When Steven Caple Jr. stepped into the director's chair for Creed 2, he had a bit of a problem. Ryan Coogler had just redefined the Rocky universe with the first Creed in 2015, turning a legacy franchise into something soulful and urgent. How do you follow that? You go back to the source. But honestly, most sequels just recycle the old beats and hope the nostalgia carries the weight. Creed 2 didn't do that. It took the most cartoonish element of the Rocky mythos—Ivan Drago—and turned it into a Shakespearean tragedy. It’s a movie about fathers, sons, and the crushing weight of expectations.
People came for the boxing. They stayed because of the ghosts.
The Burden of Ivan Drago and the Ghost of Apollo
The core of Creed 2 is a revenge story, but it’s messy. It isn't just about Adonis Creed wanting to avenge a father he never met. It’s about Viktor Drago being a tool for his father’s redemption. Remember Rocky IV? Ivan Drago was a literal machine. A cold, unfeeling wall of Soviet muscle who killed Apollo Creed in the ring and didn't blink. In this sequel, we see the fallout of that moment thirty years later. Ivan is broken. He’s living in a bleak apartment in Ukraine, training his son Viktor to be a monster because that’s the only way he can get back the life he lost when Rocky Balboa beat him in Moscow.
Dolph Lundgren gives arguably the best performance of his career here. He barely speaks, but you see the desperation in his eyes. He has poured every ounce of his bitterness into Viktor, played by real-life boxer Florian Munteanu.
Adonis, played with incredible physical intensity by Michael B. Jordan, is at the top of the world. He’s the champion. He’s got Bianca (Tessa Thompson) and a new life in Los Angeles. But he’s hollow. When the challenge from the Dragos comes, it isn't just a fight. It’s a haunting. Rocky, played by Sylvester Stallone with that weary, gravelly wisdom we’ve come to love, knows exactly how this ends. He’s seen this movie before, and he’s the one who held the towel when Apollo died. The tension between Adonis and Rocky in the first half of the film is palpable. Rocky’s refusal to train Adonis for the first Drago fight is a massive turning point. It’s grounded in a very real, very human fear of loss.
Breaking the Body to Fix the Mind
The first fight between Adonis and Viktor is a car crash. It’s brutal. Viktor doesn't just win; he dismantles Adonis. Most sports movies would have the hero lose on a technicality or a close call. Not here. Adonis gets his ribs shattered and his spirit broken. This is where the movie shifts from a standard boxing flick into a study of trauma.
The recovery scenes are quiet. They’re painful. We see Adonis struggling to hold his newborn daughter because his body is failing him. It’s a reminder that these "heroes" are flesh and blood. The film spends a significant amount of time on the birth of Amara, Adonis and Bianca's daughter, and the realization that she has inherited Bianca’s progressive hearing loss. This sub-plot adds a layer of stakes that have nothing to do with the ring. It’s about legacy in a literal, biological sense. How do we care for the things we pass down?
Adonis has to figure out why he’s fighting. If it’s just for revenge, he’s going to lose again. Viktor is stronger. Viktor is hungrier. Viktor has nothing to lose. Adonis has everything.
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That Desert Training Sequence is Different
Everyone loves a montage. It’s a staple of the genre. But Creed 2 swaps the high-tech gyms and the snowy runs for a hellish landscape in the desert. Rocky takes Adonis to a "place where fighters go to be reborn." It’s gritty. It’s primal. They’re hitting giant tires, sparring in pits, and running until they vomit.
The cinematography by Kramer Morgenthau captures the heat and the dust, making you feel the exhaustion. It’s a visual representation of Adonis stripping away the "pretty" champion persona and becoming a dog again. He’s learning to take the pain. Because against a Drago, you aren't going to avoid the hits. You just have to survive them.
Contrast this with Viktor’s training. It’s cold. It’s mechanical. It’s overseen by the Russian elite who only care about him because he’s winning. There’s a heartbreaking scene where Ludmilla (Brigitte Nielsen), Ivan’s ex-wife and Viktor’s mother, shows up at a dinner. She abandoned them when Ivan lost. Now that Viktor is a star, she’s back. The look on Viktor’s face tells you everything. He isn't a villain; he’s a victim of a different kind of abuse.
The Final Showdown in Moscow
When they finally get to Moscow for the rematch, the atmosphere is electric. The sound design is incredible—every punch sounds like a gunshot. But the real magic happens in the corners.
In the climax of the fight, Adonis is relentless. He’s taking Viktor’s best shots and coming back. He breaks Viktor down, not just physically, but mentally. And then comes the moment that makes Creed 2 a great film rather than just a good one.
Ivan Drago, the man who was told "if he dies, he dies," sees his son being destroyed. He sees the Russian officials and even Ludmilla walk away when it looks like Viktor might lose. Ivan realizes that his son’s life is worth more than a trophy or a country’s pride. He throws in the towel. He saves his son.
It’s a perfect mirror to the tragedy of Apollo Creed. Ivan does what Rocky couldn't do thirty years prior. It’s a moment of pure, unadulterated redemption. It humanizes the "villains" in a way that feels earned and deeply moving.
Why the Film Still Holds Up
The movie grossed over $214 million worldwide, proving there was still plenty of gas in the tank for the franchise. But beyond the box office, it’s the character work that lingers. Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson have a chemistry that feels like a real marriage. They argue, they support, they worry. It’s the heartbeat of the film.
Stallone, too, finds new layers in Rocky. This was effectively his swan song for the character (at least for now, as he didn't return for Creed III). His final scene, where he goes to see his estranged son Robert, is a quiet, beautiful coda to a character that has defined sports cinema for nearly half a century.
Creed 2 is a movie about breaking cycles. Adonis breaks the cycle of revenge. Ivan breaks the cycle of abuse. Rocky breaks the cycle of isolation. It’s a loud, violent movie that is secretly very soft and empathetic.
Real-World Takeaways for Your Next Rewatch
To truly appreciate what this movie is doing, you have to look at the details. Here’s how to get the most out of your next viewing or if you’re diving into the franchise for the first time:
- Watch Rocky IV first: It’s not strictly necessary, but the emotional payoff of the Drago storyline is 10x more powerful if you’ve seen the campy, over-the-top brutality of the 1985 film.
- Focus on the soundscape: Notice how the sound drops out or changes during the scenes involving Amara and Bianca. It’s a subtle way of putting the audience in their perspective regarding their hearing loss.
- The "Towel" Parallel: Keep a close eye on the framing of the towel in both the first and last acts. It’s the most important prop in the movie.
- Check out the soundtrack: Produced by Mike WiLL Made-It, the music is a blend of modern hip-hop and the classic Bill Conti-inspired orchestral swells. It perfectly bridges the gap between the old world and the new.
If you haven't seen it in a while, it's worth a revisit. It's more than a boxing sequel. It’s a heavy-hitting drama that just happens to take place in a ring.
Practical Next Steps
- Stream it properly: Creed 2 is currently available on platforms like Max or for rent on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
- Compare the Directors: Watch the first Creed (Coogler) and Creed 2 (Caple Jr.) back-to-back. Notice the shift from the long, fluid takes of the first film to the more gritty, percussive editing of the second.
- Explore the Drago Backstory: There are several interviews with Dolph Lundgren where he discusses the "head-canon" he created for Ivan's life in Ukraine between the movies. It adds a whole new layer to his performance.
- Gear Up: If the training montages inspired you, look into the specific boxing gyms where these films are shot—many are real locations in Philadelphia and Los Angeles that offer community classes.