Solid Film - but no real villain!

Rating: 7/10 (22 January 2016)

The film has emotional depth, a solid story, great performances by Rocky and Adonis but no real villain!
Even though this is a spin off series, the only reason why Ryan Coogler even made this film was to keep the Rocky legacy alive as he is a big fan of the franchises style and underdog theme.
In this case, even though the fights look amazing on screen, the film lacked the opportunity to present a great villain that would take over the legacy of baddies from every Rocky Film.
Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, Thunderlips, Ivan Drago, Tommy Gunn and even Mason Dixon (Antonio Tarver as a real boxer portraying a villain, not as good choice as the other villains) all had a presence that grabbed the story for Rocky to climb the mountain again so to speak which made it really exciting to watch each film- I am a big Rocky fan!
This film is really entertaining, inspiring, fun and exciting but if you're expecting a great challenge for the protagonist to fight against besides the emotional battle between student and teacher- then you'll be slightly disappointed.
7.5/10