Creed

As a boxing movie Creed packs a heavyweight punch.

Sylvester Stallone (as the film's producer) has covered a lot of miles with his Rocky legend, most recently with his 2006 Rocky Balboa. As such I had thought there was little milk left in the cash cow, but "Creed" proves me wrong. This time, with Stallone's advancing years, he wisely doesn't stretch credibility by having Rocky Balboa as the center of the pugilism, but hands the baton to young contender Adonis ("Donnie") Creed (Michael B Jordan). Adonis is the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed, Rocky's protagonist and later close friend in the first four Rocky films.

Donnie is a kid from the wrong side of the tracks with a big chip on his shoulder and a reputation for finding trouble with his fists. Brought back from the brink by Apollo's wife (a touching performance by Phylicia Rashad) Donnie can't escape his family legacy and seeks Balboa's help to make it in the ring, using his own adopted name. Balboa's help leads to a number of 'traditionally' brutal Rocky-style encounters in the ring.

I must admit I don't normally 'go' for boxing films like this, but this is extremely well done. All of the boxing training is gritty and believable and the actual bouts, particularly the classic finale, is suitably thrilling and a technical masterpiece of camera-work (hats off to cinematographer Maryse Alberti, who also filmed "The Wrestler" so is no stranger to the ring).

A real surprise is just how good Stallone is in the role. There are scenes where Stallone really has to act – particularly an emotional locker-room scene when Rocky faces up to his own personal crisis – and any jokes about Sylvester "Expendables" Stallone's acting abilities are forgotten. Michael B Jordan is also a great find and a name to watch. He has to cover a wide range during the film and succeeds admirably.

Tessa Thompson, impressive in last year's "Selma", makes a similarly positive impression here playing the love interest in the form of songstress Bianca, with a difficult future ahead of her.

"Creed" is a love letter to the old Rocky films, and – with this quality, and likely success – the start of a whole new generation of films seems probable. The respect it shows to the originals is characterized by a moving tribute to the classic 'Philadelphia steps' scene that brings a genuine lump to the throat. That being said, the film is a lot more 'street' for a new generation, with a soundtrack (by Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson) that mixes rap and hip-hop with more classic orchestral elements. Without outright plagiarism of Bill Conti's classic score, Göransson subtly weaves in some of Conti's themes, notably Adrian's theme, as well as coming up with his own "Fly Now"- equivalent musical high-point.

Impressive direction is by Ryan Cooglar in only his second feature film (after Fruitvale Station, also with Michael B Jordan). Cooglar also wrote the story and co-wrote the script. Without any spoilers, the story is delightfully 'un-Hollywood" by being unpredictable in where it goes. However, an area for criticism is that it took a few 'easy' short-cuts in places: a particular 'change of heart' in the film is way to glib and quick.

Finally, i would love to watch this film in a cinema in Liverpool, when the "hallowed turf" for a bout is revealed as being Everton's ground, Goodison Park….! Generations of Liverpool FC fans will be turning in their graves and I predict that cinemas in the city could become scenes of the worst hand to hand combat since the finale of Kingsman!

(Please see the graphical version of this review at bob-the-movie- man.com. Thanks.)

Creed is the 7th installment in the Rocky franchise but this time focuses on Adonis Creed, Apollo Creed's son. He wants to follow in his father's footsteps and is trained by Rocky Balboa himself. More than boxing, this movie really goes into the relationship between Creed and Rocky and how they both support each other when they most need it. Michael B. Jordan is fantastic as Creed. He is so energetic in the boxing scenes and he is even better when his character is being developed. Now we come to Sylvester Stallone as Rocky. In his signature role, he absolutely knocks it out of the park in what may have been his best performance in his career as an actor. He honestly deserves an Oscar for this part. He brought tears to my eyes on multiple occasions and still has the same charm from the old Rocky movies.

Creed perfectly mixes elements from past Rocky movies, especially the first, with modern culture. The amazing Rocky score is complemented by modern styles. Creed's story is told just like Rocky's and it is so beautiful to watch. The cinematography is also visually pleasing. Coogler captured the look of Philadelphia extremely well. The boxing scenes are excellent. There is a fight that is done completely in one take and I have no idea how they did it. It was amazing. This movie is a drama that tugs at your heart a lot, but at times it still manages to be quite funny as well.

I love Creed as a film. Its characters are so well realized and acted, the cinematography is gorgeous, and the boxing is glorious. Creed is definitely one of the best films of 2015. Creed gets an A.

