Creed II - aka - Rocky IV part II

Any fans of the Rocky series? It's been going on for 42 years now, and these movies still suck me in.

Michael B. Jordan has been doing a great job as Rocky's protege, and even though these movies don't have everything a Rocky movie had, like Paulie or Adrian, they still have Rocky Balboa himself, and they still feel like Rocky movies. Stallone is there to anchor it, but Jordan has a lot of meat to his role, and it's a perfect balance, really.


Like the previous 'Creed' movie, Rocky IV has a lot to do with this movie. Even more than the last movie. For starters, Dolph is back, and that's awesome. He'd lost his people's respect after his defeat in part 4, and is training his son to take on Creed, to right the wrong from 30+ years ago. Will Viktor Drago break Adonis Creed? Will history repeat itself?

I don't even like boxing, but I love these movies. I also love Stallone, so I'm biased, but this movie is pretty emotional at times, and features some good cameos. We even have Brigitte Nielsen back, and she's even more of a bitch than she was way back in part 4. Way back, or as Rocky refers to it, "millions of years ago".

That actress is a has-been, having been popular in the mid-80s exclusively, then going on to date Flava Flav in a reality tv series. She was banging Schwarzenegger circa Red Sonja, then Stallone circa Rocky VI / Cobra, and then a few years later... yeeeaaah boyee! Flava Flav is the next best thing.


The story to all of these movies is the same. A guy's got to fight for something, his life goes downhill, a montage happens, and then we step into the ring. We know how it's going to end, but we still watch it happen, and we watch the punches fly, waiting to see what we know is going to happen.

I think it's pretty fascinating how this series keeps going on. We've watched the trying times of Rocky as his life went through various ups and downs. He's had to fight for what he has, and yet, these fights are more than physical. It's all about getting your shit together and giving it everything you've got. Life is going to beat you down, but you have to get back up, put your heart into it, and fuck all else.

I can't wait to see Stallone return to action in Rambo V, coming soon.