As much as they want to tell us Creed isn’t a Rocky movie (it’s a reboot), it’s a Rocky movie. But, as a Rocky movie, it does manage two important things: It hits on the inspirational spirit the movies strive for and sometimes achieve (Rocky, Rocky Balboa, sometimes Rocky II), but often failed to (Rocky III, IV, and V), and it introduces a new character who stands on his own as someone worth paying attention to and investing in (unlike Tommy in V).
Creed stands up as one of the good ones in this franchise, but it’s also clearly a product of that franchise. Without the familiar face of Rocky and the tone and spirit of that first film, I doubt many people would be this willing to give Adonis “Donny Creed” Johnson the benefit of the doubt as long as we do in this movie.
Despite introducing Donny in the most sympathetic way possible—as a child in the foster care system whose mother died and who believes his father abandoned him—as an adult, I quickly felt he was at war with himself between being cocky and charismatic. Michael B. Jordan is great at that specific character type (usually ending up on the charismatic side of Donny’s personality), and this is most definitely going to be a role to catapult him into the A-List, but the difference here is that, unlike Rocky, who was introduced as the under-educated underdog, we meet adult Creed on a bit of a high. He was taken in by his father’s widow, played by Phylicia Rashad (Apollo Creed had an affair), into a mansion and given a good education the landed him a top job at a young age … which he has quit to pursue boxing. Even without coaching, he is apparently undefeated in his matches in Mexico. Unable to find a trainer in L.A. because everyone knows he’s Creed’s son, he goes to Philly to find Rocky.
Before we say anything about that part of the story, I have to say there is clearly an obstacle when you introduce your new character in a sports movie as less of an underdog, and Ryan Coogler manages that roadblock nicely. He manages to give a believable explanation why Donny would be drawn to fighting and why the connection to Creed is a little bit of a burden. They don’t completely satisfy the problem, though because as soon as Donny meets Rocky, he introduces himself as Creed’s son. For a guy who doesn’t want to use his father’s legacy, he picks and chooses when he does, although real people are also inconsistent, so even that is forgivable. Eventually, Rocky agrees to train him, and the movie takes a very similar “trainer-fighter parallel to father-son” approach.
But there is also another little problem considering this is within the Rocky universe. Rocky has a son, and that son has always been a major part of the story. In Rocky Balboa, that was pretty much the whole point of the movie—reestablishing their connection, and in Rocky V, Balboa’s greatest mistake was taking that fatherly role right in front of his son. They address the presence of a son, but it’s also strange to have this ghost of a character when Donny becomes so familiar so quickly. Would his son really not see his father when he’s sick? Did that connection established in Rocky Balboa really not remain intact? It might have been a case of not wanting to confuse things (Robert Jr. is always played by a different actor, including the recently deceased Sage Stallone) or fearing too much of Rocky’s backstory would distract from Donny, but the movie isn’t subtle about making the father-son story a key element, so it’s odd that they seem to be actively trying to avoid him.
Too bad, because besides that one aspect of the film, Creed is excellent. Rocky is a goofy, sentimental guy—something he still is today—and Creed is a nice character to play off that personality as he brings real energy back to the franchise. Donny feels like he could be the son of Apollo Creed, with that too-big ego and lots of heart. After Coogler’s powerful but stark Fruitvale Station, his second collaboration with Michael B. Jordan is a complete 180-degree turn. Creed is unapologetically polished and often sleek, made in the style of the Rocky franchise without being outright an outright copy. Sure, there are goofy elements in these movies Coogler can’t avoid (so many montages), and it often plays with sports movie clichés, but Creed is never cheesy or feels like it’s pandering only to Rocky loyalists.
Jordan is definitely the star of this movie, and in that classic Hollywood style, he’s a traditional, romantic leading man. While Fruitvale Station was a breakthrough for him, Creed will be his star vehicle. Stallone is good and captures that Rocky quality once again with ease, but besides nostalgia, I think calling for an Oscar is a little ridiculous. But someone being underpraised, I think, is Tessa Thompson, as Bianca, the love interest of Donny he meets in Philly. Yes, she can be described as the love interest, but she is one of the most interesting interpretations of that character type in a long time, with her own set of concerns and motivations, which suggests she has an entire side story we aren’t seeing on screen. Thompson, like Jordan, already had her breakout role (in Dear White People), but if this gets her more mainstream roles, I’ll be more than happy.
So why am I not giving this a full 5 stars? Well, boxing isn’t really something I find to be a motivational sport to watch, and I find it hard to cheer for characters while watching them punch each other in the face, bleeding, and getting concussions. Sure, the Rocky movies are more motivating than a lot of sports movies, but personally, I always feel kind of dirty watching this sport, and even here, I couldn’t overcome that feeling. Even adding the music, I’m not overcome by those emotions or wanting to cheer for hero, especially after Rashad’s impassioned speech about not wanting to see another person in her life killed in the ring, which was always in the back of my head. So, while I wasn’t like the guy sitting next to me, in tears over the music and throwing hands up at the end of the match, the movie as a whole is still excellent and well worth seeking out—even if you don’t really care about boxing or Rocky.
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