Creed II

Sequel sympathizes with star as it struggles to sustain previous success. Impressively in-depth antagonist characterization creates conundrum, as baby-Dolph becomes more empathetic than self-centric Creed. Stallone stalls Two, and attempted emotional interludes feel tone deaf at best. Spoiler: finale spoils the premise as a predictable victory further vindicates ‘hero’s vanity.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2

Starship Supers spank space-Trump’s golden army before warping into marvelous Jerry Springer episode to intercede in the intergalactic seeding of egotistical Russelhoff and teach him the Yon-dos and don’ts of stellar adoption. Another fun mixtape of physically impossible Pratt-falls, absurdly abrupt dispute resolution and cosmic comedy firmly grooted in family.

Creed

Coogler embraces source material with arms wide open and delivers drama that could go toe to toe with its cinematic senior. Jordan’s unstoppable acting train has left the station and he trades emotional blows with still-alive Stallone. Reboot reveals that Black or white, Pandora’s boxing is filled color of money.

The Expendables 2

Both the action and the self-referential jokes work better than discardable predecessor.  Additions of Van Damme and Norris infuse film with jolts of life and camp.  Li drops out too soon, but Willis and Schwarzenegger bring exactly the right kind of fun.  Biggest failure is from makeup department; why try?

The Expendables

Excess celebrity (quantity and individual size) and absence of story constitute amusing but unsubstantial spectacle. In-jokes provide occasional amusement as does speculation about which seen broke Stallone’s neck. Perhaps crowning moment is Planet Hollywood reunion, which serves up dialogue on par with its food. With eighty percent fluff, impressively well-titled.