Creed

Between the early 90´s and the millenium era, around 1999 - 2000, me and my grandfather Ingvar watched a lot of boxing matches. Back then, i used to have a tv channel called TV1000, that showed some of the biggest boxing fights live worldwide. Of course they were mostly focused on heavyweight matches, so if you wanted to see other fights, you would look for other channels. One of the fights i will never forget, is when Mike Tyson bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield´s ear, back in 1997. Now, Mike have always been known for being agressive, and known for doing scandals. But this must have been the biggest scandal in sports, that year. We continued watching matches, and we also had discussions also. Including talking about boxing films. And there was always one film we both agreed on, that was one of the best boxing drama films of all time. And that is of course the 1976 motion picture called Rocky. This film was very unique in some ways, because it had a very simple story, of a simple man who got a chance to meet the heavyweight champion of the world in a boxing fight. We all know what happened, Rocky became one of the most praised films of the 70´s and won 3 Oscars at the Academy Awards. Sylvester Stallone proved himself to be a really good actor, doing an unforgettable performance as Rocky Balboa.This became an iconic character of Philadelphia, and Stallone continued releasing sequels, where the evolution of Rocky changed dramatically. From being an ordinary street boxer in Philadelphia, to a worldwide famous icon, every Rocky film tried to lift him up each time. The second film is probably the most realistic one, if you compare with Rocky 3 or Rocky 4. Fun cult films in some ways, but that was about to change in 1990, when Rocky 5 came out. By this time, Stallone was already a major superstar, and he probably thought that he could continue the legacy. Unfortunately, Rocky 5 failed to capture the spirit of the earlier Rocky films, and i don´t think director John G. Avlidsen managed to put the pieces together. Stallone decided to take a long break, not returning as Rocky Balboa for a long time. Not until he finally decided to direct the last sequel, simply called Rocky Balboa. One of the best sequels in the series, and still today it is one of my favourite films in the series. After the 6th film, it seemed as we would not see Rocky return at all. But here we are, with a spin off on Rocky Balboa´s legacy, with Apollo Creed´s son Adonis " Donnie " Johnson, played by Michael B. Jordan. Is this a worthy film of the Rocky legacy, or is this all made to make fans pay tickets, and not really get anything in return ?

In the year 1998, Adonis " Donnie " Johnson is a troubled young buy, who needs to get back on his feet. He is serving time in a Los Angeles youth facility. He gets a visit from Apollo Creed´s widow Mary Anne Creed ( Phylicia Rashad ), who suggest that he should come and live with her. 18 years later, Adonis ( Michael B. Jordan ) leaves his job at a Security Firm, to make himself a career in boxing. Mary Anne is not pleased about this, reminding Adonis that his father died in the ring, against Ivan Drago ( Dolph Lundgren ), almost 30 years ago. But Adonis have made up his mind, he is going to follow his dream. He tries to get a shot in Los Angeles, at the Delphi Boxing Academy, but is turned down. Adonis decides to travel to Philadelphia, to see if the legend Rocky Balboa ( Sylvester Stallone ) will train him. As he arrives to town, and meet Rocky in his own italian restaurant, Rocky is very surprised. He did not know his best friend Apollo had a son, but he does not like the idea of training him. Adonis is not giving up, so stick around to see if Rocky finally will agree. Since Rocky is getting older, and lives a more calm life after so many years in his boxing career, he is not sure if he is the right man for this job. Adonis will do anything to make himself a name, but is he good enough to carry on his father´s name in the ring ?

When i heard about a new film, where Rocky Balboa would be included in the script, i was not sure what to think about this. Especially when the film would be about Apollo Creed´s son. Since the 2006 film Rocky Balboa was a really good finish for Rocky´s final fight, i remember thinking that this would probably be the last time we would see Stallone doing this iconic character again. But here we are, and this time he is not the main character. Apollo Creed will always be one of the most iconic boxing characters in motion pictures, next to Rocky Balboa. It would be easy to think that this film is all a cash in, just to make money on the names. The good news is that, this is not the case. In fact, Creed manage to continue the story, of these boxing legends, but this time with younger blood. Michael B. Jordan, who did an excellent performance in the true story based film Fruitvale Station, manage to deliver once again. His performance in Creed proves that he knows how to make his character realistic, and solid. Creed is actually directed by the Fruitvale Station director, Ryan Coogler. So this is the second time that Michael and Ryan work together, and you get the feeling that they know how to make this legacy a worthy story, updated in today´s society. The biggest suprise to me, is that Sylvester Stallone really delivers this time, and this may be one of the best performances he have made in his career. He did win a Golden Globe Award, not very long ago, and he did deserve that statue. He really is a great actor, especially when he goes back to Rocky, because he made that character become such an icon. There are a few other details i enjoy about this film. The generation differences, in the boxing world keeps on going. And you really understand why the older generation is needed, to train the new fighters. Here you get to see that no one is treated different, no matter where you are from, you have to fight as hard as you can. I also enjoy seeing Sallone, training his best friends son, giving him lessons like no one else could. The fact that the story takes place in Philadelphia again, is a very important detail. This is where it all started, and everyone knows that this is the home of Rocky Balboa. Creed is a powerful film, that manage to bring many different subjects in a very solid way. One of the biggest messages of this film is, never give up, no matter how hard life is. Director Ryan Coogler manage to keep this very important legacy, go on into a new generation. And we all need an icon, to look up to. Maybe Adonis Creed will be the next, if we see him return in another film. Until then, go and see Creed in a cinema. This is a really good motion picture, and it will touch your heart.

Rating: DDDD