"I'm afraid to take the name and lose it."

Rating: 9/10 (3 December 2015)

When I wrote my review of "Rocky Balboa", I premised an idea that might have been used for an eventual 'Rocky VII' movie. I didn't get it all right, as the character Marie and Rocky Balboa Jr. weren't brought over from that story. But the part I got right had to do with exploring Rocky's growing older, and as this picture goes on to reveal, how he chooses to deal with an illness that will eventually level the former champ.
As I watched the movie, most of my attention was trained on Stallone, his speech and mannerisms and how he's remained true to the character of Rocky Balboa. There was a particular scene that I'm sure impacted Stallone on a personal level. As Adonis viewed personal mementos of Rocky's life, there was a framed picture of Stallone (as Rocky) with his own real life son Sage who passed away in 2012. I viewed that scene with incredible poignancy and wondered how Stallone must have felt doing it.
In fact the entire film seems to symbolize the passing of an era. Rocky visits the cemetery to be close to his departed wife Adrian and brother-in-law Paulie. Rocky certainly looks older, worn, even haggard, with a sense of tired exhaustion when faced with the prospect of taking on a new protégé. I had to check Stallone's age and learned that he's just shy of seventy. You have to wonder where all the years have gone since 1976's "Rocky". I'll say this, as an actor he's unselfish here admitting that he lost the 'third fight' to Apollo Creed. I'm sure there are any number of actors who wouldn't make that concession as part of the script, even thought it's a fictional story.
As for Michael B. Jordan, I thought he acquitted himself well as the upstart new light heavyweight contender. About the only problem I had with the story was that there was no sense of history to his boxing career. By the time of the big title match against Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew), he was introduced to the Liverpool crowd with a record of 16-0, with only a single prior match in the picture to show for it. So this viewer didn't have a sense of his being ready for the bout, even if he was trained by one of the best.
So as I write this, "Creed" rates an 8.7 on IMDb after just over a week in release, from almost eleven thousand voters. "Rocky" the original comes in at 8.1. Is "Creed" a better picture? I don't think so, which is why I feel modern day movies have an unfair advantage in the IMDb rating system. But go see the movie and judge for yourself, and see if you don't come away with a split decision.