Movie Review: Creed

Originally published in The Mace and Crown

Creed:  Giving Thanks for This Rocky Spin Off

George Plank

Staff Writer

This Thanksgiving, after the festivities have died down, many will flock to the movie theatre to see what new films are out for the season. One such movie, vying for the audience's attention, comes punching its way from MGM. The movie tries to be a completely original film it can't help but to reflect the legacy from which it comes. Coming to theatres November 25th, Creed.

Creed is the story of Adonis Johnson, illegitimate son of Apollo Creed, one of the greatest boxers in the world. Adonis never got to know his famous father as he died before he was born. He is taken from a juvenile detention facility to live with Apollo Creed’s widow, Mary Anne Creed. Years later Adonis, played by Michael B. Jordan, unable to quell his desire to fight any longer, quits his desk job in order to begin boxing full time. Unfortunately for him every gym in Los Angeles knows his father, and how he met his end in the ring, and refuses to train him, so he moves to Philadelphia under the name Apollo Johnson in the hopes that he could be trained by Rocky Balboa, one of his father’s closest friends and rivals.

At first Rocky is against training Adonis, especially after what happened to his father, but eventually he comes around to the idea and begins taking the young hopeful through the fundamentals. Eventually Adonis Johnson is challenged to a fight by a local contender and training becomes more intense. They seek the help from a local gym with pros in the field to get him into peak shape for the match. 

Adonis wins this first fight but the trainer of the other fighter leaks the information on who he really is. This puts a strain on the relationships he has developed while in Philadelphia, as they question if they can trust him or not. After the news breaks he is challenged by the world boxing champion in his weight class on the sole condition that in order for them to fight he would have to go by Adonis Creed. The main conflict arises as Adonis finds himself questioning things such as, would he have made it as far as he has if his father wasn’t Apollo Creed. He struggles to overcome the legacy that his father left behind and instead he chooses to try to make a name for himself on his own in the fight of his life.

Much like the main character the film itself struggles to distance itself from the legacy of the films that came before it. There is an ample amount of emphasis placed  on Rocky Balboa in this film. Little callbacks are scattered throughout to entice the most dire of fans; from remixes of familiar tunes in the Rocky franchise to minor parallels to other Rocky movies. 

As a stand alone film Creed succeeds marvelously. It tells the tale of a man trying to break away from expectations and make his own way completely on his own merits. This theme is driven home by the pressure from others to fight under his late father’s name. Instead of trumpeting his heritage loudly he chooses to stay true to himself first and succeed without any special treatment or privilege. 

The film could easily be picked up with only minor knowledge of the Rocky franchise. The film asks that you know who Apollo Creed is, or at the very least that he fought Rocky and eventually died, but if you didn't know this the film takes care to remind you through plenty of expositional dialogue. 

Much like the main character the film itself struggles to distance itself from the legacy of the films that came before it. There is an ample amount of emphasis placed  on Rocky Balboa in this film. Little callbacks are scattered throughout to entice the most dire of fans; from remixes of familiar tunes in the Rocky franchise to minor parallels to other Rocky movies. 

That said, as a Rocky film it holds true to spirit of the series and it’s a welcome addition to the franchise. Rocky Balboa, the boxer who had the eye of the tiger and a heart on fire, has gone from student and fighter to trainer and mentor to another up and coming boxer. The film is not afraid to show us the scars and heartbreak that time has taken on the character and it uses those to drive the plot forward in a meaningful way. Creed serves as much as a spin off to the Rocky movies as it does as a loving tribute to the series in the same way that Grudge Match was a tribute to Rocky and Raging Bull.

The film has all the excitement and action that we expect to see in these sort of movies. The fighting ties in perfectly well to the story and so when each punch is landed you feel the personal impact more so.The makeup team for the film do an amazing job of also conveying the physical toll that the fighting takes on the combatants. The intense angles and quick edits, showing every possible angle and degree of the fight let the audience feel as if they’re part of the action. The makeup team for the film do an amazing job of conveying the physical toll that the fighting takes on the combatants. On more than one occasion the audience was driven to cheering and clapping for the characters on screen during the high action portions. 

Creed may not be the right film for those that get squeamish at the sight of blood or for those that have never connected with the Rocky franchise, but if you’re looking for a film that packs in the action while also telling a deeply enriched story that will make you want to look into more films from the genre then this is the film to see.