Creed

This film crept up on me suddenly. As with "Rocky Balboa", I first heard about "Creed" by way of its trailer. I was excited if not cautiously optimistic. Before seeing this movie, I watched all six Rocky movies. I didn't do this with the expectation that "Creed" was going to fit right alongside the Rocky saga. Instead, I wanted to have the back-story fresh in my mind and I wanted to see if the same themes would be carried over. I thought that this film was going to have a different style and setting from even "Rocky Balboa" and I was okay with that. I then saw the movie and was surprised at just how reverential it was to its predecessors. The story themes that made me a fan of Rocky were successfully transferred to a new lead character. Other spinoffs put their trust in a popular secondary character that stole the show. Secondary characters are just that: secondary. The character of Donnie is new but still connected to the characters originally fashioned from the mind of Sylvester Stallone. That does wonders. The film, like Donnie, also makes a name for itself thanks in part to a slightly new filmmaking style. The question that most people will ask is whether "Creed" is a spinoff or a sequel. I will give my opinion at the end. This film was nearly good enough to be my favourite film of 2015 but "Inside Out" got the honor by a narrow margin.

Because "Creed" is not written or directed by Stallone and not composed by Bill Conti, I was already resigned to treat this new movie as its own film. I also did not expect Rocky to be a main character. Half way through the movie though, I felt a sense of drama and genuineness that I last felt in 2006 watching "Rocky Balboa" on the big screen. I guess I forgot that "Creed" is produced by Robert Chartoff (who died five months before the release of this movie), Irwin Winkler and Stallone. One big reason as to why this movie got to me was the use of Conti's musical score. I really did not expect to hear anything related to Conti's themes but when those famous musical cues showed up in the film, they brought the tears. What is really awesome is that they were used sparingly; for only when it was needed story-wise. That, more than anything, ties in the Rocky films to this new movie. Adonis "Hollywood Donnie" Creed and Rocky almost become equal characters. This has worked before in other movies and I think it was vital to this film because Rocky Balboa does cast a really big persona on screen. The character of Donnie has two shadows that he must overcome. He has the Creed name and has Rocky as his trainer. Both Tommy Gunn and Robert Balboa had only Rocky as a shadow. We all know how Tommy fell and Robert has moved to Vancouver. I don't think Robert however ran away from his problems. I would like to think that he followed his father's advice to be his own man and not listen to what others were saying. Getting back to Donnie, the challenges he faces are more so. The relationship between Rocky and Donnie can best be described with Donnie's nickname for Rocky. "Unc", short for uncle, pushes the idea that Rocky and Apollo became brothers through hard work and tragedy. This may be the best "uncle/nephew" relationship I have seen in a movie in a long time. I love how the main character is named Adonis, after a Greek god that represents rebirth. In this case, Donnie is the rebirth of the Sun God. I never asked myself who won the secret fight at the end of "Rocky III". It really didn't matter because that is the way Apollo wanted it but at last we are let in on the secret and the answer makes perfect sense. Last time Rocky trained someone it didn't work out well at all. What changes Rocky's mind this time? What makes Donnie different from Tommy? The difference is probably Donnie's lineage, heart, chemistry with Rocky and a desire to prove something. Also, knowing what went wrong last time, Rocky is cautious as he begins to help Donnie. With Tommy, it was apparent in "Rocky V" that Rocky got carried away. We all know that Rocky has heart so maybe his heart is what changed his mind. Perhaps training Donnie felt right. Rocky later gets proof that Donnie is special when Donnie hesitates in accepting the challenge to fight Conlan. Also, Donnie will not fight without Rocky in his corner.

