A Rocky Renaissance

Rating: 9/10 (27 May 2016)

This is arguably the best Rocky movie ever made.
I'm fairly certain they're making a sequel to this, but they don't have to. It brilliantly and properly does what the last couple Rocky movies have been trying and failing to do: wrap up Rocky's character. And in doing so, it includes elements from all the movies in the franchise without feeling fanservicey. It completes the cycle started in the first movie way back in 1976, 40 years from time of writing.
This movie is about Apollo's son, Adonis Creed (best name in the world, BTW), hence the title. But what's really clever is this is not just one of those cases where they picked the title because it was the first proper-sounding thing that comes to mind, like how about half or more of all biopics are titled after the first or last name of the protagonist. The Creed name is a major theme of the movie. What does it mean? How much does it belong to Adonis, who never met his father? Should he stick tightly to it, or should he form his own legacy? Adonis is the product of an affair Apollo had. His mother died early, and he bounced around group homes and juvie, gaining a reputation as a very pugnacious individual. Out of the kindness in her heart, Apollo's widow tracked him down and raised him as her own. He grew up in Apollo's grand mansion, and he got a good education and a good desk job. But fighting is in his blood. He quits his desk job and leaves home, much to the dismay of Apollo's widow.
It's a writing to challenge to establish why someone like Adonis would walk away from the life he has to pursue fighting, but this film nails it perfectly, with some good help from Michael B. Jordan's acting. It doesn't labor on the issue, but it makes sure you get what's at play here.
Adonis goes to Philadelphia to train with Rocky Balboa. It's nice to see how him and Apollo have passed into boxing legend status. Rocky's III and IV got really campy and over-the-top, but this film really makes it feel like the plots of those films actually happened. It's a nice little thing that retroactively improves some of the other films in the franchise, and it's a good piece of world-building.
Rocky doesn't want to train Adonis at first, but he wins him over. It soon becomes clear that Rocky has a character arc of his own in this film. He starts off depressed, and you understand why. All the people he's cared about- Micky, Apollo, Adrian, Paulie- they're all dead now, and he's just drifting along, waiting for his turn to die. When he gets cancer, he decides to let it kill him. But Adonis won't stand for it. The two of them help each other learn how to fight. The Rocky/Adonis scenes are the best in the movie. They're packed with so much emotion and feeling. These characters are both good people, but they help each other become better and overcome their flaws. It's really beautiful.
Actually, the relationships are probably the best thing about this movie. Every one of them seems real and genuine. This film has a glorious emotional core. I gave Edge of Tomorrow a five out of five, and I stand by that, but it was missing something. When I watched this movie, I realized it was that emotional core. Special attention goes to the relationship between Adonis and Bianca. The Rocky and Adrian relationship is famous, but this blows by it in so many ways. I love this two as a couple. Their relationship is natural and sweet and complex, and it doesn't have to resort to clichés. These two have such chemistry. I could literally see these two characters falling in love even if we didn't need a romance on the side. If they do make a sequel, I'm excited to see what happens to them in the future.
And yeah, Sly got robbed at the Oscars, but so did Ryan Coogler. This guy should have gotten an directing nom. He's got great instincts, and he knows exactly what do to maximize the potency of a scene. The fighting scenes are masterful, and so is the scene where he's training as the community rides behind him, and so is the last scene of the film. The man is the real deal. He's one of the best young directors in the business, and he is arguably the best African-American director ever. I really want to see Black Panther now.
This film is a work of prime artistry. The original Rocky won Best Picture. This is a better movie than that.