Creed II Review: 6 Ups & 3 Downs

Creed II lands in UK cinemas this weekend, and while it unsurprisingly doesn't quite live up to the brilliance of its excellent 2015 predecessor, critics are largely embracing it as a rock solid entry into the Rocky franchise.

Because while the eighth Rocky movie doesn't bring much new to the table, how can you resist the charm of Sylvester Stallone transitioning fully into the Mickey role?

For all of the film's dramatic concessions, it is nevertheless a compelling, character-driven boxing film which retroactively makes Rocky IV more watchable. Quite an achievement, that is.

Neither as corny nor as fan-baiting as it could've been yet also not an unqualified success, Creed II sits comfortably in the middle-tier of Rocky movies, even if continuing the franchise any further from this point might be ill-advised.

You probably know if you're going to watch it already, but if you need some convincing to catch it in cinemas, read on. Seriously, those meaty punches won't sound anywhere near as intense at home...