Creed (2015) Movie Review
PG-13 | 133 min
Genre: Drama, Sport
Director: Ryan Coogler
Writer: Ryan Coogler & Aaron Covington
Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson
Plot: The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.
In preparation for this film, I went through a marathon of all the Rocky films from the first film to Rocky Balboa. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed them even though the series gets more and more cheesy at they went along. But the one thing I noticed about the first Rocky was that it felt like a film. It was grounded small and had this subtle energy about it. I am glad to say that Creed is a return to that style of the first film but does recognize what the sequels did and their importance to the overall story.
The film follows Adonis Johnson who is son of famous boxer Apollo Creed, he doesn't like to be in the shadow of his father as he tries to make a name for himself. He finds Rocky Balboa who runs a restaurant now and the life of a boxer is way past his time. Most of his friends and family have passed away and even his son has moved away. Adonis shows up and tries to convince Rocky to train his as he want to train and become a boxer like his father, but making a name of his own and not in his fathers shadow. Rocky agrees and the two begin form a bond as he becomes his trainer to become a successful boxer. At the same time both facing problems in their own life from relationships to health problems.
This is the first boxing film that I actually felt was real boxing through out the film, from the way it was shot to the practicality of the fights and the way they were presented. The camera would usually go in close so you can actually be involved in the fight. Even seeing the expression and every bruise and hit that happens has an effect on the other actors. You really get the sense that they are actually fighting each other and looking behind the scenes you can actually see that they are hiring each other at certain moments. This all helps the boxing matches in this film because for most of the fights, they are shot in one take or at least made to look that way.
Creed is an outstanding film that bridges the gap from old to new while treating both aspects with the respect that they deserve. There is just the right amount of nostalgia and emotion for the old characters while making you care about the new ones. In a age where every movie is made to become a new franchise, it is nice to see a film be made just because someone had an idea and went forward with making that idea a reality. One of the best films of 2015 and is my second favorite film in the Rocky series just below the original.
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