Our focus today comes in the shape of the second installment of his popular movie franchise (the latter above) Creed II, heavily influenced by the legendary Sylvester Stallone and his iconic Rocky movie franchise. Creed II is without a doubt one of the biggest movies of the year which we were lucky enough to see at a glamorous and exclusive premiere at the recently revamped Sandton City movie cinema all thanks to the gorgeous folks at Ster Kinekor. We’ve been to many but this especially stood out mainly because the main stars (Michael B. Jordan and Florian Munteanu) as well as the director, Steven Caple Jnr. graced us with their presence on the night. It was a great experience indeed that many in attendance no doubt enjoyed.

Cast – Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Florian Munteanu, Tessa Thompson, Wood Harris, Phylicia Rashad & Dolph Lundgren

Director – Steven Caple, Jr.

Genre – Drama/Sport

Running Time – 2h 8m

Life has become a balancing act for Adonis Creed. Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight, he is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family’s past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring. Rocky Balboa is there by his side through it all and, together, Rocky and Adonis will confront their shared legacy, question what’s worth fighting for, and discover that nothing’s more important than family. Creed II is about going back to basics to rediscover what made you a champion in the first place, and remembering that, no matter where you go, you can’t escape your history.

Onto the movie, Creed II is very intense and is a roller-coaster ride full of emotions. It features the best of drama, action and lighter moments that all keep you hooked and dedicated to it throughout. It’s the type of movie that forces you to pay attention to it from start to end with no moment/scene feeling out of place or forced, and that’s what all great movies have in common, no doubt this is one of them. Pure movie fans of the drama, action genres and pure sports fans (especially boxing) will no doubt enjoy this one.

If the fight scenes don’t have you at the edge of your seat then we don’t know what will and in Jordan and Stallone, the movie has two characters with a great synergy that blends the best of old and new school. The supporting cast also do a great job in amplifying the intensity with old timer Dolph Lundgren and newcomer Florian Munteanu (set to be a massive star) doing a fantastic job in playing the so called “villains” of the movie. Female star power also comes through with both Tessa Thompson (who we are growing fans of) and the legendary veteran Phylicia Rashad also coming through strongly with (again) the perfect mix of new and old school.

Creed II includes a predictable story line but executed in a fantastic way. In addition to everything else, it left us inspired and motivated (generally) which is something not many movies can attest to doing successfully. That to us further adds to why it’s a great watch. Everything about it just works effortlessly and delivers thoroughly on its promise. At the end we were left speechless and something close to being blown away. A knockout (pun intended) 8 out of 10 rating is what it gets from us. The movie opens this coming Friday, clear your schedule and go see it!

Our thanks to Ster Kinekor for the great spectacle which will no doubt live long in the memory.

Escape Plan 2: Hades is the sequel to the 2013 action-thriller, Escape Plan, which starred Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. This time we see Stallone (Ray Breslin) manage a team of elite security specialists trained in the art of breaking out of the world’s most impenetrable prison with the supporting cast of Huang Xiaoming, Chen Tang and Jesse Metcalfe and WWE SuperStar, Dave Bautista.

Cast and crew

Sylvester Stallone, Dave Bautista, Xiaoming Huang, Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson, Jaime King, Jesse Metcalfe, Titus Welliver, and Wes Chatham

Directed by Steven C. Miller

Rating: 16LV

Genre: Action- thriller

Running time: 96 minutes

The Plot

Ray Breslin (Stallone) is a security consultant who specialises in working out how to escape out of maximum security prisons when his trusted operative, Shu Ren, is kidnapped and disappears inside the most elaborate prison ever built. Ray, as part of Shu’s rescue effort, assembles his next-gen security force to tackle the obstacles associated with an impenetrable prison break. Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming, ‘Shu Ren’ is trapped in a hi-tech prison with his cousin (Chen Tang) and colleague Luke (Jesse Metcalfe), he must work out how the shifting Rubik’s Cube-like levels of the prison are structured in order to get out and save himself and cousin.

The film includes an impressive quota of action-packed fight scenes, since the warden has a policy of forcing his inmates to engage in violent cage matches – the prizes of which are time spent in a virtual environment, where they enjoy some relaxing, VR fantasy.

Escape Plan 2: Hades opens in cinemas, nationwide on 02 November 2018. Are we crazy to wanting to check it out?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSsaejaFNa8

The Plot

Life has become a balancing act for Adonis Creed. Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight, he is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family’s past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring. Rocky Balboa is there by his side through it all and, together, Rocky and Adonis will confront their shared legacy, question what’s worth fighting for, and discover that nothing’s more important than family. Creed II is about going back to basics to rediscover what made you a champion in the first place, and remembering that, no matter where you go, you can’t escape your history.

Officially in cinemas on Nov 21, 2018 – Creed II looks too awesome. Let’s make sure to check this one out!