If you have watched the original Rocky and think it is a near classic, then Creed is close. Maybe not a classic, because only time will tell. But it is close in terms of look and feel. There are scenes, tempo, performances, music, and of course the setting (Philadelphia) which harken back to the award winning 1976 film. This is not a comparison piece, but Creed is what the earlier release this year of Southpaw could have been; a gritty, modern day boxing film.

Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station), plays the titular character (using the name Donnie Johnson) who yearns to exorcise his demons/ follow his dreams in the boxing ring. Without giving anything away, he's the son of the late, great Apollo Creed and he sets out to find any trainer willing to take him on. He can fight, but he's raw and needs refinement if he's going to be taken seriously.

His search lands him in his father's old Philly stomping ground, where he pester's one Rocky Balboa (Stallone) into training him. He pulls every angle to get Rocky to help him since his pop and Rocky were combatants and close friends before he died. Once Rocky begrudgingly gives in, things begin to coalesce. Stallone is excellent as the "Mickey"-esque Balboa. Although he didn't write the screenplay for Creed, he is one of the producers and his presence is felt. The dynamic between his character and Creed is perfect. The right combination of old school and new school. One scene is indicative when Creed takes a picture on his phone of Rocky's workout routine then tells him it's "in the cloud" to Rocky's bewilderment.

In Creed, director and writer Ryan Cogler is reunited with Jordan. As Creed, Jordan's performance is on part with Stallone's. He imbues his character with just the right amount of bravado, not cockiness, just confidence, hunger, and drive. He also trained and bulked up for the role. But he's not all fierce competitor, he has funny, sensitive sides as well. Cogler's team decided Creed should have a love interest. The relationship he forges with a local neo- soul artist played by Tessa Thompson (Dear White People) could have been syrupy, but thankfully it doesn't overshadow the main theme or feel forced. Frankly, some of the scenes with Thompson and Jordan are very good and so is their chemistry.

Creed is an excellent example of mixing newcomers with established names on both sides of the camera and having the end result come out perfect. The crew and cast turn in great work. Cogler had the fortune and skill to work with people who know what it takes to put together a film that would appeal to critics and audiences alike. There were a couple scenes that are "wow" moments, not just fight scenes, which are are amazing, but little scenes that are set up, shot (by Maryse Alberti) and acted that will have a lasting effect on the viewer. Maybe classic isn't a stretch.

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History has a strange way of repeating itself. 40 years ago, Rocky Balboa became a household name and turned an unwanted actor into one of the greatest success stories in Hollywood. The fact that Rocky (1976) won three Academy Awards including Best Picture is of little importance compared to the real life struggle behind the making of that film. For Sylvester Stallone, it was a rags to riches story that mirrored his real life struggles to make a decent and honest living. Cut from the same cloth maybe, but Creed is much more than just the seventh installment in the Rocky film franchise. As a no- holds-barred sports drama, this is every bit an exceptional crowd pleaser with a lot of heart, plenty of amusing jabs to the ribs, and an unexpected but emotional haymaker to the gut. And a lot more.

Co-written by director Ryan Coogler, there's no doubt that Creed is a passionate love letter to the first film, which in itself is a poetic love story about fighting the good fight. Although boxing is the central theme, and often frowned upon as a brutal blood-sport that causes serious injuries, it's never been about the fight but more about what you are fighting for. Coogler gets this spot-on when we are introduced to teenager Adonis Johnson in juvenile detention. We soon learn that Adonis is the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed, born shortly after the latter's death in Rocky IV. Appolo's widow Mary Ann (Phylicia Rashad) rescues young Adonis from what is certain to be a life on the streets and raises him as her own in the plush Creed estate in Los Angeles. Cut to present day and Adonis (Michael B. Jordan) is a corporate executive half way up the ladder. It's a stark contrast to Stallone's blue collar stiff in the first film, but this is where both films converge. Like Rocky, Adonis (calling himself Donnie) knows he is destined for something else, so heads to Philadelphia to meet his late father's rival turned best friend.

The meeting with Rocky is one of several great moments in the film while also serving as a nostalgic homecoming occasion for every fan of the franchise. It's a fascinating intersection of the past but none better than the fact that in many ways, Creed is an inverted mirror image of Rocky. And before sending this film off on its own pulsating trajectory, Coogler reveals a full hand of spades. One of which is the legacy Rocky bestows on Donnie, and in essence, Stallone handing over the franchise baton to Jordan. We may not realize this at first and that's because we are already smitten by the father-son relationship developing between Donnie and Rocky. Their character study is the most significant aspect of this film. Donnie has always been an orphan and the reason why he never took on his father's name is an emotional revelation. Who he is and why he wants to become a professional boxer is his darkest secret.

