CREED (2015)

Once Upon a Time in the world of professional boxing....Apollo Creed was the champion of the world.  He eventually lost his title to Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone who would receive an Oscar nomination for his performance in this film) who would also lose the title before winning it back with Apollo as his trainer.  They remained very good friends right up until the day that Apollo tragically lost his life during an exhibition match against the feared Russian boxer, Ivan Drago.  But did you know that Apollo actually had a son right before he died??

That son is Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) and he has now become a boxer himself to the consternation of his mother (Phylicia Rashad), only he has been struggling to find some one who can train him.  So one day he travels across the country to Philadelphia to seek out the former champion whom his father trained when he needed him the most.....and after some hesitation, Rocky decides to train him as he works his way up the professional boxing circuit.  Along the way, Adonis also finds a companion in Philly with the lovely singer Bianca (Tessa Thompson) when suddenly, he has the opportunity to fight for the SAME boxing title which his father previously had.  What results is one of the most beloved sports dramas of recent years directed by future Oscar-nominee Ryan Coogler (Black Panther, Sinners) as his first major studio film.  

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon  

Transcript

CREED – 2015         Directed by Ryan Coogler

Starring Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Andre Ward, Tony Bellew, Ritchie Coster, Jacob Duran, Graham McTavish, Malik Bazille, Richardo McGill, Gabriel Rosado, Wood Harris, and Phylicia Rashad

Genre: Sports Drama (Audio clip)

Damn this movie gets better every time I rewatch it. :) A lot of folks now say that on paper, it should never have worked - a spinoff which no one was really ever asking for to a mostly long dormant franchise - but in retrospect, I'm not so sure. As a director, Ryan Coogler was sure on the come-up just a couple of years after Fruitvale Station.....as was Michael B, especially after he had all but stolen a film like Chronicle just a couple of years prior....a found-footage superhero origin story which worked in spite of itself. I mean Rocky Balboa had come out nine years prior but THAT film felt very much like a proper send-off for the character.

But the stars were aligned....Coogler at the right time, MBJ at the right time, Stallone with ONE last great performance left in him (hey I enjoy "Tulsa King" but no 😆), and at least MY introduction to two breakout talents are the time.  The first is Tessa Thompson (this kick-started a pretty good run for her including Thor Ragnarok, Sorry To Bother You, and Annihilation) playing Bianca, what could have been a pretty thankless "love interest" role and bringing more depth and spark to this character than....yes dare I say, early Adrian. 😯 (Love Talia Shire but that character didn't really become interesting until Rocky III) 

MBJ's Adonis adeptly comes off as a younger, less-sure-of-himself version of Apollo (as played by the late, great Carl Weathers)....and the movie never really hits you on the head with that. His character's complicated legacy (he was an illegitimate son of Apollo's who was born after his father was killed in the ring) not only becomes the lynch-pin for the story but it allows for some genuinely earned grace notes throughout the story. Of course if you're a long-time Rocky fan (especially with Rocky III being my personal favorite), how could you NOT get goosebumps during that scene when Donnie first meets Rocky at Adrian's (the restaurant) as it dawns on Rocky who he is? 🙂 Rocky's throwaway reveal of WHO the winner was of that secret fight at the end of Rocky III....I can remember almost leaping in my seat when first seeing that in a theater, it's pure fan-service done right! 

But them meeting becomes more than that - it's just a elegant way of showing just how desperate Adonis is feeling AND how regretful Rocky is at the same time. One line reading which always gets me is Stallone quietly, wistfully saying to Adonis: 

"I think he'd rather be here....talking with you." 

And it's gratifying to not only watch their relationship blossom from that point but how we can still enjoy Donnie's burgeoning romance with Bianca at the same time. Thompson and Jordan have great chemistry together on-screen and that chemistry has helped carry this franchise through two good (but not as good as this) sequels to come. I love their first date getting cheesesteaks and talking about what "jawn" means....and it's a nice way of also introducing us to a looming issue (her hearing loss) driving Bianca without milking it for melodrama. 

The film takes its time developing these relationships, there's not a wasted scene, and.....we STILL get what we're always paying for with these movies: a few memorable training montages and fight sequences. 🤗 Honestly just having rewatched Rocky II recently, this feels like THE most authentic action inside the ring SINCE that movie. There's strategy involved, the hits feel real, and the outcomes feel earned. I'm always torn about WHICH fight I prefer: the technical wizardry of the early "oner" vs Leo Sporino or the emotion stirred up by that marquee match vs Ricky Conlan. Both fights are truly impressive sequences and they BOTH develop Adonis as a character no less. 

