Creed (2015)

Rocky has been my favorite boxing movie for ages, but that's not saying much. I had never watched any of its sequels in full, tho I did check out the Nostalgia Critic's video on Rocky IV, which caught me up on what happened to Apollo Creed, Rocky Balboa's pro rival-turned-friend. I looked up a few other details along the way, but not much affected my understanding of the situation herein.

In 1998, orphan Adonis Johnson, in an L.A. juvie for fighting, learns that he's the bastard son of similarly Greek-named Apollo and accepts adoption by Apollo's widow. In the present, "Donny" (now played by Michael B. Jordan) moves to Philly and tracks down Rocky (an especially unattractive, mumbly Sylvester Stallone). Despite both Rocky and Mrs. Creed telling him it's a bad career, he doesn't feel like doing any work but pugilism, preferably with Rocky in his corner.

A running theme is Donny's ambivalence about his heritage. He hates to be thought of as Creed Junior as opposed to his own man, yet his father is exactly what connects him to Rocky, whom he calls "Unc." Ultimately, adopting the name Creed gives him the chance to skip right to the championships instead of working his way up from the bottom.

Donny's reluctance to come out about it has an impact on a side arc. He meets apartment neighbor Bianca (Tessa Thompson) upon complaining about her loud music, but she's not simply inconsiderate; she's a night club singer with progressive hearing loss. They soon bond, partly by both having interests they know they can't pursue forever. At what point in their relationship should he tell her about his famous father? I'm undecided, but the two of them disagree on when is optimal.

If you're wondering about Rocky, I'm afraid he's a sadder case. With all his old friends gone, he doesn't feel that he has much to live for -- and thus forgoes critical medical treatment. To a young man who's been in and out of foster homes and could use all the "family" he can get, this must be quite a slap in the face. I have doubts about plans for Rocky to appear in more than one sequel after this. (Incidentally, Stallone was feeling down at the time because of his son's death, but the movie proved therapeutic for him.)

I hesitated to add the "racial" label, because it doesn't matter to the plot. Only once does anyone ever make a racially explicit comment. But there is a strong Black flavor to set this entry apart from the rest of the series to date, from the language to the music other than "Gonna Fly Now." We can thank writer-director Ryan Coogler, fresh off Fruitvale Station (also with Jordan), for that.

Jordan delivers. You can really see his muscle progress in the course of the film, and he does some impressive physical moves that clearly didn't come from a stunt double. And yes, he expresses emotions well too. Only Stallone got an Oscar nod, but I think that comes largely of familiarity.

If I have one complaint, it's that Donny's final opponent, Ricky Conlan (real boxer Tony Bellew), is a big jerk, prone to starting fights outside the ring. I've said before that sports stories don't need to vilify the other guys, and the first Rocky proved it. Maybe the difference is that Donny has his own punk side, so the filmmakers felt he needed something extra for us to root for him. At least they still recognize that a happy ending does not require absolute victory.

Major fans of the series might get more out of Creed, or they might be put off by some of the changes introduced. I can't say whether it's better or worse for its callbacks (Rocky needs help up those iconic stairs?) as opposed to, y'know, being its own thing like Donny wants. Me, I like it at least as much as the original. It's a little more complicated, without veering into the ridiculous, and brings just enough of the sentimental to help me forget that this is about men beating each other bloody for glory.