A lesser spin-off, but still worthwhile

Rating: 6/10 (8 September 2017)

CREED is a spin-off from the ROCKY franchise, bringing in fresh blood and taking it in a new direction. It feels a little like a remake of the first ROCKY movie, with Sylvester Stallone now playing the role of the aged trainer who helps a newcomer in the form of Michael B. Jordan to train for a title fight against a Liverpudlian boxer (!). The twist is that Jordan's playing Adonis Johnson, the son of the much-missed Apollo Creed who met his maker in ROCKY III.
The main problem I had with this movie is its familiarity. It's like ROCKY but simply isn't as good. Jordan tries hard but as written his character isn't as endearing as Stallone's, and the use of a hip hop soundtrack wasn't to my taste either. The good news is that Stallone gives a typically fine performance for his part, good enough to be Oscar nominated for it. In addition, the boxing scenes are filmed with a new kind of special camera which adds a real fluidity and force to them.