 12 again.
“Yo Adrian, He did it. Again.”