Life has become a balancing act for Adonis Creed (Jordan). Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight, he is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family’s past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring. Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is there by his side through it all and, together, Rocky and Adonis will confront their shared legacy, question what is worth fighting for, and discover that nothing is more important than family.

Creed 2 was the sequel we’ve long been waiting for and director Steven Caple Jr. steps up to the fight. Set three years post Creed, Creed 2 picks up with Adonis as a solid contender for the Heavyweight title with everything to win. But after gaining the belt things get interesting and the old adage ‘that the wolf on the hill is not as hungry as the wolf climbing the hill’ suddenly rings true and that’s exactly where Creed 2 takes us. Wherein Creed we were watching the Heroes Journey playing out, here in Creed 2 we’re watching what comes next and how Adonis has to face new challenges when he suddenly has everything to lose.

Caple Jr. really focuses on the interior of his characters in Creed 2 and through the film’s most heartbreaking moments you see Adonis, a proud, strong fighter at his most vulnerable. For me Creed 2 is an exploration of what happens when you take the character of the hero apart, dissect it, retool it and put it back together. By the time of the eventual final showdown between Adonis and Viktor Drago, son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), you’re looking at a completely different man and it’s an interesting route to take. If I were to liken Creed 2 to any of the previous Rocky films I’d have to place it in context to Rocky 3 as it follows a similarly redemptive tale and Adonis has to return to the basics and get truly tough again to overcome an immense obstacle in front of him. The drama punches hard in Creed 2 and Caple Jr. is definitely the one to thank for it.

Since Creed Michael B. Jordan has established himself as a legitimate A-list star, but his work ethic and commitment to the character of Adonis Creed still remains here and the result is an exceptional performance on Jordan’s behalf. It’s always interesting when an actor takes on a character for a second act and here we get to see a different side of Adonis, as husband and father, and a man who has other more important responsibilities placed upon him rather than just winning the belt. His is an interesting performance here and as Adonis goes through his redemptive journey you see the character at his most emotionally raw, and this is only amplified by his new position as a father and trying to be there for his child in the way that his own father, Apollo Creed, couldn’t be there for him. In addition to the emotional power of his performance, Jordan is also a beast in the ring and lets just say he’s shredded to the core and his mission to get truly tough again will leave you feeling pumped.

Again providing back-up in Creed 2 is the one and only Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa, the former heavyweight champ who has become a godfather of sorts to Adonis. Like the first film Rocky is again a man caught in time and stuck in a life he no longer understands. Like Jordan, Stallone is equally raw in his performance and as Adonis is trying to learn what it means to be a father, Rocky is struggling to reconnect with his own son Robert (Milo Ventimiglia). Creed 2 is very much an exploration of fathers and sons and how they impact each others lives and in all the film’s central male characters you see this being played out. This thematic presence elevates the film above a mere popcorn blockbuster tale and it absolutely leaves you engaged.

Along with the return of Adonis and Rocky, Creed 2 also sees the return of the infamous Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) who killed Apollo Creed more than thirty-three years ago inside the ring, and now the former Russian heavy hitter is ready to come back with his equally intimidating son Viktor (Florian Munteanu). Wherein Rocky 4 Ivan Drago was this bigger than life giant, the man we meet now is a shell of his former self, abandoned by his country and the woman he loved, and determined to regain his former glory no matter the cost. It’s an emotional rollercoaster of a performance for Lundgren and he excels up on screen as Ivan, as does Munteanu as his son Viktor and this relentlessness to retake the belt no matter what the cost presents a strained and very fractured relationship between father and son.

If you’re seeking to get your heart rate going then you’ve come to the right place with Creed 2….cause the action here is brutal. Both Jordan and Munteanu attack it with everything they’ve got and the intensity really shakes about the ring. The fights are bone crushing and when these two warriors enter the ring someone will leave broken. Like all good Rocky-Creed films there’s also the build-up to the actual fight and with a powerful score from Ludwig Goransson and ASAP Rocky and the atmosphere of the  barren Californian desert, which is beautifully captured by cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau, Adonis gets a lesson in what it means to be tough as he unearths his animal side once more. The film’s climatic fight is a full on war and the legacy of Creed/Drago is on the line here in an exhilarating match-up.

If Creed was about ‘who are you’ then Creed 2 is definitely related to ‘why do you fight?’ This existential question gives the film real substance and it’s an essential part of the make-up of any fighter. This is Caple Jr.’s focus throughout the film and each time Adonis steps into the ring he gains further understanding of why he fights, and with some hard lessons learnt and the pain that comes with them his full realization as to his life’s purpose is present in the climatic final battle with Drago.

