Worth a Watch!

Rating: 9/10 (18 December 2015)

I was worried about this sequel to the other Rocky movies. I thought the last one was a fine way to end the series, but Creed was a very nice addition. Its about Apollo Creed's son pursuing a boxing career with the help of the late, great Rocky Balboa. With some luck, he gets his chance to fight for the title without really proving himself at all. There are a lot of positives with this movie, with just a few flaws.
For the positives, the acting was actually spectacular. Rocky movies can be know for some corny acting, but Creed was actually really good. Stallone in particular was a great surprise. He had, in my opinion, his best pure acting performance ever as he took Rocky to a whole new level. He even got rewarded with a Golden Globe nomination. The best acting came from Michael B. Jordan though. I'm disappointed that he isn't getting more recognition for his effort as Creed. He is a future star actor and played his part incredible. Besides the acting, there were a lot of great references to the old Rockys with Apollo and other stories from the past. For Rocky fans, these were fun to hear about and reflect on throughout the film. The story line itself even SCREAMED classic Rocky: bad guy boxer, up and coming star, love interest, training montage... The whole deal! I personally loved all the hints to the past and storyline that was similar to the original. The big fight seen was amazing as well. The fight was had back and forth action, huge knockdowns, comeback moments, and was just full of excitement! There is a lot to like about Creed.
There wasn't much wrong with Creed. There are really only two aspects that come to mind. I don't think the love story was really developed as well as it should have been. Creed's love interest Bianco disappeared for a while and then comes back right at the end to cheer on the fight. I thought there could have been more of a reconciliation between the two. It just seemed too forced. The other downer was the villain boxer... He just didn't have the menacing look and character that Rockys usually have. I wanted a larger than life opponent, not just a villain.
Creed is really worth the money to go see. It has the making to be a movie that will be remembered for a long, long time. Even if you haven't seen the other Rockys, Creed is an entertaining stand alone boxing movie. Cheer for the underdog and go see this movie!