While not hitting as hard as its predecessor, “Creed II,” sequel-spinoff of the “Rocky” franchise, packs enough heart and action to prove that the straightforward Rocky formula still works.

After losing to the World Heavyweight Champion in “Creed,” Adonis Creed (the ever-charismatic Michael B. Jordan) returns to the boxing ring and easily claims the title, assisted by Rocky Balboa (a charming Sylvester Stallone). Soon after, Viktor Drago (professional boxer Florian Munteanu), son of the same Ivan Drago (a bitter and vengeful Dolph Lundgren) who killed Creed’s father in “Rocky IV,” appears to challenge Creed.

You’d expect an athlete with no experience on stage to lack in the acting department, and while Munteanu is certainly out of league with acting icons such as Jordan and Stallone, he does not feel out of place on the same screen as them.

Despite the high expectations set by Jordan and Stallone in “Creed,” they perform just as well in the sequel. While Stallone keeps up his father-like version of the retired Italian Stallion, Jordan’s grit and charisma steal the two-hour run time.

Through the fights and training, Creed is beaten, broken, chewed up, spit out and stomped on over and over again. In previous “Rocky” movies, the audience can only watch boxing matches and training montages from a distance, but “Creed” improved on that by taking the camera into the ring and recording long shots right up in the characters’ faces. Although “Creed II” steps away from using longer shots, it creates a much stronger focus on the intensity of the fight and the pain that Creed and Drago experience.

Outside the ring, a few touching moments can be found between Creed and his girlfriend Bianca (played by Tessa Thompson), but they are often ruined by misplaced humor that relieves emotional tension instead of thickening it.

“Creed II” isn’t the emotional TKO I expected, but it still hits hard enough to leave a mark.