Great Characters, Emotion and Performances

Rating: Null/10 (1 January 2016)

Creed (2015)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Character study of Adonis Johnson who we meet as a troubled child. After fighting through the streets and child care services he learns that he's the son of former heavyweight champ Apollo Creed. Mary Anne Creed takes the young kid in and as an adult he decides to take up boxing. Soon Adonis (Michael B. Jordan) wants to make that his career and he seeks out Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) who he hopes will train him.
I remember watching ROCKY V in the theater and remembering what a disaster that film was and how the entire franchise had finally put itself in the ground. Years later Stallone was bringing his famous roles back and it turned out that ROCKY BALBOA was a masterpiece that perfectly get the series back on track. CREED, from director and co-writer Ryan Coogler isn't quite as good as that film but when you consider this is the seventh movie in the series you can't help but be amazed at what they were able to do here.
As I said in my review of SOUTHPAW, the boxing genre really hasn't changed any since the 1940s and each decade gave us new boxing movies dealing with the same stories. There's always a troubled character and there's always the end result of trying to get redemption. It's easy to see why actors, writers and directors want to take their turn at the boxing genre and Coogler and Jordan, who previously worked together on the wonderful FRUITVALE STATION, both show the mainstream what they're able to do.
The story does feature the same redemption and character developments of previous boxing movies but it was a smart idea connecting this to the Rocky Balboa series. For starters, everyone knows them characters and by knowing them you can bring a little more emotion to them and you're already connected with them. The screenplay is smart enough to make this film fit in with what came before it but it's also smart enough to really wrap a great idea behind this Creed character. Someone trying to make a name for themselves and someone trying not to use a name for fame is something that can connect with the viewer.
The film so well-written as this one also means that the terrific cast can dig into their roles. Jordan once again turns in an excellent performance and I really liked that his character really was a good guy who just makes some stupid decisions. A lot of times we see bad characters trying to do good but I loved the nice quality that Jordan brought to the role. Stallone gives one of the greatest performances of his career and once again manages to prove that he's a terrific actor and doesn't need a machine gun in his hands. He has some incredibly touching scenes here that her perfectly nails. Tessa Thompson is also very good in her supporting role as the love interest.
The film features some great music and the cinematography is also extremely good. There have been so many boxing movies that it's hard to film a fight scene in new ways but I thought the scenes here were quite effective. CREED certainly reaches for your heart and hits all the right movies. It'll be interesting where the series goes from here.