"Creed" is an effective and entertaining passing of the torch for the beloved "Rocky" franchise.

Rating: 8/10 (27 November 2015)

Pass the torch. According to thefreedictinoary.com, this oft-used phrase means "relinquish responsibilities, a tradition, practice, or knowledge to another." I can hardly think of a better way to express the significance of the boxing drama "Creed" (PG-13, 2:13). Forty years (almost to the day) from the release of the original "Rocky", Sylvester Stallone appears in his seventh movie as the character of boxer Rocky Balboa. But it's the first time that the character's name doesn't appear in the title, and the first Rocky movie not written by Stallone, although you'd never guess that just by watching it.
The film's title comes from the character of Rocky's rival-turned-friend Apollo Creed (played in the first four Rocky movies by Carl Weathers). The title's use of only the last name signifies the symbolic passing of the torch from that character to his son, Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan). Johnson was the name of Adonis' birth mother (now deceased), with whom Apollo had an extra-marital affair shortly before he died in "Rocky IV". Adonis is a Creed by blood and by adoption (having been taken in and raised by Apollo's widow, Mary Anne, played by Phylicia Rashād), but when he decides to follow in his father's footsteps, he keeps his mother's name out of a desire to make his own mark in the boxing world.
Adonis wants to be known by the name Johnson, but he wants to fight like a Creed. When his adopted mother refuses to support his dream (for fear of him ending up like his father), Adonis moves to Philadelphia to seek out the man who knows the most about his father as a fighter – the local Philly hero named Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). He finds Rocky lonely (having lost his beloved wife and her older brother and Rocky's best friend, Paulie) and still running his restaurant (Adrienne's). Rocky is surprised to meet Apollo's son, but is reluctant to get back into the boxing game. Adonis is determined and starts working out alone, but Rocky soon comes around to the idea of training the young fighter.
Getting Adonis ready for actual fights is no easy task. The young man's only experiences in the ring were little more than bar room brawls in Tijuana, Mexico. He won all those fights, but those opponents were not trained fighters and Adonis had no formal training himself. Adonis' trainer can't get into the ring to even spar with Adonis due to Rocky's age and health problems. Then there's the two-sided coin of one of Adonis' fellow apartment house residents, up-and-coming musician, Bianca (Tessa Thompson). Part encouragement and part distraction, Bianca soon comes to play a significant role in Adonis' life.
Lastly, the issue of legacy just won't go away. Adonis is both helped and frustrated by his relationship with Rocky (whom he calls "uncle"), while being both haunted and encouraged by the memory of the famous father that he never knew. As Adonis prepares for his first real fight against a well-trained local talent and, later, the English fighter who holds the title (real-life fighters Gabe Rosado and Tony Bellew, respectively), Adonis has to struggle with the idea of using his father's name in order to secure bigger fights and a bigger payday. Meanwhile, as is often the case with teacher-student relationships, Rocky, directly passing the torch to Adonis, learns almost as much from his protégé as the other way around.
Apart from the story within the film, we see the real-world torch passing metaphor work as we observe Stallone's role in the franchise that he created noticeably diminishing – both on screen and behind the scenes. Just as he hands off the main role to rising star Michael B. Jordan, he has handed off writing and directing duties to Ryan Coogler (who Jordan served very well in 2013's "Fruitvale Station"). In less talented hands, this transition could have resulted in the dropping of the torch, but Coogler's updating of Stallone's legacy proves effective and entertaining and should appeal to fans of the original Rocky movies as well as fans of both Coogler and Jordan.
Coogler and his co-writer, Aaron Covington (with more than a little help from Stallone's outstanding performance), bring the famous character forward with his personality, his attitudes and even his speech patterns remaining remarkably consistent. Jordan makes an excellent younger-generation boxer and the terrific mix of 1970s and 80s Rocky music with new tunes from modern artists Future, Meek Mill and White Dave effectively bridge the gap between the time-honored and the up-to-date. Although some of the dramatic moments in the film felt soft-pedaled, "Creed" presents a very enjoyable couple of hours in front of the screen and lights the way for a spin-off franchise that may entertain fans of the genre for years to come. Consider the torch passed. "A-"