Solid - but different

Rating: 5/10 (25 January 2016)

As a huge Rocky fan, this latest installment just missed the mark for me a bit. The fact that this was the first entry in the Rocky franchise not penned by Stallone was apparent. Part of what made the first couple Rocky movies for me (namely the first 2) was the dialogue written and performed by the characters. Sure, they got pretty campy in the later entries and ended up nearly being a parody of itself by the end in Rocky 5, but there's no denying the dialogue. This film was grittier and much better than the 4 and 5, but paled greatly to the first two. To this day when watching 1 or 2, after seeing them for the umpteenth time, I still find myself rooting for the Rock and feeling inspired. I just didn't get that vibe with Creed. All-in-all, it's much better than 3,4 and of course 5, but it's no where no 1 or 2. If you don't compare it to the original franchise and judge it as a stand-alone boxing movie - it's average at best. Southpaw and Cinderella Man beat Creed by a unanimous decision.