Creed

Rating: 8/10 (29 November 2015)

"Rocky," a movie where the big fight at the end is almost an afterthought to the central love story and underdog tale, spawned four sequels, and while they varied in quality, it wasn't until 2006's "Rocky Balboa" that star and series creator Sylvester Stallone brought the character back to his quiet roots and found a nice coda to the boxer's tale.
The new film in the franchise, "Creed," isn't a continuation or a passing-of-the-torch film, but rather a spin off in the best sense that manages to keep the Rocky character alive and bring him to new places while birthing a compelling new central figure.
Ryan Coogler's film stars Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Johnson, the illegitimate offspring of Rocky's friend and rival Apollo Creed, takes a little while to find its footing as it works to hide its protagonist's motives, but once the young Adonis and the old Rocky team up, the movie is magical. It has all of the heart of the original "Rocky" mixed with the goofy lightness of the better sequels.
You know you have a strong film when the romantic subplot could stand on its own as a worthwhile movie. The original "Rocky" is a love story, but "Creed" doesn't want to copy the Rocky-Adrian dynamic or anything else from the classic 1976 film.
Adonis and Bianca (Tessa Thompson) have a unique relationship, their own give-and-take, and it's compelling in its own way thanks to the excellent chemistry between Jordan and Thompson. The "Dear White People" actress is excellent as Bianca. Like Talia Shire's iconic Adrian, she radiates both intelligence and kindness, and Coogler's given Thompson some interesting conflicts of her own, as Bianca is a budding singer dealing with the fact that she's gradually going deaf. Just like Creed and Rocky, she's a fighter in her own fight.
However, the real central relationship is between Adonis and Rocky. Coogler demands that we hold separate ideas in our head about Adonis' motives: he's a young man who wants to create a reputation based on his own achievements, and yet he also wants to be trained by the man who presents a direct connection to the father he never knew. It's both a rejection and a longing for Apollo, and I love that "Creed" puts a conflicted protagonist front and center where he knows what he wants, but he's not exactly sure if he's going about it in the right way.
Rocky presents the other half of the story, and it's wonderful to see him take on the role of trainer rather than fighter. We meet an incredibly lonely Rocky Balboa in this film — his son moved away, Adrian and Paulie are dead — and there's a healing power in his relationship with Adonis. This isn't a father-son story; it's a friendship story, and it's heartwarming without ever falling into mawkishness.