If you’re seeking a solid TKO then Creed 2 is the film to give it to you. Packed out with raw emotion and some gnarly fight action, this film is a tremendously exciting next step in the Rocky-Creed mythos and cements the legacy of Adonis Creed and Michael B. Jordan as both character and actor who is truly one of the best around.

Image: Roadshow Films

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After breaking out one of their own, Barney (Sylvester Stallone), Christmas (Jason Statham) and the rest of the Expendables undertake a contract to capture a notorious arms smuggler. The only catch is that the arms smuggler in question turns out to be Barney’s former teammate and co-founder of The Expendables, Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson), a man who Barney had to put down after he went rogue. But Stonebanks survived, and has made it his mission to destroy the team he once called his own. The story really kicks off when one of Barney’s friends is caught in the crossfire, forcing him to recruit a younger generation of Expendables to help fill out the ranks for what will be all-out war.

Sylvester Stallone once again returns as writer and star of the lucrative franchise, and this time he’s enlisted the help of Australian director Patrick Hughes. The talented director has made sure to fill the screen with enough hard-hitting action and stoic one liners to knock the audience back into their seats.

While the team’s core troops, including Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) all return, Barney is gathering some old faces and new talent. First off, there’s Wesley Snipes as the slightly unhinged knife master Doctor Death. A former medic, and one of the original Expendables, Death has a few screws loose, but is an adapt soldier who is more than capable in a firefight and can hold his own when it comes to unarmed combat, as well as giving the Expendables resident blade master, Statham’s Lee Christmas, a run for his money. Snipes jumps into this role, and instantly steals the first fifteen minutes of the movie for himself. He brings a crazed personality to Death, as well as some much needed soulful flair.

Joining Snipes is Antonio Banderas as the acrobatically gifted Galgo. A former member of the Spanish Armed Forces and Bosnian War veteran, Galgo is desperate for a chance to prove himself and recapture his masculinity and warrior spirit once more. While Galgo produces a hell of a lot of laughs out of his desperation to experience combat again, he also carries a sense of sorrow (like all the Expendables do) from the harsh realities of war. Banderas has an absolute ball as Galgo, and is equally impressive with both his comedic and dramatic timing. He also brings this wildcard sense of energy, and passion to his fight scenes, holding his own, while also plying his irresistible charm. He’s a great addition to the Expendables roster.

But it’s not just the old dogs who are along for the ride this time, as the Expendables are getting some new blood. Kellan Lutz leads the pack as washed up former Marine John Smilee, who finds a sense of purpose and a role model in Barney, while also showing off some impressive motocross skills as he inflicts some serious damage to the bad guys. However, Barney isn’t just leaving it to the boys this time, introducing Rhonda Rousey’s Luna – a tough chick if we ever saw one. She definitely is the breakout star of this piece, and being a UFC World Champion has some serious ass kicking skills to boot. Rousey also proves that she’s got the acting chops and presence to be a major star. Additionally, The Expendables get a tech infusion thanks to Glen Powell’s thrillseeking, daredevil super hacker Thorn, as well as some badass new toys courtesy of Victor Ortiz’s high tech weapons specialist, Mars.

Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as Barney’s resident frenemy Trench Mauser, who once again picks up an assortment of high-powered machine guns to terminate everything in sight. Kelsey Grammer gets in on the action as retired mercenary and ‘talent scout’ Bonaparte, throwing plenty of comedy in Barney’s direction, while legendary actor Harrison Ford show’s up as C.I.A case officer and authority figure Max Drummer, who isn’t content to just give orders, storming out into the field behind the controls of a helicopter gunship.

But the biggest part of the whole movie comes in the form of chief villain Conrad Stonebanks, played by an absolutely pumped and very scary Mel Gibson. While Eric Roberts and Jean Claude Van Damme antagonised Barney and the boys in the first two installments of the series, Mel Gibson is the arch villain that The Expendables deserve. Stonebanks has a serious problem with Barney, and Gibson perfectly channels his hatred for his former teammate. What works is that Stonebanks is portrayed as the somewhat twisted mirror image of what Barney could have become had he strayed from the path, and their mano a mano, no holds barred final confrontation is absolutely brutal.

The Expendables 3 certainly isn’t short of action, and there’s some pretty impressive set pieces. While the new kids on the block get more attention than I had anticipated, the old dogs certainly learn a thing or two from them, and when these two generations of Expendables finally team up together the results are explosive. The Expendables are back, locked, loaded and ready for action. Boom Lay Boom.

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