Preface

• I’d just like to take a minute and say how awesome advanced screenings are.
• I don’t get to many advanced screenings, but tonight I got to see the Rocky spinoff “Creed” TWO FULL WEEKS before it comes out!
• And that’s pretty awesome.
  • As always, this review is Spoiler-Free, which makes sense, seeing as the movie is still a while away.

• Also, I wasn’t a huge Rocky fanboy going into this.
• I had seen the first one, but that was it.
• Creed, however, stands on its own, though continues to entertain fans of the franchise.
• And it’s really, really good.

Review

• In Creed, Michael B. Jordan plays Adonis Creed.
• He’s Apollo Creed’s son, but he’s having a bit of an identity crisis and is trying to find out who he is, and make a name for himself.
• So he moves to Philadelphia and enlists the help of his dad’s old best friend and boxing rival, Rocky Balboa.
• And from there, Rocky is training Adonis to be great, both in and out of the ring.

• First of all, Michael B. Jordan is awesome as Adonis Creed, or Donny as they call him.
  • And so they should.
• Michael B. Jordan has this likable quality to him, and you’re rooting for him the whole time. You see the sense of longing in his eyes, and he delivers this really passionate and energetic performance.
• There’s more than one occasion where he goes SUPER dramatic and he pulls it off with aces.

• Then we’ve got Sylvester Stallone returning as Rocky.
• I was worried Sly would just phone it in, like with the Expendables movies, but he really gives a very nuanced and wise performance.
• He’s the trainer in this one, and he’s a figure that Adonis is looking up to throughout the movie.
• That’s a very different role than we’ve seen Stallone in recently, and he shows that he’s more than just a joke.
• Then you’ve got a couple of other supporting players too, including Adonis’s love interest: Bianca.
• I liked the chemistry between Adonis and Bianca, and I liked how she humanized his character.
• The other character humanizing Adonis was his mom, Mary Creed.
  • She’s in the movie a very limited amount, but she worked really well for the small role she had.

• Though, the characters in this movie wouldn’t have worked without a compelling script.
• Creed has a script with very real and very personal dialogue that still moves along the journey of Adonis.
• That’s not to say that it’s a hard-core drama all the way through.
• This movie uses humor and comic-relief REALLY well.
• Yet, that relief is just relief. It doesn’t turn goofy, or take away from the important journey that we’re on.
• And I LOVED the first half of this movie because of that journey. It felt like a very Adonis-centric storyline, where he was on his odyssey. The supporting characters played their roles, but it was his story.
• I thought the end fight was really well done too, and made a very full culmination to the movie, adding a lot of drama and emotion to what the whole film built too.
• However, there were about 20 minutes before the end that just felt a bit awkward…
• They bring in this subplot that’s spoiled in one of the trailers.
• That subplot, though very important to the movie, felt kinda thrown in towards the end.
• I wish it were brought in earlier, or revealed about halfway through.
• So the time surrounding that subplot, as well as preparation for the final fight, felt a little wishy-washy and sub-par.
• I still liked it though. It didn’t detract from the movie, it just wasn’t as great as the rest of the movie.
• In terms of greatness in the movie, let’s talk about director Ryan Coogler.
• Cuz he did phenomenal on this movie too.
• It felt like he made this story its own, and it didn’t rely on the Rocky franchise too much for life.
  • There are references, sure, but this was very much its own successful piece.
• And technically, this movie looks great.
• Shots have a very full and detailed scale to them, making these humanized characters still appear as larger-than-life.
• It’s amazing that a script and director can juxtapose humanity and grandeur so well…
• The movie didn’t run too long either. I always complain about a movie’s runtime, but this was perfect around 2hr 10min.

In Conclusion

• In Conclusion Guys, I was VERY pleased I got to see Creed early because now I get to spend 2 full weeks recommending it to you all!
• The cast does a great job, they bring their characters to life (especially Jordan, and Stallone isn’t phoning it in). The supporting players are likable and have great chemistry with the lead.
• The dialogue is spot-on, blending emotion and humor.
• The directing, especially pacing, is solid and everything looks very rich.
• There is some awkwardness in the third-quarter, but other than that the movie accomplishes what it sets out to accomplish.
• And I had a great time watching it!
• I’d say Creed is Awesome and Worth Checking Out Multiple Times!

***

So guys, those are my thoughts on Creed! What are your thoughts on this movie (when you see it…!)? Let me know in the comments down below, and as always, thanks for reading guys.