CREED

Rocky Balboa is one of the all time great characters. ROCKY is one of the all time great movies. The franchise, like the character, has defied all the odds and stuck around for 40 years. There were ups and downs of course, but the sixth and intended last entry in 2006 proved that Stallone knew exactly how to retire the character. I find the first and sixth entries to be wonderful bookends to Rocky, and all would have been well if we never saw the character again.

But then director Ryan Coogler came up with CREED and proved that the champ still wasn't done.

Obviously, the movie is called CREED and not ROCKY, so Stallone takes a step back here. And that's OK, because Michael B. Jordan is great in the title role. His Adonis Creed is the result of an affair his father Apollo had just before his fight in ROCKY IV. His mother died while he was young and Apollo's widow tracked him down and took him in. Against her wishes he pursues boxing. His natural talent gets him quite far, but not far enough, and eventually he is drawn to Philadelphia in the hopes to get his father's greatest opponent to train him. Cue the montage.

Like I said, Jordan is great. Adonis is desperate to make his own way and thus fights under his mothers name, but he is also desperate to make a connection with his father. He immediately identifies Rocky as family, even calling him "Unc" (uncle) from their first meeting. Jordan sells all of this expertly, with anger, determination, and even excitement all screaming through his eyes. There is of course great physicality on display, but Jordan manages to say it all with very little.

The movie touches all the bases we expect it to with the training montages, the running through Philadelphia, and the edge of your seat fight sequences, but like the best of the franchise CREED shines when its characters are just sitting together and talking. Adonis gets a great love interest in Bianca, played by Tessa Thompson. Their first date is simply them talking over dinner, and director Coogler keeps it simple, allowing these two to get to know each other. They're two very likable characters, and while they don't quite live up to the pairing of Rocky and Adrian in the first film, they make for a great pair, pushing each other to be better. Great work from all involved.

But guys, Stallone is heartbreaking here. I honestly think this is his best performance. He has always had a bit of a droopy face, but age has exaggerated that droopiness, and with it comes an extra layer of sadness. Not only is Adrian gone, but so is Paulie. And his son, only seen in picture form, has moved to Vancouver. It doesn't help that the picture is of Stallone's real life son who passed away in 2012. UGH. But Stallone brings all of that baggage with him, and he finds a new reason to keep fighting. A new reason to give his all once again.

There is a lot of nostalgia at play in CREED, but none of it feels like fan service. It references the previous films but it doesn't rely on them. It's a natural extension. Everything that Rocky has been through these last 40 years is still there, and now he is able to put all of that knowledge and experience to use for the son of his greatest opponent. And I cried like a baby.


There are two main fight sequences in the movie, and the first is done in an incredible single take. The tension is high and Coogler puts you in the action and makes you feel every hit without sacrificing the geography of the scene.

But guys, the second and main fight. Guys. The Cold War isn't at stake here. No one has to avenge Mickey or Apollo. Adonis just has to prove himself, and the stakes couldn't be higher.

Some of the best moments of my movie-going career have been at the Alamo Drafthouse. The crowds there are exactly the kind of crowds you want to see a movie with. They cheer and laugh at all the right moments. The entire theater is united for two brief hours.

I did not see CREED at an Alamo Drafthouse.

But during that final fight, when Rocky's theme finally plays for the first and only time in the movie, the crowd gasped, and each and everyone of us in the theater instantly leaned forward, glued to the screen. This fight mattered. It meant everything. And it was glorious.

CREED is an amazing film. It confidently ranks among the best of the franchise and reminds us that life is the greatest fight of all. Cheesy? Yea, probably, but it's still fucking great.