Creed 2015
There have been a lot of boxing movies, and while the original Rocky was a great achievement, there have been grittier, tougher boxing movies since then, even in the last few years. So it is hard to avoid all of the boxing movie clichés, especially from a franchise that has as many sequels as Rocky. However, one thing the franchise has going for it is a long history, which Creed uses to its advantage, as a frankly quite old Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone is the same age now that Burgess Meredith, who played Rocky’s trainer, was in the original movie) trains the son of his original opponent, Apollo Creed. While mostly Adonis Creed’s movie, it is good to catch up with Rocky Balboa, and Stallone gets some great scenes reflecting back on the history of his role of a lifetime.
So that’s all pretty good, but you still need a story. Michael B. Johnson does a good job playing an atypical boxer, a guy from a family with money and a good head on his shoulders. As one of his childhood counselors points out “He’s a good boy, but . . . He fights.” He has a few issues and he has to live in the shadow of his legendary father, Apollo Creed, but the filmmakers keep it fairly light. This is a good movie that doesn’t take that many chances, and has some good scenes with Rocky and the likable new guy, but it seems doubtful there will be a Creed VI.Written: 05 Dec 2015
Owned on: Blu-ray