Creed Review

3.0 Stars

Creed is the 7th movie in the Rocky franchise and this time the Italian Stallion is training the son of his former enemy turned best friend, Apollo Creed.  Apollo died in Rocky IV during an exhibition match with a steroid-enhanced Soviet monster Ivan Drago.  His son, Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan), wasn't even born.  Today, he wants to follow in his late father's footsteps as a professional boxer.  He seeks the help of the man his father fought, the man his father trained, the man who beat his father and the man who beat the Russian who killed his father, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone).  After some reluctance, Balboa agrees to train and mentor Adonis.

Creed has several pieces of all the previous Rocky movies.  The son of Apollo's glove man is now running Creed's gym.  There's running down the streets of Philadelphia.  Adonis has to deal with being the underdog and a much smaller opponent like in Rocky IV.  He trains like Rocky did in Rocky I.  He deals with adversity with his trainer like in Rocky III.  He starts his training in Mickey's old gym in Philly and winds up completing his training in a rougher part of town, also a la Rocky III.  

Most of Creed is predictable except for three pretty big things, without giving too much away: First, Adonis is the son of Apollo, though not how you might initially think; second, Rocky is given a surprising twist in the movie; and finally, the big final fight.  The most impressive part of the movie is Adonis' first professional fight with Rocky in his corner as his trainer.  From the moment he walks into the ring, through the entire first round, through the break between rounds, and until the fight is over midway through the second round is all one continues camera shot.  To get the action sequences and dialogue just right in one single take was extremely impressive.

Creed is a really good continuation of the Rocky franchise.  It was an enjoyable modern take on a 40 year classic.  It didn't win any Oscars, though Stallone earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination.  One could have made an argument for Johnson to be nominated for Best Actor, but this year was all about Leonardo finally getting his trophy anyway.  It was worth the money to watch, entertaining, and I'll probably watch it again on TV, but most likely won't be making it to my home collection, so I'm sticking with my 3.0 Stars.  What movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.