Both equally emotive and with comic interruptions, Jordan and Stallone deliver impressive performances. Stallone in particular gives what has to be his career best performance since Copland, and if this is his franchise swan song (owing to a devastating but befitting plot device) that's all the more reason why this film must be seen. But as they say, the show must go on and Jordan is more than capable of shouldering future films under the Creed banner. And with the inclusion of Philly local Bianca (Tessa Thompson), Donnie's neighbor and love interest, future sequels look to be set in Rocky's beloved hometown.

Onto the production quality and it suffices to say that Creed has THE best technical aspects in the franchise, including spectacular fight choreography, astounding cinematography in the ring and around Philadelphia, and an upbeat hip-hop soundtrack fused with the original score from previous films. The only real letdown comes from Donnie's main opponent (Real life professional boxer Tony Bellew) who isn't as antagonistic as you would expect, given the villainous ferocity from Clubber Lang (Rocky III) and the evil Ivan Drago (Rocky IV). But that's a minor blemish to an overall outstanding film made with grit, substance and style. At its best, Creed is a very intimate film for fans and newcomers and an undisputed knockout for 2015.

Continuing my plan to watch every Sly movie in order, I come to Creed.

Plot In A Paragraph: Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.

Long rumoured, Sly publicly turned this movie down on more than one occasion. And I was in the camp that was glad he did. I didn't want anything ruining the ending to Rocky Balboa, which for this Zoner was perfect. However a few flops at the domestic box office later, and it's back to Rocky.

And it is the smartest decision he made in years, winning the Golden Globe and taking him all the way to the Oscars. (I still say he should have won)

Whilst I enjoyed Creed immensely, I can see both sides of the argument regarding this movie.

I'll get what I didn't like out of the way first. Whilst I loved the nods and references, I thought it literally borrowed TOO heavily from the first movie from me (Just a few....The champs opponent breaking something prior to the fight, and the Champ needing an opponent quick, and said opponent is chosen because of his name. The fighters needing separating at the end of the second round, A 14th round knock down with the champ turning his back to celebrate as the hero gets up, the result of the fight)

It undid all the Rocky/Robert relationship restored by the end of Balboa. How did the vultures of the gutter press, not pick up on how sick Rocky was looking?? And did Robert not see any pics of his Dad in the papers or on TV, and think "He's not looking too well, I'll give him a call"

I didn't relate to Adonis (nobody's fault) but when Rocky wasn't on screen, especially early on, I wasn't that interested, and was tempted to reach for the remote, to run it forward to the next time Rocky was featured.

As someone who has lost close (TOO many) family members and loved ones to Cancer, and been with them all the way through it, the scenes of Rocky receiving his treatment, struggling to the toilet and needing to be tucked in, struck me far TOO close to home as I thought they may.

Tony Bellew was intimidating enough, but thought his physique lacked, and he almost looked fat next to Jordan.

Now on to the good.

Sly is fantastic, and is totally worthy of his Golden Globe win and Oscar Nomination!! It's defiantly an Oscar worthy, so for him not to win, was guttering!! He was the best thing in the movie, and when he wasn't on screen, I found myself thinking "When is Rocky coming back in to it" Although I think his Balboa performance, was better (the "It wasn't supposed to be like this Paulie" scene in the meat house and the "It ain't about how hard you hit" Speech come to mind) and it could be argued Copland is too!!

I thought all the cast were good, especially Jordan, and I really liked Rashad, even if she was under used!! (I thought it would be her at the hotel room door, the night before the fight, meaning Rocky finally called her)

I loved it when Gonna Fly Now kicked in during the start of the final round.

I know it's not to everyone's taste, but I enjoyed the score, and all the fight scenes were well shot too!! Though I'm not quite sure how it was a split decision. He seemed well beat to me.

The scenes that I cried at 1 When Rocky got the news 2 "Put everything that was good in my life in a bowl" 3 seeing Rocky struggle during the training montage 4 "You're a Creed and I love you kid" and the Rocky music kicked in 5 seeing Rocky struggling up the steps.

It was nice to see Sly playing Rocky again, and it is a very touching movie that reduced me to tears more then once. It's a well made, entertaining movie, and I do enjoy it. But I don't feel the need to revisit this movie that often. I think my ten your old son summed it up best. When I suggested watching this, he questioned why I wanted to watch it, so I asked why not?? And he replied "If I want to watch a Rocky movie, I'll watch one of the real ones"