‘Creed’ lands every hit and ends up being a knockout

The Rocky franchise is one that has seen its ups and downs throughout its six-film saga. The first one is a bonafide classic which won best picture back in 1977, as well as receiving best actor and screenplay nominations for Sylvester Stallone.

The sequels never managed to match their predecessor’s excellence, as they provided moderate entertainment, but were all quite silly and underwhelming. With the exception of Rocky IV, which was unapologetically ridiculous with its Russian shenanigans, Rocky II and III were just serviceable at best. As for Rocky V, let’s just pretend that one never happened. Then came a 16 year absence of the underdog boxer until Rocky Balboa came out in 2006, which was a worthy successor and, potentially, proper finale to the franchise. But nine years later, young writer/director Ryan Coogler has managed to rejuvenate this series with his anthology movie, Creed.

Opening this past weekend behind The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 and The Good Dinosaur, the film studies the character of Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan), son of Rocky’s rival-turned-trainer Apollo Creed, who was killed in the ring by the heavyweight Russian, Ivan Drago, in Rocky IV. Wanting to make a name for himself rather than live under the fame his father’s, Adonis decides go by his mother’s name and box at underground rings in Mexico with the title of Adonis Johnson. Dissatisfied with his desk job and having to box for recreation rather than profession, he sets out to fight in the big leagues and searches for someone who could train him to match his father’s caliber. So who better to do that than Rocky Balboa himself? As the two team up to make Adonis a legend, they face issues of identity, health and many others, making this a hard-hitting drama.

Coogler was the perfect person to take on this project, as his previous movie Fruitvale Station, also starring Michael B. Jordan, was one of the most heart-wrenching dramas back in 2013 and in recent memory in general. He handles the characters here with impeccable thought and never turns them into one-dimensional caricatures, especially with Rocky. This could have been another phoned in appearance of the character, but it’s anything but. Coogler shines light on new levels of Rocky that have never been explored, and Sly, who could have equally phoned in a performance, resonates with the material beautifully.

Jordan is also terrific in the lead, balancing the effortless charisma with the internal struggle of this masterfully written protagonist, who can’t realize whether he truly is a Johnson or a Creed. The workings of the performers and the writer/director blend incredibly, navigating through the lives of the characters in such an intriguing fashion.

As for the boxing sequences, they’re filmed to absolute perfection. There’s one jaw-dropping fight in particular that’s shot entirely in one take. The score is also magnificent, never holding up and always going big with its sweeping orchestral songs, similarly to the original Rocky tune, which also makes a terrific appearance towards the end.

Perhaps the best part about Creed is the way it parallels its theme of living up to one’s own merit rather than riding off the fame of someone else. This is a film in the Rocky universe but is in no way boasting about the fact that it is. Rather, it manages to set itself apart from the glory and popularity of the franchise, making it a superb standalone character piece.