"Old School meets New School"

Rating: 5/10 (25 January 2016)

Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Johnson – Fruitvale Station) is an angry young man that quits his comfortable West Coast life with a top finance management job, gated mansions and classic cars to follow his passion and dreams in the footsteps of legends. Showing how people progress within the American Dream, with champ Apollo Creed fighting himself to glory leaving a financial security and leaving no need for his children to follow him in the ring where death is at risk. But how some times you just got to follow your heart, to be independent, and build your own strong bonds. As in all Rocky films director and writer Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station) and producer Sylvester "Sly" Stallone showcase the everyday struggle in life where everyone has their own challengers and where everyday is a fight. In this tribute to the streets of Philly with the score by Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson who explored the city's rich music scene together with Tessa Thompson to create nine original songs for this motion picture, as well as the famous Philly steaks, dirt bikes, icon Kobe Bryant and the classic Rocky films with story lines, characters and places like Mickey's Gym, the stairs, they show awareness to these issues and health issues such as cancer and hearing problems. Meet the seducing Bianca (Tessa Thompson) who Donnie meets after moving to area of the famous Rocky Balboa to find the man who once beat his father and shortly after disappeared from the family and scene. With a tight knitted team Adonis "Donnie" Johnson-Creed advances quick and lands a dream fight in Liverpool, England, to make show everyone he is not a mistake. The film is pretty predictable like all Rocky films and lacks the build up and excitement the previous first four films achieved. The beginning is pretty fresh and leads you to think it would be more fight and grit than just the drama that takes place. It does follow in the footsteps of Rocky in a lot of ways, and you do miss legendary characters Paulie and Adrian without anyone reaching out to grab their place but it sure has set-up for a new Rocky legacy with the new tag-team Creed and Balboa in many sequels to follow.