Movie Review - Creed

Though the title of the movie says 'Creed' right in your face, this movie is as much about Rocky as it is about Adonis Creed, the son of Apollo Creed from Rocky 1, 2 and 3. The last Rocky movie, 'Rocky Balboa' was great but I felt like it somehow lacked the spirit of 1, 2, 3, 4 and even the weakest one in the series - 5. It felt like a Rocky movie for the sake of a Rocky movie. But 'Creed' is THE Rocky movie that it should have been, as it has enough spirit to stand alone as its own movie but also be a Rocky movie at the same time; and that is not an easy task to accomplish. This film is NOT a boxing/action movie. So if you're expecting a 2 hour fight scene, it's probably not meant for you. This is a drama (much like most Rocky movies), meaning that it has more to do with dialogues and characters than fight scenes, of which it does have a few.

If you are Rocky fan like me, you would have already seen the trailer. The protagonist this time around is Adonis Creed. Adonis does not know his father since Ivan Drago killed him before he was even born. He is brought up by his step-mom who is completely against Boxing as his career, but Donnie wants to box to prove himself to the world that he does not the 'Creed' name to make a name for himself. That may not sound like an intriguing plot but trust me on this, this is a must watch movie for Rocky fans, or even Sly Stallone's fans.

The performances of all the actors in this movie are nothing short of excellent, including Michael B. Jordan as Adonis. Even the actress playing his girlfriend was very good. That brings us to the meat on the bone - the best thing about this movie which is, you guessed it, Sly. The 90s kids are divided into two (or three) factions - Team Arnold, Team Sly and Team Bruce Lee, when it comes to action heroes. I was one of the kids that belonged in Team Sly, and for good reason. This man is an action star who can deliver performances that can easily rival those of veteran drama actors. And this movie is proof enough for that! There were many scenes in this movie where I almost cried. Talking about one such scene (which was my favorite) would unfortunately spoil the movie for you but I assure you, you will relate to it when you see the movie. Rocky is withering away and the clock is ticking for him and you can see it in Stallone's eyes as if Stallone is really Rocky. As much as this movie was a tear-jerker, it also had its light-hearted moments. Some of the jokes were funny as hell.They tried to recreate some of the scenes from the originals with Adonis but it felt tacked on, like the one in the original where kids run along with Rocky through the streets of Philly, except this time its a bunch of Bikers.


The fights were few and far between but when they were going on, I was sweating like hell and biting my nails. The fights are also shot very well. There was one fight which almost had no cuts whatsoever! My curiosity led me to IMDBs trivia section which told me that that was not an edited scene. It was all one single take! I wonder how they made the bleedings and bruisings on the actor's faces in just a few short seconds...they must have rushed it up when the camera pans away. But the make-up effects looked very real and detailed to be slapped on in a jiffy...

The soundtrack while okay, was not the best. Adonis has his own theme song which was okay but it was not memorable. 'The Final Bell' theme kicks in  only once in the movie which was as satisfying as it was in the original Rocky films. In fact, that is the only soundtrack from the original films, as far as I noticed.

In the end, this film is worth watching in theatres for the performances alone. Michael B. Jordan was excellent, Sly was outstanding and all the supporting cast were very good. The film never felt boring to me despite being a drama. I must say this, the ending(scene), though left open, was a real tear-jerker.

Yo Adrian, Adonis did it!

Score - 8/10

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