Lands Every Punch It Throws

Rating: 10/10 (14 December 2015)

Creed is the newest addition to the Rocky franchise that began with the Best Picture winning original back in 1976. Helmed by Fruitvale Station director, Ryan Coogler and led by Michael B. Jordan, expectations were pretty high regarding Creed. Furthermore, we already had Southpaw this year with Jake Gyllenhaal so Creed had some competition in regards to boxing movies in 2015.
Creed follows the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed, Adonis, and his dreams to make a name for himself in the boxing world without having to rely on his father's name. The film is sort of trying to do the same thing with being apart of the Rocky franchise, yet still being fresh and original. Creed succeeds both as a film and as a tale of talent and heart in its central athlete. From a technical standpoint, the movie is nearly flawless. The music is inspiring and very reminiscent of 1976. The camera-work and editing is outstanding, some of the tracking shots left me with my jaw dropped. Furthermore, the montages that everyone comes to Rocky movies to see are hugely entertaining and just as good as the iconic original.
As for the acting, Sylvester Stallone is better than he has ever been as the older, slightly out of touch Rocky Balboa. He walks the line between lovable and heartbreaking so well that he will definitely get a Best Supporting Acting nomination come Oscar season. Michael B. Jordan is fantastic as well as the short-tempered Adonis who wants to be a fighter like his father before him, but stand alone. Tessa Thompson is believable as Bianca and Coogler managed to find a perfect balance between the romantic scenes and those of the boxing or drama with Rocky.
Overall, Creed is a fantastic addition to the Rocky franchise, one that does justice to the original, but still manages to find its own way. The performances and direction are phenomenal. It's likely that Creed will see a few sequels in the future and I would be open to that as long as Ryan Coogler agrees to come back. For now, don't miss your chance to see this first one.
"One step, one punch, one round at a time."