Great extension of a brilliant franchise! 7/10

Rating: 7/10 (31 May 2016)

Review: I really thought it was a joke, when I heard that they making a movie about Apollo Creeds son but now that I have finally watched it, I actually really enjoyed it. Maybe because Sly didn't direct it! All of the Rocky movies, up to 4, have been great and this movie should have been the 5th in the franchise. Michael B. Jordan plays Adonis Johnson, who is Apollo Creed's son, and he has the same fire and love for boxing as his father. After a troubled childhood, Apollo's widow, Mary Ann Creed (Phylicia Rashad) decides to adopt Adonis, even though she isn't his mother, and he takes on a desk job to please Mary but his heart is devoted to boxing. He then decides to quit his job and go into boxing full time, against Mary Ann's wishes, and he moves to Philadelphia to pursue his career. As he wants to become successful without using his father's name, he begins his journey under the name of Johnson and he seeks out Rocky to train him. After a couple of successful bouts, he gets the opportunity to fight for a belt, so they have to dig hard to prepare for the fight. I don't want to spoil the movie too much for people who haven't watched it, so I won't go into depth about the other elements which made the movie so good. Jordan plays Creeds son extremely well and I liked the chemistry between Adonis and Stallone, who also put in a great performance. The fighting scenes were choreographed extremely well and the whole atmosphere surrounding the fights, seemed real. I was pumped up after watching the film, like when I watched the old Rocky movies, so I have to commend the director for doing this great franchise justice. Its still sad to see Rocky down in the dumps, after having such a successful boxing career but it's good to see that he still has the ability to train a boxer and teach him some wisdom, even though he still has some of his dim witted ways. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and I can't wait to see a sequel. Great!
Round-Up: After the awful Fantastic Four remake, which also starred Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm, it's good to see him put that firmly behind him, and put in a top performance in this movie. At 29 years old, he certainly has the screen charisma to become a big star and he was the perfect choice to play Apollo Creeds son, because Apollo certainly was a charismatic character. I still would have liked to have seen Adonis reunite with his mother, and to see what he had planned to do with his boxing career but that's just me being picky. This movie was written and directed by Ryan Cooglar, who brought you Fruitvale Station, which also starred Michael B. Jordan. I have to give props to the director, for taking on such a massive franchise, and casting the creator. He definitely brought the best out of all of the actors and the various boxers also seemed professional and the punches looked real. I was a bit skeptical when I saw the length of the film but it really needed to be that long, because you get an in depth look into all of the characters. Anyway, is a well put together movie which deserved the profit at the box office.
Budget: $35million Worldwide Gross: $174million
I recommend this movie to people who are into their sport/dramas starring Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phyllicia Rashad, Ritchie Coaster and Wood Harris. 7/10