Very nice surprise in a rather disapointting year

Rating: 8/10 (4 December 2015)

I like when movies describe themselves in-between the dialog lines. In one point of the movie, Adonis Johnson explains that he doesn't want to carry Apollo Creed's last name because he wants to build his own legacy. Mocking him in his response, his opponent refers to Rocky as a real legacy, and doubts the young Johnson could ever get close to that level.
Now let's put this dialog out of the movie and into the context of the production of the film. Rocky is without a doubt a legacy. Six movies under the belt, with the first one released in 1976. Creed is a Young spin off with audiences doubting it could compete with a massive franchise. Well, to avoid spoilers I won't tell you if Adonis Johnson was able to live up to the expectations as a boxer, but I can assure you that Creed met and surpassed this reviewer's expectations as a movie.
There's something about the direction that makes you feel every punch that Michael B Jordan takes. Ryan Coogler is definitely talented. In his second film after the very-well-developed- but-not-so-exciting Fruitvale Station, you can tell that the 29-year-old director is going places. The acting is engaging. Stallone is and always will be Rocky. No doubt about that. Jordan is solid and he needs to do more justice to his talent. This means more Fruitvale Station and less Fantastic Four and Awkward Moment roles.
Altogether, Creed tells an interesting story at a welcomed pace. It serves to show Hollywood that you can exploit your Golden egg goose all you want, but you need some new twists and less recurrent clichés to keep the story interesting.