Film Review: "Creed"

“Creed” is no “Rocky” but it is definitely one of the year’s biggest surprises and one of the most satisfying films to come out this holiday season.

The movie follows the story of Adonis Johnson from the time he was a quarrelsome child being shuttled from one foster parent to another until the widow of Apollo Creed, the champion boxer in the first 3 Rocky movies, takes him under her care after revealing a long-held family secret: he is Apollo’s illegitimate son.

Adonis grows up a fine young man but the blood of a champion boxer that runs through his vein proves to have a stronger hold on him than any other. He abandons his promising corporate career for the chance to fight in the unsanctioned underground boxing matches in Tijuana. Eventually, he decides to embrace his secret passion and moves to Philadelphia to look for the legendary Rocky Balboa and try to prod the retired boxer to return to the gym and train him. Rocky initially declines but takes an instant liking to the son of his former rival and lifelong friend, Apollo. Rocky has a son of his own who left Philly to carve a name for himself in Vancouver, thousands of miles away from his father’s shadow.

When Rocky finally decides to mentor Adonis, that’s when the movie starts to take off and really soar. Adonis’ rise and struggle is nowhere near similar to Rocky’s difficult and heroic climb to the top but both their stories share a parallel pattern that makes this one a specially poignant film that works both as tribute to Rocky Balboa’s legacy and the introduction of a new boxing icon that will hopefully bring us more inspiring tales from Philadelphia in movies to come.

Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone offer excellent performances in the film and their screen dynamic feels so authentic and so credible that one would mistake them for a real father and son as the story implies. There’s a scene in the film when Adonis introduces Rocky as his uncle to his girlfriend (played effortlessly by Tessa Thompson of “Dear White People” fame) who reacts by raising one of her eyebrows. One would think her reaction had something to do with race but no, she reacted because she was mad Adonis didn’t tell her his uncle was the great Rocky Balboa.

Rating: 4 ½ Stars

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Raymond Lo