Sports drama in which a heavyweight boxer seeks to avenge his father's death.
Given the never-ending production line of lazy inferior sequels, it’s such a joy to encounter one that feels necessary. Elevated by a central trio of winning performances and a director who provides equal weight to drama in and out of the ring, Creed II deserves to be cheered.
Creed II is to Creed what the Rocky sequels are to the original: a more generic, less textured take on familiar boxing movie tropes. The difference, it seems, is Coogler.
Blow for blow Creed 2 is a closer match for its heavyweight predecessors than anyone dared hope. Transparently formulaic at times – but boy will it get your blood pumping.
Creed's interactions with Rocky and Bianca remain charming, but the film doesn't quite have the heart of Coogler's original instalment.
Good fun, but frequently misses decisive blows.
Even when the plotting is at its most clunky, the film never loses its raw emotional power.
Creed II is a winner, but it can't match the succession of devastating blows delivered by Ryan Coogler’s original film.
While it all fits together neatly enough, there’s something a little schematic about it too, and as the plot turns soapy the film doesn’t land its emotional punches as well as it did first time round.
General release. Check local listings for show times.