I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving and week after. Unlike the rest of the world, I was lying on my couch with a fever and missing the opening weekend of Creed II! But don’t fret, the first day I was able to live again I took myself to the movies. I thoroughly loved this sequel.

Just in case you don’t know, Michael B. Jordan plays Adonis Creed, son of Apollo Creed from the classic Rocky series. Basically, he fights, loses, goes through a journey of depression and self- discovery, trains with his mentor, fights, and wins. Along the way, he is in love with Tessa Thompson’s character, Bianca, and they go through some trials.  Which may sound incredibly predictable and boring, but I promise, it wasn’t boring.

Let’s break down why this movie was so great. First, Michael B. Jordan, and not for the reasons you think. Yes, we can see he is a beautiful man and he may possibly taste like tootsie rolls; clearly, this is a major reason we are intrigued by him; but for me, his acting has always seemed a little vapid, like it was missing some depth. With this performance he showed maturity and growth with his craft.  Sitting in the audience, I could feel his emotions through the screen, not because Adonis’s inner struggle was relatable, but because Jordan did such a terrific job depicting his character’s state of mind throughout the whole film. This performance felt more profound than his others. He really seemed like he held his own with veteran actor Sylvester Stallone. He shared the screen with him instead of just being in a scene with him. Can we smell an Oscar nomination? Hope so.

Reason number two, Tessa Thompson. She transforms herself into her characters like an ice cube melts in water. Thompson’s portrayal of Bianca was strong, confident and independent. She was not Adonis’s trophy but his equal. She had her own life outside of him but she knew when he needed her and how he needed her.

Sometimes women in these types of movies are depicted as shallow, weak, and expendable. As if their whole lives are revolving around this one man and they don’t have anything else going for them. Not this time. She has a career that was making big moves alongside his fighting career. And it was evident that he needed her just as much as she needed him. She was not replaceable. As a black woman I saw myself in her. I saw myself in her fears, her strength and the love she had for her man. For the record I would have also been the loudest person in the Arena in Russia that night as well, “Drago who?”

Reason number three, can we talk about the amazing way this movie was shot? Not only was it beautiful, but I appreciate long medium shots to build suspense, with slow-motion close-ups, as opposed to fast cuts with close-ups. I get it, we learn in video editing 101 that in order to show action we need fast cuts but it doesn’t always get the audience to lose themselves in the movie. The verisimilitude of the fighting scenes had me holding my breath with every punch. I was literally sitting at the edge of my seat watching this movie and the only thing that would bring me back to reality was someone coughing in the theatre.  Kudos to director, Steven Caple Jr., for capturing those moments perfectly. Can you believe this is his first major motion picture? Well, I hope to see a lot more from him.

Reason number four,  the love story between Adonis and Bianca. Bianca was everything Adonis needed. When he was weak, she was his strength. When he needed to be humbled, she was there to bring him back to Earth. When he needed encouragement, she cheered the loudest. Ryan Coogler did a fantastic job of writing a love story that was based on real love and admiration. Adonis never cheated on her, hit her or hurt her in any way. He praised and supported her music career, he was her strength when she was weak, and he made sure he provided for her. They were a team. That is the way love is supposed to be.  

This movie was a great sequel to the first one. If you haven’t seen either Creed films, you should. Go to Amazon Prime and rent the first one, then go online and buy your tickets for the second. It’s worth it.