Creed II Review: 6 Ups & 3 Downs

5. The Dragos' Surprisingly Poignant Character Development

Without question the most pleasant surprise of Creed II is how well it handles its most potentially goofy and offputting element: the re-emergence of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) and his son Viktor (Florian Munteanu).

The film devotes a surprising amount of time to developing the pair as actual human beings as opposed to Ivan's cartoonish portrayal in Rocky IV.

The fallout of his loss to Rocky is palpably felt decades later, and it's fair to say that despite being mute for most of the movie, Viktor has a motivation for victory at least as compelling if not more so than Adonis himself.

In fact, there are honestly parts of the movie where you'd be forgiven for rooting for Viktor, because like the very best sports movies, both fighters are easy to empathise with.

Of the three families focused on in the movie, it's the Dragos who unexpectedly provide the most dramatic nourishment. This is especially true with one shockingly touching moment late in the movie that might even tempt the viewer to shed tears for the supposed "villain" of the film.

But that's the real beauty of Creed II: even the "bad guy" isn't really a bad guy, and in his own way Viktor almost seems too great a character to use in just a single movie.