The reason "Rocky Balboa" and "Creed" succeeded where "Rocky V" didn't for so many is because they took something already established in the franchise like Little Marie & Apollo and reinvented it. Tommy Gunn was something completely new that took Rocky away from what mattered most: his family. There were also no inner conflicts in the fifth movie, just conflicts in Rocky's family. Even though "Rocky II" and "IV" had conflicts between Rocky and Adrian, they felt sincere and well depicted. The conflicts were internal and external in "Rocky Balboa" and "Creed". We needed a falling out between Donnie and Rocky. It comes by way of the diagnosis for Rocky's declining health. After finding out about his sickness, Rocky keeps it private and returns to the gym saying stuff about how he had a prime but Donnie has his whole life ahead of him. In this moment, I didn't hear Rocky but instead Mickey. There was always some bitterness that Mickey had about his fighting career and Rocky, with these lines, seem to be giving himself a resentful eulogy of himself. This appears to be a reference to a scene in the original film between Rocky and Mickey. I will point out here that the way Donnie finds out seems too convenient. Nevertheless, we get the needed narrative arch that brings about great drama. By having a new protagonist in this franchise, we also needed a new female love interest, which has been so important in the past. What would Rocky be without Adrian? The relationship between Donnie and Bianca does pay tribute to the Rocky/Adrian relationship. In the original film, Adrian hides behind her bedroom door before emerging to go out with Rocky on their first date. Later, Rocky holds his door open to Adrian in hopes that she will trust him as the good guy he is inside. In "Creed", Donnie and Bianca have a quite a few special moments at the door of Bianca's apartment. Even in Liverpool, they have another moment involving a door. Before Rocky's fights, there was always a joke beforehand. The joke before Donnie fights the local boxer was pretty good. I kind of wish there was another before the end fight. Other little winks to the predecessors include the chickens, the turtles, the eggs and the phrase on the back of Donnie's black T-shirt while he is sparing. It wouldn't be a Rocky movie without a training montage but this really isn't Rocky's movie. The montage concludes in the street with the motorbikes and other all terrain vehicles. The Rocky franchise is what reinvented the sports montage and in this film, we get something original and special at the same time. It is not mean to outdo the "Gotta Fly Now" montage from 1976 but rather to pay homage and support this new character in his goals. I like how Donnie trains by running up and down the hospital steps. Just like in "Rocky Balboa", the climax is depicted as an actual HBO fight in HD. The appearance of the trunks in the movie is justified considering that the concluding fight is in England. The use of this prop was requested by Stallone by the way. A Rocky movie has never been about winning. It is about "going the distance". That was clear in the 1976 Oscar-winning film. Similarly in this movie, I wanted to see if Donnie could go all twelve rounds. Before the twelfth round, we find out why Donnie wanted to box. We find out what drives him and it is such a great plot point. As the fighters go at it in the final round, the announcers make it clear that Donnie has become an amalgam of Rocky and Apollo. I don't know about you but that gives me glee. Donnie not only goes the distance but also wins over Conlon and the crowd. The use of music in the twelfth round can't be understated as having created an amazing climax. After seeing the ending of this film, I knew there was more than enough room for yet another addition to this famous film franchise. It was clear from the start of "Creed" that Conlan was at the end of his career due to his looming prison sentence. It didn't matter if Donnie won or lost this fight, he had to fight a good fight in order to be in contention for the title after Conlan retires. Throughout the movie, we were conspicuously shown opponents for a possible next instalment (I never expected to get who we did in "Creed II" though). Also, Rocky was still battling a fight of his own by the end of "Creed" and so I was wondering if Rocky would "retire" permanently in the next film with Donnie left to carry on the franchise alone. That didn't happen but it will be very hard to watch Rocky's passing if it is shown on screen in the future because I was having enough trouble seeing Rocky in the state he was during the training montage. Because of these two "Creed" movies however, the torch will have been affectively passed. For the first time in the series at the end of "Creed", Rocky walks up the famous steps. When Rocky wonders if he can make it up to the top, it almost broke my heart. What a sad but satisfying end to a movie and many thought it was an fitting end to the franchise.

