There is a scene in Creed, director Ryan Coogler’s newest addition to the Rocky franchise, in which the title character, Adonis Creed, races down the streets of Philadelphia flanked by wheelie-ing bike riders. As the biker’s circle him in slow-motion, Adonis pumps his fist, jumps in the air, and triumphant music plays. It is trying to be the famous stairs scene from Rocky, and though it doesn’t quite get it, the spirit is there.
In many ways, Creed is a modernization of the classic Rocky story, with Rocky (still Sylvester Stallone) as the new mentor, and Adonis Creed (son of Apollo Creed from the original movies, and played by Michael B. Jordan) as the up and coming rookie. The movie follows all the same beats as the original film, has many similar scenes, and is laden with sentimentalism for the old movies. That being said, Creed isn’t a cash grab for the Rocky name – it occurred to me that if it were it would have been called Rocky: Legacy or something in that vein – but rather has plenty of legitimately fresh ideas. It is clear in the attention to detail that this movie had thought, work, and time put into it, especially from the technical side. One fight, stunningly, is done in only one shot.
Plot wise, Creed is nothing special. There is nothing surprising in the movie, it drags in the middle, and it becomes a little too close to the original Rocky plot-wise, but it’s never unbearable. The movie follows Adonis’s journey as he struggles to make a name for himself in the boxing world without abusing the fame of his father. He changes his name to Johnson in order to avoid all the publicity his father’s name would bring, but he may not be entirely committed to shaking his father’s legacy, as his first step is to go directly to Rocky Balboa for training. Most of the movie is a training montage from there on, intercut with Adonis’ and Rocky’s day to day lives on the streets of a modern-day Philadelphia in which Rocky is a city legend.
The lead performances are all solid. Stallone pulls his weight as the grizzled mentor with a soft heart (though he still mumbles through ever-stiff lips), Jordan is a likable and convincing hero with something to prove, and Tessa Thompson, playing Creed’s musician love interest, Bianca, is simply and seductively enchanting. The
problem is that they never have any material to play with. The highest emotional point the movie gets to is a yelling match between Jordan and Stallone, and the worst conflicts are resolved as misunderstandings. The rivalry between Adonis and the big bad challenger, ‘Pretty’ Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew), is one of the best relationships of the movie. One of the movie’s most interesting scenes is a press conference in which Conlan throws insults and Creed tries to keep his cool.
Publicity plays a big part in Creed’s plot, and is one of its best contemporary twists on the original story. Throughout the movie, Adonis has to balance the public criticism of his dependence on his father’s name with the opportunities the title provides him. He is determined not to be known only as “Baby Creed,” but is able to fight at the highest levels because of the name. That no clear answer is provided for this issue is one of the movie’s smartest moves. Like the real public eye, it’s complicated, spiteful, and ugly.
Despite the large chunk of the movie focusing on the characters’ lives, Creed is, at its core, a boxing movie. Though there are only two real fights in the film, they are more than enough. Both are thrilling, keep you close to the action, are shot clearly , and are quite visceral. With the use of some well integrated CGI, some almost disturbing sound effects, and excellent
makeup work and camera tricks, Coogler creates some of the most intense and real fight sequences of all time.
One can’t help noting Creed’s timing in pop culture. The Creed-Conlan fight parallels the recent famed Pacquiao-Mayweather fight in its hype and in the character of its contestants. This movie’s release was either a smartly timed choice, or a happy coincidence in its proximity to the fight in pop-culture. The Pacquiao-Mayweather fight’s popularity certainly seems like an influence, if not an inspiration, for this movie’s plot.
Fans of Rocky will love Creed as a trip down memory lane, and even as a movie on its own. Those who aren’t familiar with the franchise will certainly enjoy it as well. It’s been done before, it’s a bit lackluster and slow, but overall it’s a fun and solid movie. Creed gets 3 out of 5 stars. Go give it a watch this weekend if Hunger Games isn’t your thing.