I had reached acceptance in the depression stages when it came to the end of Rocky Balboa. The franchise ended in a relatively good place, and I had moved on. And then Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan pulled Sylvester Stallone, and the fans, back in. Creed is a rousing study of the core of the franchise, and Stallone’s potentially final chance to inhabit his best known role. The movie delivers maximum audience satisfaction. Yo Adrian, he did it again!
We first get a flashback of young Adonis Johnson (Jordan), a malcontent orphan who fights all the time. Adonis is adopted by Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad), Apollo’s widow, who found out that Johnson is actually Apollo’s illegitimate son. Adonis grows up and succeeds, but can’t shake the fighting gene (he moonlights as a boxer). So he quits his job and moves to Philadelphia to train under his dad’s rival, Rocky Balboa (Stallone).
Ryan Coogler is the creative puppeteer driving Creed’s momentum. Coogler’s previous effort was one of the better efforts from a first timer, and is proving especially timely. The director used long takes with the camera a lot, which helped drive a scene forward and give it a sense of naturalism. Aside from the stellar training montages, Coogler directs a multi-minute unbroken fight. During the fight, Adonis gets punched in the face repeatedly, and has to do the same. Great credit goes to the director (and especially Michael B. Jordan) for showcasing how terrifying a boxing match is and how much it can look like a dance when beautifully executed.
But Coogler contributed much more than just directorial tactics. The story idea is also his. Rocky, at his core, was always partially about moving forward in spite of being hit. Coogler uses age as an inevitable wrinkle into the core of who Rocky is, and how it is an impediment more insurmountable than him. The story gives Adonis Rocky’s arc, but gives Rocky the more interesting one: how does one defeat a foe that will never lose, time? There are lots of answers along the way, but the path to get there involves interweaving of Adonis’s struggles with Balboa’s, and how the two use each other to keep fighting. It may not be extremely deep, but Creed is extremely warm and optimistic, at times joyous entertainment.
Supposedly Jordan and Coogler begged Sylvester Stallone to read the script and participate. Stallone cautiously agreed, and what resulted is his best work in years, and maybe ever. Rocky’s trajectory has always mirrored Stallone’s and the aging star channels all his experiences into Rocky’s character, giving the man deeper pathos than he has ever reached. Stallone pairs nicely with Michael B. Jordan, who worked with Coogler before on Fruitvale Station. Jordan, when used correctly, can elevate a movie, and his Adonis is driven and empowered by his love of the fight. The dude is also crazy cut for those extended fight sequences and can take a punch like a champ, repeatedly. Tessa Thompson is also very good as Adonis’s neighbor, who has similar fights for her passion, music. Phylicia Rashad is also good in her small role.
This better be Rocky Balboa’s final fight. Creed jumpstarts a new franchise by giving us an extended goodbye to its previous anchor character. Hopefully there will be room in Philly for two statues in time.