[wpdevart_youtube]IS2nfJ6LVNg[/wpdevart_youtube]CREED 2 ***
Dir: Steven Caple Jnr (12A, 125 mins)
Following Ryan Coogler’s unofficial Rocky sequel unexpectedly being somewhat of a knockout, this sequel carries on the Creed and Balboa saga. Rocky IV was made in the mid-1980s when American jingoism was king under Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Sylvester Stallone faced a Russian, Ivan Drago played by a young Dolph Lundgren, after he killed his frenemy Apollo Creed in the ring. It was all very 80s, simplistic, patriotic nonsense, but forms the origin of this new grittier boxing film. Michael B Jordan returns as Adonis Creed, now with a wife and family. Yet the spectre of his father’s past still haunts him; Ivan Drago has a son, Viktor, who challenges Creed Jnr to a fight. Creed craves revenge. Stallone returns as his trainer after the nuanced work he did in the previous film, and Lundgren also looms large as his son’s trainer. Cue lots of ludicrous workout montages, stuff about family and grittily cathartic fisticuffs. Caple Jnr takes over directing duties and hopefully there will be a song to match James Brown’s Living In America on the soundtrack. Opens Nov 30