As with any movie in the Rocky series, you pretty much
know what you’re getting with Ryan Coogler’s Creed, a clever offshoot to the
seemingly unstoppable boxing franchise that Sylvester Stallone started on a
wing and a prayer. However, the actor,
who wrote each of the previous six entries and directed four of them, has no
behind-the-camera role this time out.
Yet, Coogler’s script manages to find some new life in the old series as
he deftly walks a narrative tightrope, alluding to well-loved staples of the
franchise while simultaneously reinvigorating it.
Fighting under an assumed name, Apollo Creed’s illegitimate
son Adonis (Michael B. Jordan) has been boxing under the radar in Mexico. After amassing a record of 15-0, he heads to
Philadelphia to look up his father’s old rival Rocky Balboa (Stallone), asking
him to be his trainer. Content in
running his restaurant and regularly visiting the graves of his wife Adrienne
and her brother Paulie, he turns the kid down.
Through persistence and a bit of guilt, Creed eventually gets the
ex-champ in his corner and soon after, they breeze through a tune-up fight with
a local favorite. However, a big payday
and international recognition are dangled before them when an offer to fight
the lightweight champion of the world comes their way.
Coogler makes no bones about the fact that he’s following
the Rocky formula to a tee. There’s
the underdog with a burning desire to succeed, circumstances that lead to an
improbable fight, an appealing love interest (Tessa Thompson), an unexpected
health scare, training montages and, of course, the big fight. It all comes off with clockwork precision and
there’s a degree of comfort in this.
However, there are many reasons why this formula still captivates this
time out, much of it gained from Coogler’s sly insertion of tropes from the Rocky series which leads to a great many humorous moments. And though the training sequences pale in
comparison to those that came before – these just aren’t edited sharply enough
– Coogler’s skill behind the camera is obvious as his sense of pace and he
keeps the story steadily moving from one anticipated plot point to the
next. Of particular note is the film’s
first fight, a brief two-round bout that’s filmed in one continuous, unbroken
shot, the camera bobbing and weaving with the fighters, floating over to the
corners and dropped dead in the center of the most intense action.
Jordan proved he could act in Fruitvale Station and he’s
no less effective here. However here, he
displays the sort of movie star charisma that ensures that results in a long
career before the camera. Of course, Stallone has always been the centerpiece
of these films and while his is a supporting role this time out, he dominates
each scene he’s in. Coogler does give him one inspirational speech too many,
but he also provides the actor with meaty character motivation that pays off
handsomely. With age, Stallone has learned the power of subtlety and he uses it
effectively to give further poignant shadings to Rocky’s character. In the end, the actor, Jordan and Coogler
prove this franchise isn’t quite down for the count just yet.
This article appears in Dec 3-9, 2015.
