_________ A R T S
& CULTURE
3
Creed v. Drago three decades in the making
BY JARED PREBLE. .
cham pionshipbelt in a title figh t and proposed
a n d e v e n h is w ife . T h is ignited th e fire th a t
MANAGING EDITOR*
to h is girlfriend Bianca Taylor and th e stage is
h as pu sh ed Viktor D rago to beco m e th e top
W ith th e o v e rw h e lm in g su cce ss o f C re e d ,
set for one h ell o f a dow nfall.
contender, as h is father yearns to take th e belt
released in 2015, it w as on ly a m atter o f tim e
W ith intentions o f taking o n D rago, Creed
u ntil w e saw Sylvester Stallone a nd M ichael
enlists Rocky once m ore to coach h im th ou gh
B . Jo rd an lace u p th e ir glo ves a n d return to
h e is m e t w ith a so lem n sh ake o f th e h ead.
W hile in the m idst o f working up the courage
th e silver screen for a sequel; Creed 2 holds a
R o ck y refu ses to train C reed , a s R o ck y w as
to get b ack into training, Creed finds out th at
few choice surprises in store for its audience
ultim ately responsible forCreed’s death. Rocky
h e a n d B ian ca are so o n to b e p arents. T h is
a nd follow s through its pu nch es w ith several
w a s A p o llo ’s ringside co a ch , a n d h e d id n ’t
th ro w s h im in to a w h irlw in d o f e m o tio n s,
choreographed figh t scenes. Spoilers a h ead —
throw in th e towel w h e n h e h ad th e chance,
and serves as th e final pu sh to get Creed back
yo u ’v e b e e n w arned.
leaving Ivan Drago free to beat th e life out o f
into th e ring. H e m an ages to w in over Balboa,
A s a n individual w h o ’s se e n m a n y a figh t
Apollo’sbody. Rocky refuses to m ake that same
p rom ising th at h is h ead and heart w ill b e in
•film, I sat in theaters aw aiting w h a t I hoped
m istake, therefore h e will not train Creed. This
th e righ t place again st D rago w ith R o ck y at
would be an unorthodox approach to the genre;
leaves Creed dism ayed, and h e instead recruits
h is side. Fast forward through so m e intense
w hile there were a few w ell executed deviations
his old gy m coach to assist h im . Creed is visibly
w orkouts in th e desert and a lot o f sweat and
fro m th e fo rm ula, th e broad overview o f th e
distraughtthroughouthistrainingandit’sclear
yelling,and Creed is readyforthe second m atch
m ovie rem ains true as ever torts predecessors:
th a t th is fig h t is going to be a to ugh one.
against V iktor Drago.
to his hom eland where h e can be acceptedback
into th e arm s o f h is people.
protagonist starts o ff m ovieon top o f th e world,
T h e first fig h t b e tw e e n C re e d a n d D rago
Th e fin a l fig h t is on e to beh old, w ith even
p ro ta go n ist g e ts k n o c k e d d o w n b y a m o re
is in te n se a n d w e ’re treated to so m e o f th e
m ore action th an th e first. Creed is m uch m ore
dangerous antagonist than the previous m ovie,
w onderful cinem atography show n in th e first
refined th is tim e round, and h e slips m an y o f
protago nist trains super h ard in a n in te n se
C re e d . H ard p u n c h e s e m p h a size d in slo w
Drago’spunches w ith ease. The pair tradeblows
w o rk o u t m o n ta g e , p ro ta g o n ist u ltim a te ly
m o tio n , lo n g sh ots w ith d ozens o f pu nch es,
o ff and o n w ith no clear w inner in sight, until
a n y longer. W ith hesitation in h is h eart, h e
defeatsbigbadopponentbythe sk in of his teeth
so o n a nd so fo rth . C reed is gettin g h is bu tt
Ivan instructs h is son to go for th e injured ribs
throw s in th e to w el Forfeiting th e m atch for
and roll credits. O ne o f the several saving graces
handed to h im — fast. B y th e end o f th e final
fro m th e last fig h t. U n ea sy a t th is proposal,
h is son. Creed reigns victorious, and reclaim s
in th is instance w as A donis Creed’so p p on en t
round, Creed su ffersacrushingblow to h is left
Viktorfollow s suit. Thirty seconds into the next
his heavyweight belt. Rocky hugs hisapprentice
V iktor D rago, th e so n o f Ivan Drago w h o killed
rib w h ich causes h im to sin k to th e floor. Ju st
round and on e solid h o o k to th e side later and
w ith pride, and on ce m ore w e are le ft w ith a
C reed’ s fa th e r A p o llo C reed d u ring a b rutal
after th e final bell, Drago lands afinishingblow
b a m , C reed h its th e can va s. I f th is w ere a n
feel-go od m o m e n t and a sm ile o n our faces.
b o xin g m atch in Rocky IV;
toaw ounded Creed w hich disqualifies Dragofor
earlier Creed, h e w ould’ve been dow n for th e
A s a w h o le , th is m o v ie w a s e x tr e m e ly
The m ovie op en s w ith a foggy sh ot o f Ivan
th ro w inga pu nch after th e bell, leaving Creed
count, bu t h e ’s a father now . H e h as a fam ily
predictable, th o u g h it w a s th e execu tion o f
D ra g o , p la ye d b y th e o rig in al a cto r D o lp h
w ith the belt still undeservedly around his waist.
to figh t for and h e refuses to let th e shadow o f
th e story th at had m e jerking m y head in th e
L u n d g re n , ste p p in g o u t o f h is h o m e to b e
T h is brin gs fo rth th e fa llin g a ction o f th e
h is fath er envelop h im ; Creed rises fro m th e
seat as if I w as th e one bein g punched in the
greeted b y th e chilling w ind o f Russia w here
film , w here Creed m u st lick h is w ounds and
can vas w ith th e in ten tion o f fin ish es Drago
fa ce each tim e . T h e action w as superb, and
h e and h is so n V iktor reside. V ik to ris w ithout
le arn several le sso n s a b ou t d edicatio n a n d
once and fo r all.
a doubt a form idable opponent, as w e spend
hard w orkbefore h e can challenge Drago once
A s Creed b e gin s to d om in ate D rago, w ith
m o vin g . T h is does a fin e job o f setting itse lf
apart from th e first m ovie, and it stands strong
a m o ng th e Rocky series. I w ouldbuy aticketfor
th e dialogue betw een characters w as at tim es
several scenes in th e first a ct seeing h im tear
m ore. Flip b a ck to Ivan and h is so n in Russia
cuts and bruises appearingeverywhere o n th e
through op pon en t after op pon en t w ithout so
an d w e ’re given in sigh t into Ivan ’s life after
R u ssian’s fa ce, Ivap looks u p on h is so n and
m u ch as a scratch o n h is face. C u t to A donis
losing to Rocky Balboa in R ocky M . Ivan w as
se e sw h a th e h a s d o n e . H is so n w ill never quit,
a third m ovie, and hopefully I w illbe gjven that
C re e d , w h o h a s ju s t w o n th e h ea vy w e ig h t
essentially shunned b y h is country, its citizens
and h e w ill ultim ately die if this figh t goes o n
opportunity in th e near future.
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p hotos by Jonathan V illagom ez
_ _ _ _ _ November 28, 2018