Creed

3 Stars (out of four)

I REALLY wanted to like this movie.  The Rocky series has meant a lot to me growing up, and is probably one of my favorite franchises of all time.  So, I was eagerly anticipating this new entry in the Rocky canon, as it promised to take Rocky in a whole new, exciting direction.  Did I like it?  The short answer is yes.  The long answer is that it could have been so much better and was a sadly missed opportunity.

So, Creed opens with the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed, Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan), a young black man who has been fighting adversity and his personal demons his entire life.  The film opens with him as an unknown boxer in Tijuana, making a name for himself with several wins, mostly on his raw talent alone.  When he goes to his father's old gym in L.A., he unwisely challenges the reigning middleweight champion and is quickly thrashed in a sparring match.  Adonis realizes he has a lot to learn, so he goes to Philadelphia to convince Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) to train him.  Rocky, after some persuasion, reluctantly agrees, and soon, Adonis wins his first real middleweight fight.  Adonis was fighting under his mother's name because he wanted to make his own way, but this wouldn't be much of a movie if the Creed name didn't get leaked.  Meanwhile, the current middleweight champion 'Pretty' Ricky Conlan (played by real-life 2x champion Tony Bellew), is under several scandals that threaten his boxing career, so of course, a fight is set up between the two.

As I said, this movie is a mixed bag of nuts.  On the one hand, it is entertaining and fun, though not particularly original.  On the other hand, none of the original makers have anything to do with it.  Stallone didn't write or direct, Bill Conti didn't do the music.  And while I applaud the filmmakers' gamble to try a new stylistic feel, it is curiously flat and undramatic in all ways.  Say what you will about Stallone, he is a fantastic writer, as his 1976 Oscar nomination for the original Rocky can attest.  Stallone himself says that he uses Rocky to be able to preach certain values he has, a worldview of hard work, determination, plain common sense, and decency.  And through his admittedly tortured diction, he created a character that is the Everyman.  Rocky is us and our best aspirations.  Creed feels like a rehashed story of cliches, which brings me to what I think is the film's almost fatal flaw...

Now, I have not seen Michael B. Jordan in anything else for comparison.  I don't know if this is a fair representation of his true acting ability.  But, if his performance in Creed is an indication, his wooden portrayal of Adonis almost ruins the story.  His look is perfect, but there are a lot of youngish, African-American actors like Corey Parker or J.D. Williams who would have done a much better job.  There is a lot in the story to like.  There is pathos, conflict and joy, yet they all fall curiously flat with Jordan's performance.  I don't know if this was a limitation on his part, or a fault on Ryan Coogler, the director.  Either way, what could have been a great character is sadly lacking.  But aside from that, the movie is entertaining.  If you are looking for a fun time, go see it, but don't set your expectations too high.