REVIEW: Creed

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Everyone has a pop culture blind spot, whether it’s a classic book you should’ve read by now or a television show your friends keep raving about even though you’ve never seen a single episode. Until recently, the Rocky movies were a blind spot for me. However, I caught up with them over the last month or so in preparation for Creed, the spin-off film now playing in theaters.

I’m so glad I did, because the Rocky Balboa I knew was actually the cartoon character he turned into during the 1980s – you know, the greased-up macho man who singlehandedly won the Cold War. The original Rocky is a vastly different movie than I expected. If you haven’t seen it in a while, I’ll wager it’s also not the viewing experience you remember.

The drama is much more in line with other gritty films of its era. Heck, there’s barely any boxing before the big fight at the end. It’s first and foremost a character study. What’s more, Sylvester Stallone – who wrote the screenplay and stars as the titular boxer (as he would for the next five sequels) – never even entertains the possibility Rocky might win against Apollo Creed. The movie tells you in no uncertain terms he’s going to lose. The suspense lies in whether he’ll hold his own or get destroyed immediately.

People are often shocked when you remind them Rocky won Best Picture in 1976 over All the President’s Men, Network and Taxi Driver, but it’s honestly on the same level as those classics. We only forget that because Stallone turns him into a completely different character over the next few sequels. Rocky the lovable doofus is far more interesting than Rocky the invincible superhero.

Over time, Stallone got back to the fundamentals with Rocky V, which most fans hate (it’s not terrible, merely bad), and Rocky Balboa, a genuinely terrific movie. But with Creed, young filmmaker Ryan Coogler (who directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Aaron Covington) takes the reins of the franchise and establishes the story’s power and relevance for a new generation, reminding us why the Italian Stallion is one of cinema’s all-timers.

In the process, Coogler delivers the best entry in the saga since the original, as well as one of the best films of 2015. It also launches Stallone into the season’s Best Supporting Actor race. If it was up to me, we’d also see Creed score nominations for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.

Reuniting with his Fruitvale Station collaborator, Michael B. Jordan (one of my favorite young actors) finally gets his long-overdue chance to break into the mainstream with a stellar lead performance. He plays Adonis “Donnie” Johnson, who spent his childhood bouncing around from group homes to juvie after the death of his mother.

That changes when Apollo Creed’s widow (Phylicia Rashad, wonderful in a small role) shows up and shares some life-changing information: it turns out he’s the product of an affair the legendary boxer had shortly before his death. Then, in a stunning gesture of love and forgiveness, the widow Creed offers to raise Donnie as her own son.

Fast-forward several years and Donnie has a cushy job at a Los Angeles investment firm, but it doesn’t make him happy. Perhaps that’s why he keeps sneaking away to Tijuana to take part in underground boxing matches. Ultimately, he decides to pursue his true calling, but his story plays out like Rocky in reverse.

His mother understandably doesn’t want Donnie to end up like his father, and no one will train him because they think he’s just an entitled rich kid coasting on his dead daddy’s fame. So he heads to Philadelphia and tracks down his father’s rival-turned-best-friend in an effort to persuade the former champ to train him. Although reluctant at first, Rocky ultimately decides to take on the challenge, in addition to a far more personal fight he’s waging.

Creed, much like the original Rocky, is committed to painting an authentic picture of the boxing world; however, it’s equally concerned with the challenges its protagonist faces outside of the ring. Jordan is absolutely believable as a fighter who can go toe-to-toe with the reigning heavyweight champ, but you also buy him as a young man wrestling with the same pride, fear and anger that got him into trouble as a child.

That’s why it’s so powerful to see Rocky – or “Unc,” as Donnie eventually calls him – become a positive force in Donnie’s life. Because we’ve grown to love Stallone’s character so much over six movies, seeing him become the Mickey figure for Apollo Creed’s son is both heartwarming and a stark reminder that the Italian Stallion is entering his twilight years. (Stallone is now 69, the same age Burgess Meredith was when he played Mickey in the first film.)

Stallone also seems keenly aware of the opportunity Coogler has provided him. Because this is the first Rocky film that the actor didn’t also write and/or direct, he gets to see his beloved character through the eyes of another filmmaker and focus solely on his performance. The result is easily among the best work of Stallone’s career, maybe even his strongest since the first Rocky. I wasn’t kidding earlier about the possibility of a Best Supporting Actor nomination – he’s that good.

Tessa Thompson is also quite good as Bianca, the young singer who catches Donnie’s eye shortly after he moves to Philly. Her character is more than just a love interest (Coogler gives her an equally compelling struggle that I won’t spoil here), but she allows viewers to see Donnie as more than just a boxer – someone who’s charming, funny and unafraid of showing vulnerability because he cares about her.

Creed could’ve easily been a chance for Coogler to cash in on ’80s nostalgia, a popular and lucrative trend in the industry right now. Instead, he uses viewers’ love for a decades-old franchise to ask important questions about family, leaving a legacy, and what it means to make a name for yourself in a world that sees you standing in someone else’s shadow.

If those ideas are too weighty for you, Coogler also makes one of the best sports movies in recent memory. It’s packed with riveting, creatively shot boxing matches and those traditional training montages remain exhilarating, even as they’re updated for a new era.

But the filmmaker also knows it’s important to honor the past – he uses a key piece of music at the absolute perfect time. When the opening notes of that iconic theme kicked in, the crowd in my screening unleashed one of the loudest cheers I’ve ever heard in a theater. It’s the kind of experience that reminds me why I love movies.

Creed is rated PG-13 for violence, language and some sensuality.

Grade: A-