Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Dolph Lundgren, Florian Munteanu, Russell Hornsby, Wood Harris, Milo Ventimiglia, Robbie Johns, Brigitte Nielsen
Distributor: Roadshow Films
Runtime: 130 mins. Reviewed in Dec 2018
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And the answer to the Trivial Pursuit question is: Rocky IV, the question, of course, being: which was the Rocky film in which Drago appeared.
In 2015, Creed, which might be considered a sequel to the Rocky films, proved to be very popular. Michael B. Jordan was very acceptable as the next-generation boxer. And there was Sylvester Stallone again, not only contributing to the writing as he had for all the previous Rocky films, even getting an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor. The director of Creed, Ryan Coogler, had worked with Michael B. Jordan on the thoughtful, Fruitvale Station, and they were part of the team for the highly successful Marvel Universe film, Black Panther.
On release, this sequel received very enthusiastic reviews and responses. It seemed to be exactly what the fans wanted. The screenplay is full of well-worn (or time-honoured) pieces of dialogue, reinforcing the conventions of the boxing film that so enthral the audiences.
Actually, the plot draws on its predecessors very strongly. Adonis Creed is the son of Rocky’s rival, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), and then collaborator in several films. But, in Rocky IV, with the introduction of the Russian fighter, Drago (described in 1985 with the adjective, Soviet), Apollo Creed dies and Rocky vanquishes Drago in the ring. Now, more than 30 years later, here is his son, Viktor Drago, a huge hulk of a man, the actor portraying him, Florian Munteanu, credited with his nickname “Big Nasty”. (And here is Brigitte Nielsen again as Draco’s wife, Viktor’s mother – and was actually married to Sylvester Stallone at the time of Rocky IV.)
And for those expecting big things in the fights, they will not be disappointed. First fight sees Creed overcoming an opponent. Then there is the big fight, for the world heavyweight title, between Creed and Drago, a literally punishing fight. And, of course, there has to be a climax, Creed versus Viktor Drago again, a kind of resurrection fight which goes for 10 rounds, powerfully choreographed. For the audience veterans, there is the enjoyment of hearing excerpts from the original Rocky theme music.
And for those who do not immediately take to boxing films let alone the fights themselves, there is quite some humanity in the underlying plot. With apologies to Sylvester Stallone, who has been a decades-long screen presence and who knows how to write screenplays, Michael B. Jordan is a much more convincing actor. There is his relationship with his girlfriend, Bianca (Tessa Thompson) and a proposal seen (after he nervously asks Rocky for advice). There is also the complication that Younger is deaf, with her hearing aid, which leads to some pathos when she becomes pregnant and there is concern about the condition of the newly-born daughter.
And there is the emotion concerning the comeback fight, the recovery after the battering from Viktor Drago, physical and psychological rehabilitation – and, of course, Rocky urging Creed to the most rigorous training program in the desert, exhausting for the audience as they are comfortably sitting in their theatre seats!
It is all as expected – and who would want it to be otherwise?
In 2018 it is interesting to watch an American film where the hero is fighting a Russian, a bruiser of an opponent, seen as the enemy. And then there is also the thought that it is 42 years since the first Rocky film, which means that it could be still another 40 years with Michael B Jordan coaching the champion of 2058!
Peter Malone MSC is an Associate of the Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting.
12 Random Films…
