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There are jabs, hooks and haymakers aplenty, but the Shakespearean drama outside the boxing ring packs the most punch in “Creed II,” a sequel to Ryan Coogler’s surprise 2015 hit and also 1985’s “Rocky IV.”
Cold War-era bad feelings still stew amid a modern-day narrative in the new film (★★★ out of four; rated PG-13; in theaters nationwide Wednesday), the eighth in the “Rocky” cinematic universe. Coogler has handed the keys to the franchise to director Steven Caple Jr., and although “Creed 2” doesn’t have the same rousing magic as the last chapter, it offers intriguing parallel plots of fathers and sons trying to find redemption after loss.
But first, a history lesson for those too young to remember James Brown strutting to 'Living in America': In “Rocky IV,” Soviet super-boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) tragically killed former champ Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) in the ring, leading to an epic bout in Mother Russia where Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) toppled the much-bigger Drago.
Decades later, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) spent the first “Creed” movie finding his own legacy under Rocky’s tutelage, though his father Apollo’s shadow still looms large in his life in the follow-up. But the movie doesn’t come flying out of the corner: It’s a slow burn at the beginning as Adonis is on a winning streak, taking the heavyweight championship and getting engaged to his beloved Bianca (Tessa Thompson).
It’s when Adonis is bombarded with obstacles that “Creed II” really picks up. Ivan’s intimidating son Viktor Drago (real-life pugilist Florian “Big Nasty” Munteanu) publicly challenges Adonis for his title, a matchup that drives a wedge between Adonis and Rocky, who remembers all too well what happened the last time a Creed faced a Drago. And having a baby daughter on the way is another stunning blow to Adonis’ existential crisis: In the first film, he became a fighter, but in this one, he must become a man.
Short of a rockin’ Survivor tune, “Creed II” checks all the “Rocky” boxes: More than one big match, multiple variations on Ivan Drago's signature 'I must break you,' underdog chutzpah, predictable plot threads and, most importantly, the orchestral training montage.
In terms of stand-up-on-your-feet, in-ring action, the new film falls short of Coogler’s “Creed” work – and that memorable “Rocky IV” main event – but Caple has a knack for showcasing the dichotomy of Adonis’ skilled technique vs. Viktor’s bruising power, where every one of young Drago’s strikes feels like a cannon shot. And the director makes sure the audience feels the specter of Apollo, too, as Adonis is put through the physical wringer in brutal fashion.
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Stallone is his always-dependable self as the iconic Balboa, and while he gets a heartfelt arc, Rocky takes more of a backseat here to let Adonis shine. Jordan seemingly gets better – and more muscular – in every movie, and the “Black Panther” star unleashes the character’s conflicted soul in important ways.
Adonis’ name is in the title but, as pointed out in the film by sly boxing promoter Buddy Marcelle (Russell Hornsby), the audience wants “a narrative, something that’ll stick to the ribs,” and that comes in the form of the Dragos.
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They’re the antagonists, sure, yet their story is arguably the most engrossing. Lundgren’s Ivan, a machine-like powerhouse 30-plus years ago, is a broken, desperate man needing a win, and Munteanu’s Viktor, a massive dude who towers over archrival Adonis, has internalized his father’s hate that’s been fueled by loved ones and his nation turning on him so long ago.
If the original “Creed” was a straight-up knockout from bell to bell, the sequel takes its time with body blows – from all directions – to ultimately get you right in the feels.
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Many of the stories in The Undiscovered Chekhov reveal Chekhov as a keen modernist. Emphasizing impressions and the juxtaposition of incongruent elements, instead of the straight narrative his readers were used to, these stories upturned many of the assumptions of storytelling of the period.
Here is 'Sarah Bernhardt Comes to Town,' written as a series of telegrams, beginning with 'Have been drinking to Sarah's health all week! Enchanting! She actually dies standing up!...' In 'Confession...,' a thirty-nine year old bachelor recounts some of the fifteen times chance foiled his marriage plans. In 'How I Came to be Lawfully Wed,' a couple reminisces about the day they vowed to resist their parents' plans that they should marry. And in the more familiarly Chekhovian 'Autumn,' an alcoholic landowner fallen low and a peasant from his village meet far from home in a sad and haunting reunion in which the action of the story is far less important than the powerful impression it leaves with the reader that each man must live his life and has his reasons.