MovieChat Forums > Creed III (2023) Discussion > Anyone else like Creed II more than this...

Anyone else like Creed II more than this one?

posted a year ago by Aries (782)
16 replies | jump to latest

I certainly did.

Firstly, it had Rocky, which automatically made it better. I also liked the Rocky Drago re-union/confrontation scene in Rocky's restaurant.

Victor Drago was an awesome, believably dangerous opponent for Creed and had a lot more charisma than Dame, who was basically a dollar store Clubber Lang. Victor was also a lot more likeable and you felt sympathetic for him in the end.

The fights were better - the final fight in Creed II was the best in the Creed series, whereas I thought the CGI bit in this one was tacky and took away from the tone of realism that was norm for these movies.

The story flowed more logically (no unproven contender given a title shot right off the bat nonsense) and the training montage for the final fight was really good, while this one was forgettable and unimpressive, with all the garbage rap music, n-word ghetto lyrics blaring in the background.

I didn't like JM's Dame with his stupid facial expressions or his personality either. I'd put this on par with Creed rating-wise, although I do like that one more because of Rocky as well.

[–] what11 (354) a year ago

I would say, for me, it's probably the second worst movie in the series (after Rocky V). First of all, I strongly agree with OP - it would be better with Rocky in.
Secondly, it's simply boring. The story drags, and I think Dame is a weak and boring character.
And to answer the question - yes, in my opinion, Creed II is much better in every way.

[–] Aries (782) a year ago

Yes exactly, I just couldn't sympathize with Dame on any level - guy was just a dick from the start and very unlikable.

[–] Porsche911 (2841) a year ago

I prefer 1 & 2 ! 3 was the weakest.

[–] beauq81 (1023) a year ago

I didn't finish it. I watched somewhere until the dinner at the Creeds'. Felt like a TV movie, it was that boring.

[–] janelsenor (2042) a year ago

It's the weakest of the Creed movies, but I still liked it.

I don't think it's impossible to have a great Creed movie without Stallone. But this one felt like it was written with the idea that Stallone would be in it, and they had to pivot at the last moment. As a result, you have a major scene where it makes no sense for Rocky not to be there, and it's not even addressed. It's just ignored.

I wish Michael B kept the thicker mustache he had during training. Made him look more like Apollo Creed's son.

[–] [deleted] a year ago

thanks. i will watch this weekend.

[–] Aries (782) a year ago

Agree about the writing re. Stallone. As I said in my post, I rate this movie on par with the first Creed, although I liked that one more because of Sly.

You're right, it is possible to make a good Creed movie without Rocky's tremendous presence distracting or even directing the course of the plot. Hopefully, there is one more good sequel left with some great fighting scenes like the ones from Creed II.

[–] howgamer (3703) a year ago

I think Creed II is way better and the best Creed movie.

[–] Aries (782) a year ago

Yes, ditto! I rate it higher than even a couple of Rocky movies (or maybe just 5 :p).

[–] janelsenor (2042) a year ago

Honestly, Creed II relied on Rocky nostalgia so much, it felt more like a Rocky movie than a spinoff to me.

[–] howgamer (3703) a year ago

Completely agree. I think that's part of the reason why I liked it so much.

[–] Chris822cats (374) a year ago

Creed II is the best of the Creed movies thus far. I think it would have been better if Ivan Drago helped in the training camp. There was a missed opportunity for major character development of Ivan. He could have been a man who deeply regretted what happened to Apollo and this was his way of honoring Apollo's legacy. I would have liked to have seen Ludmilla and Mary-Ann have a moment.

[–] Biggs111Mr (236) 7 months ago

Nope no way! Drago is a villain & yea he's a bit older now but still not a good person so nope he shouldn't be regretting anything bad. I like Creed 2 a lot over Creed 3. Drago son was the way a villain should be even though he wasn't a bad guy.

[–] Aries (782) 6 months ago

I would have liked to have seen Ludmilla and Mary-Ann have a moment

Ditto. I would also liked to have seen Rocky in the funeral, but understand that they wanted to move the Creed character and movies away from his enormous shadow.

Yeah, Drago training him wouldn't have been a bad idea. But at least we got to see them be amicable to each other and that was satisfying for me to watch.

[–] Thereviewer65 (22) 7 months ago

Creed I > III > II. I didn't like Creed II very much because they took the lowest risk for the highest reward by bringing back Drago and having his son fight Adonis. It felt more like Rocky IV 2.0 instead of Creed II.

[–] Aries (782) 6 months ago

Each to their own, but to me, Creed 2 was the logical, necessary and perfect sequel to Creed. It was the Aliens to Creed's Alien IMO.

Creed set up the stage by establishing the Adonis character and his becoming Rocky's padawan perfectly.

Once done, the best course of action they could take was to do what they did in Creed II - to rekindle the rivalry all the way back from Rocky IV and giving it a more satisfactory closure than Sly's fight with Dolph at the end of the movie. Drago's son was dangerous and bests Adonis the first time, so we get to see him avenging his father's death symbolically and redeem himself with a little help from Rocky.

Creed II for me is the 2nd best movie (counting just the fighting scenes) in the entire Rocky + Creed series. The fights were amazing, Victor was a more menacing beast than Ivan ever was (and without all the campy Russian high tech BS from Rocky IV) and he bought out the best fighter out of Adonis. But yeah, I can also accept that others don't like it as much.