Creed Movie Review

So following 6 Rocky films, it is upto the son of his former nemesis turned ally Apollo Creed, to take over the boxing mantle of the series. Done as a both a sequel & a spinoff from Rocky. It’s 1998 & Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad) pays a visit to a Los Angeles Youth Facility to have a chat with Adonis Johnson (Alex Henderson) who has no mother, she offers to take him in.

Fast Forward to 2015, an older Adonis Johnson (a severely buffed up Michael B Jordan) is fighting by night, working by day, days after he gets a promotion, he quits to box full time. After well a surprising no way from his stepmum, (for those who don’t know his dad died 3 decades fighting Ivan Drago.) He tries to get in at the Delphi Boxing Academy to no luck, despite the setback, he tries his luck travelling to Philadelphia & seeing his dad’s old friend & rival Rocky Balboa (Sly Stallone.) Despite his initial objections for reasons he has, he agrees to train him & not only that he finds romance in the form of the very talented singer/songwriter Bianca, (an absolutely gorgeous Tessa Thompson.) But it’s never that straight forward.

Pros, after the disaster that was Fantastic 4, this is a step in the right direction for Michael B Jordan, his Donnie Creed is simply gritty tough & I must admit. He bulked up brilliantly, he trained hard, so at least he did what was needed to be done training wise. Sly Stallone was worth his Best Supporting Actor, as a man facing demons of the past & present while trying to do Apollo proud. Tessa Thompson describes her character as feisty. I prefer to think of her as tough but with a heart.

What I like is the plot of it, is centred on what happened between the director Ryan Coogler & his dad. So it’s not based on imagination, it’s based on reality life. All the other Rocky movies, professional boxers & professional boxing staff are part & parcel to increase the realism. For example Jacob “Stitch” Duran is a cut man. In real boxing he has been in the boxing corners of the Klitschko brothers. In this, when Donnie’s eye is swollen & the doctor asks Creed how many fingers he has up, the fingers tapping his neck is Stitch’s. There is also professional boxers Gabriel “King” Rosado, Andre “S.O.G” Ward, & Tony “Bomber” Bellew.

I liked how when we saw a pro boxer we saw his stats like height weight win loss record etc etc, oh yes the swollen eye Donnie gets is actually pretty convincing. The first fight between Leo “The Lion” Sporino & Creed is done in one continuous take ala Spectre’s opening bit in Mexico. It’s emotional, it’s tough, there is many throwbacks to the first Rocky, like the ending & when Creed is running down the street etc etc. I like the 2 hours it runs for. I’m glad Liverpool was selected for the final bout, I’ve been many times & it’s such a nice place to be in. So Tony Bellow might appear like Liverpudlians are nasty but they are the nicest people you will meet in your life.

Cons, Can Goodison Park hold 100.000 people for a boxing match? I’m not so sure, Michael Buffer’s traditional “Let’s Get Ready To Rumble” signature saying which I have loved since the old days of WCW isn’t here which is almost blasphemy to boxing.

In ending, as Jim Lampley (one of the commentators) puts it while calling the fight for HBO, “Conlan won the fight, but Creed won the night.” I think everyone who watches it, will agree that Creed will win more then the night.

4.75/5 DKFILMREVIEWS

For all things MARKMEETS:
https://www.MarkMeets.com
https://www.Twitter.com/MarkMeets
https://www.Facebook.com/MarkMeetsPR/
https://www.Youtube.com/user/MarkMeets/
https://www.Instagram.com/MarkMeets/

MarkMeets is a renowned UK entertainment website and media PR brand covering showbiz, music, tv, movies, tech, culture, west end, fashion news, reviews & interviews plus live event coverage inc London Film Premieres.