Very good, and surprisingly so

Rating: 8/10 (8 September 2016)

Adonis Johnson is the son of Apollo Creed, former heavyweight champion of the world and the man Rocky Balboa lost to in his first title fight. Apollo Creed died before Johnson was born, so he never knew his father. Johnson is also a fighter and is 15-0, though in unofficial fights in Mexico. Working in an office he decides to fight full time. He leaves Los Angeles and moves to Philadelphia, hoping to get Rocky Balboa as his trainer. Eventually they team up, and slowly Johnson's career starts to take shape. Meanwhile, the light heavyweight champion of the world, Englishman Ricky Conlan, is looking for someone to fight...
Very good, and surprisingly so. I figured this movie was made to milk the Rocky brand just one more time. The Rocky sequels were mostly pretty empty, all-about-the-money, affairs and I expected the same from this.
So I was pleasantly surprised when this was hardly an empty, style- over substance movie. The characters have depth, the background is set out very well and the plot development is good. Moreover, the characters are engaging and the story is interesting.
Another factor in its favour is the linking to the Rocky and Apollo Creed stories, and the passing of the torch to the new generation. It's similar to what Star Wars has done - reboot the entire series with the next generation of characters, while having links to the original characters.
On that note, like Star Wars, the plot does take a familiar, recycled form, but it doesn't feel stale or overly unoriginal.
Solid performance by Michael B Jordan in the lead role. Good support from Sylvester Stallone and Tessa Thompson. Stallone got a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his efforts.