...Wow...

Rating: 9/10 (8 December 2015)

It is a little tough for me to write this review impartially. Sylvester Stallone is a personal hero of mine for a number of reasons and my favourite actor period. So it is safe to say my expectations were through the roof on this one but just seeing him on the big screen scores points. However, even with that, Creed is a fantastic piece of work. The entire Rocky legacy has gone from critical hit to mainstream, to less respected and is now inching its way back...life imitating art so to speak. Creed is a near perfect "reboot." I HATE that new expression that has become so common place. Reboot is just a word for trying to make a franchise better enough that it continues. Creed is almost a blend of a reboot and a remake as it does mirror much of the original classic Rocky film but not enough to make it so obvious that it reeks of being yet another Rocky. If I could call out one flaw to the film it would be that there is too much here for one movie. They really cram a lot of story and a lot of time into one two hour film. Still, it works on an incredibly entertaining level and as another IMDb reviewer pointed out, this is a miraculous ode to fans of Rocky.
I have never been sure about Michael B. Jordan. You hear a lot of him being an up and comer but then he was in a dud (Fantastic Four) and he was good in the much talked about Fruitvale Station but that was a sub par movie in my books. I wasn't sure I would be impressed with him in this. Well I was...Jordan delivers. He is tough and real and an underdog that you can invest in and while the pacing of the film is a little off as far as how he rises the ranks and become who he is, his performance is full of emotion and fear and aggression and above all strength. He isn't Rocky and he isn't Stallone but he definitely commands attention. One of the smartest things Creed does is it puts Rocky Balboa secondary to Adonis and it truly does! However, for those of us who are enormous Rocky fans, it is a terrific follow up to his story as well. Best of all, this is Stallone's best performance in decades. I know a lot of people poke fun of him but I think he's an excellent actor and Creed proves that because Rocky is Rocky. He becomes a different person. He carries himself differently, he has a different lingo in his voice, he carries emotion from losing his wife and his best friend and his laid back demeanour. If you watch Stallone become Rocky again...you'll just be floored by his performance. Best of all, he has perfect chemistry with Jordan and they are believable and so good together. Tessa Thompson is...good in her role. I don't want to say anything bad about her because she is good but she is the "must include" romantic interest and she does need to be there but its another thing they have to establish and build and she has her own little back story. I suppose they could expand on her in future instalments but she felt a little "in the way." Phylicia Rashad is perfect (and looks fantastic!) as Mary Anne Creed. The only thing I can say is that I would have loved to have more of her and hopefully she returns for sequels. One thing about the Rocky franchise is they always established the enemy very well. They created a larger than life persona for Rocky to go up against. Creed does that to a lesser extent but nonetheless Tony Bellew is a fantastic nemesis. He is frighteningly huge, they establish his violent temperament and he is great in the ring. Maybe I'm too hooked up the mainstream concept of Rocky and the training montages of yesteryear.
This is an example of an enormous fan creating something straight from the heart. Ryan Coogler is now a "one-to-watch" director and for pretty good reason. He definitely has style and vision but most of all...this guy has heart. The Rocky franchise was near and dear to him and something he shared with his Dad and Creed reeks of how much he loves these characters. He lets Rocky shine, he lets Adonis come to life and he makes this an entirely new ballgame. Please, please don't let him go producers! Keep him involved in this newly built Universe. While Creed isn't perfect, it is very nearly...and for what is technically the seventh instalment of a franchise for it to be going back to its roots and truly rebooting properly is a terrific feat. I can't wait to add this to my Stallone collection. This will likely end up on my top ten of 2015 list!! 9/10