When Stallone was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for his work on "Creed", I was happy because he was nominated back in 1977 for playing the same character. He was even nominated twice that year because he wrote the screenplay for "Rocky". The biggest surprise of the 73rd Golden Globe Awards was when he won and he really deserved the standing ovation he got. I did not expect that at all and my happiness transformed into pure joy. That joy continued with Stallone garnishing an Oscar nomination. At least he lost on Oscar night to another great performer. This isn't the first time that an actor has been nominated twice for playing the same character in separate movies. Stallone joins an impressive list of names who also accomplished this feat which includes Bing Crosby, Paul Newman, Peter O'Toole and Cate Blanchett. This also isn't the first time where those two nominations for playing the same character were for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor because Al Pacino achieved this with the "Godfather" films. However, what separates Stallone's accomplishment from Pacino's is that Stallone's two acting nominations for portraying the same character occurred almost 40 years apart. It sounds like Stallone was consulted a little bit during the writing of the screenplay and it shows, especially with Rocky's lines. The movies in this franchise tend to be metaphorical of Stallone's career. Sly really didn't want to portray a sick Rocky but his wife reminded him that his alter ego wouldn't be afraid of any challenge. The character of Donnie himself is symbolic of the actor who portrays him, Michael B. Jordan. After the flop of a movie where he played the Human Torch, one might think his career would have suffered but Jordan got right back up with this movie (metaphorically speaking). He even got to bring another comic book character to life after "Creed" (again with director Ryan Coogler). In addition, just as Donnie made a name for himself separate from Rocky and Apollo, Jordan may actually be able to separate his persona from another famous "MJ". Jordan has worked with Coogler previous to "Creed" and I am sure that helped in the production. Speaking of Coogler, he got the idea for "Creed" while his dying father was watching the old Rocky movies. Stallone turned down the idea at first but then Coogler made his first feature film and suddenly became a sought-after filmmaker. The fact that Coogler tried again with Stallone reminded Sly of himself back in the 70's. As a fun fact, actor Graham McTavish was in "Rambo" with Stallone and but I know him most as Dwalin. Phylicia Rashad is best known as Clair Huxtable so she easily pulled off playing Apollo's widow. I love how the use of real boxers continues in this franchise with Tony Bellew as Conlan. He did just fine. Wood Harris' performance in "Remember the Titans" is what I know him for the most but I am so happy that he plays Tony Duke's son in "Creed". Burt Young and Tony Burton (who played Tony "Duke") have been in every Rocky movie before this and so I am happy that Tony Duke's legacy lives on as well. After watching the film a few times, I realized that composer Ludwig Goransson did pretty good with his original themes. They fit alongside Conti's themes and that is important. I would finally like to give a shout out to cinematographer Maryse Alberti. The first Rocky film revolutionized the use of the Steadicam in Hollywood and I immediately noticed that Donnie's first fight with Rocky in his corner was filmed in one long shot with a Steadicam. There are no editing tricks by the way unlike during the climax. The use of this shot in the middle of the movie could be a decision by Coogler but nonetheless; that shot was appreciated.

One stat that people may already know is that "Creed" was released 40 years to the day after Rocky's fight with Spider Rico (the first scene in "Rocky"). Another fun fact is that Stallone was 69 years old when this movie was released, the same age Burgess Meredith was in 1976. So, was "Creed" a spinoff or sequel? What made this film less of a spinoff and more of a sequel is the use of Conti's themes. I will state however that it is both a sequel and a spinoff. Maybe reboot is the better term to use. Every reboot must appeal to new fans and old ones to be victorious. J.J. Abrams was successful in rebooting "Star Trek" and the filmmakers behind "Creed" were equally triumphant in appealing to everyone in the audience. I went into the film with positive expectations and they were surpassed in surprising ways. The best thing about "Creed" is its story, which pays homage to the source material but is also original. The Rocky franchise may become less like the Karate Kid franchise and more like James Bond.

4.5 Stars