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

Now as for the other breakout talent this film would introduce me to besides Tessa Thompason…..well that would be Swedish composer (and now two-time Oscar-winner) Ludwig Goransson who had the unenviable task of crafting a rousing score within this universe WITHOUT relying on the original Rocky theme…well mostly.  His score is simply FANTASTIC: rousing, emotional, and with a strong recurring theme for the title character himself no less. (Audio clip) 

Now call me a sucker for fan service but for me, THE musical highlight occurs during that final fight against “Pretty” Ricky Conlan…..RIGHT before the 12th round.  Adonis is “going the proverbial distance” but is plagued with one more bout of self-doubt before Rocky gives him a boost in the corner. (Audio clip) 

And GUESS what follows?  Well it’s the opening fanfare of the original Rocky theme of course including those signature bells.  It’s a GLORIOUS call-back ramped up a bit and even better, it leads back into Creed’s signature theme playing when our hero FINALLY knocks down his opponent.  This track is fittingly called, “You’re A Creed.” (Audio clip)   

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

Having now followed Sly’s career for the past 50+ years not only going back to the original Rocky but even a couple of years prior with Lords of Flatbush – which he co-starred in with Henry “The Fonz” Winkler in no less – I can confidently say that this is likely his BEST career performance as he is FANTASTIC here, putting aside ego and vanity to actually play an aged Balboa struggling with the latter part of his life.  (Audio clip) 

Stallone is selling the agony of this with his (deservedly) Oscar-nominated performance…..now did he deserve to WIN that Oscar?  I think so as he also the emotional core of the film. But was I also pissed off by his Golden Globe award acceptance speech which apparently KILLED his chances of winning said Oscar?  Yes I was….it truly remains one of THE all-time bridge-burning acceptance speeches where he goes on and one about the producer Irwin Winkler (whom he would have a SERIOUS falling-out with just a few years later) but never ONCE mentions Coogler OR Michael B??  And therein lies the rub with Stallone and what in my opinion has ALWAYS held him back from being THE top-flight all-around big screen talent he had the potential for….going back to his Oscar-winning screenplay for Rocky.  His EGO….now look I’m not singling him out by any stretch as you could rewind back to Stallone’s ‘80’s heyday and there were NO shortage of out-of-control, often-coke-fueled ego trips taking over Hollywood…..but my question has always been WHY didn’t he capitalize on this performance and take on more challenging stuff SINCE then?  Stallone has always had it in him to be this great naturalistic actor - just watch him at the end of previous episode First Blood if you doubt me – but he just could never comfortably let go of having to be an action star.  Like I said, I’m ENJOYING him on “Tulsa King” but there has always been the potential for more….. (Audio clip) 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

This is a boxing drama which still has it where it counts and along those lines, THE highlight remains that last, rousing training sequence with its own novel approach to having Adonis do HIS own iconic run through Philly and providing Goransson with an opportunity to really "fly" with a new theme just devoted to Adonis Creed. :) That Adonis' training is being intercut with Rocky's cancer treatment makes it even trickier to pull off - on paper, that type of contrast just should NOT work. But thanks to a cracking editing from Coogler collaborators Michael Shawver (Sinnners, Black Panther) and Claudia Castello (Prey, also Black Panther), it just POPS. (Audio clip) 

And of course this sequence culmimates with some imagery which TRULY takes this film to the next level….Adonis running in slow motion down a Philly street accompanied by motorbikes no less….and then doing that shadowboxing celebration at the end SALUTING his trainer Rocky who’s looking down from the second story window of the gym where he has been training him.  Just PURE goosebumps! (Audio clip) 

MVP (person most responsible for the success of this film):

Look at points, this film flirts with being a pseudo-remake of the original Rocky but that's more due to the sheer execution of EVERY possible emotional and/or fist-pumping moment we have come to expect from this franchise. Peak Stallone (as a director) and peak John Avildson were both GOOD but I don't feel out of line stating that neither of them were ever quite on the level of Coogler. 🤫 And I say this as LONG time fan of this franchise. Everything just feels so organic to what is in essence a basic sports underdog story juggling a LOT of set-up and plot....the screenplay co-written by Coogler and Aaron Covington deftly takes its time introducing us to Adonis (Jordan) while reintroducing us to a now late-in-his-life Rocky.  For directing what I believe remains his BEST Film – yes even better than Sinners – Ryan Coogler is the MVP. (Audio clip) 

Final Rating: 5 stars out of 5 

Overall, this is a pretty flawless piece of pop entertainment and ten years later, it has just aged better and better! To think in retrospect how this came out just a few weeks before Star Wars: The Force Awakens....another '70's based franchise legacy sequel (ok movie) which COMPLETELY overshadowed it, just becoming a phenomenon which devoured everything in its wake for weeks to come. And now in retrospect, are there any lovers of cinema who DON'T think that this was the superior movie? 🤔 (Besides hard-core Star Wars fan of course) It's like the tagline for this movie states, "Your legacy is more than a name." The general public might have been starved for a competently made "Star Wars" movie at the time, but this one with the less recognizable name has more staying power. 😉 Happy Tenth Anniversary to the best sports drama of the 21st Cenutry so far!  

Streaming on crunchyroll & Prime Video

And that ends another PHILLY SPECIAL review!