Creed II

(M) ★★★½

Director: Steven Caple Jr.

Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Florian Munteanu, Dolph Lundgren, Wood Harris, Phylicia Rashad.

And then they kissed.

Sylvester Stallone has vowed (for at least the third time) that Creed II (AKA Rocky VIII) will be his final outing as Rocky Balboa. While he's adamant the series will continue despite his absence, after watching Creed II it's hard to see how the franchise will have the same resonance without Sly's world-weary ex-pugilist in its corner.

With that in mind, if this is indeed Rocky's last time ringside, it's a solid if predictable farewell to one of American cinema's most enduring characters.

As with its predecessor, this film focuses on Adonis Creed (Jordan), son of Rocky's nemesis-turned-friend Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). After earning his stripes in the last movie, Adonis has risen to the top of the heap, winning the WBC World Heavyweight Championship.

But his triumph draws out Viktor Drago (Munteanu), the son of the boxer who killed Apollo Creed in the ring 33 years ago. The stage is set for an all-new Creed vs Drago showdown, and all the various baggage, demons and closeted skeletons that entails.

Rocky IV saw Rocky exact revenge on Russian boxer Ivan Drago (Lundgren) for the death of Apollo Creed, in the process making the movie a bombastic and unsubtle Cold War metaphor that is one of the favourites (and most successful film) of the series. Creed II is a smarter continuation of that over-the-top lineage, and is less about patriotism and more about fathers. Through the Dragos and the Creeds, it explores the expectations placed on sons by fathers, by outsiders, and by the sons themselves, and the relationships and dynamics that creates. It's the kind of thematic drive that helps make the film more than just a by-the-numbers boxing movie or franchise filler.

But Stallone's Rocky remains the emotional heart of this series, no matter how hard they try to pass the torch (and the film's focus) over to Jordan's Creed. Whenever Stallone's on screen, the film hits harder emotionally.

That's not to diminish Jordan's performance - he's amazing, displaying more range, and mixing more rage and humanity in the role this time. But he's harder to identify with than Rocky. While we are willing to follow Creed on his admittedly rewarding journey, the payoffs come from the fact this all extends back to Rocky, and by further extension Carl Weather's Apollo Creed. This film owes everything to the films that have gone before and the weight Stallone can bring to proceedings, and it succeeds because of this more than it succeeds on the strengths of Michael B. Jordan and his Adonis Creed.

Jordan is great in this role - let's not forget that - and the story's subplot involving Creed and his partner Bianca (Thompson) add welcome layers. Stallone is again great in a role that has seen him twice nominated for an Oscar, while Lundgren is surprisingly excellent in a dramatic role. And technically it ticks all the boxes; the bouts are genuinely thrilling and well shot.

One final burst of boxing analogies before the bell rings - Creed II works because it is has good technique, plenty of heart and is light on its feet. It has some great shots, and although its outcome seems obvious, it's still worth a ringside seat.

PS. If this is Stallone's last appearance as Rocky, then my bet is that Creed III will involve the death of Rocky (off-screen probably) at the hands of someone Adonis Creed then has to fight. I really hope it doesn't come to that (ie. yet another boxing-match-as-revenge plot) but I just wanted that on the record in case it does actually happen so I can say "I told you so" and collect a huge cheque from MGM and Warner Bros.