Summary:
Rocky Balboa serves as a mentor and trainer for Adonis Creed, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.
My Thoughts:
I never got into sports, so I never really go out of my way to watch movies about sports, unless one is highly regarded by a person who’s taste in movies I respect. My brother loved this movie and had been trying to get me to watch it for a few months; we sat down to watch it, and I have to say I’m glad we finally did. While Creed isn’t wholly original (it’s essentially a remake of the original “Rocky”, but with a few twists), it does pack a surprisingly emotional punch when it comes to some of the character development; there are some pretty great performances; and it features some really impressive cinematography. Overall, I found that “Creed” was incredibly entertaining, far more so than I ever expected it to be.
“What was his name?”
The film starts when Adonis is just a small child living in juvenile detention, but after a fight, Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad, “Creed II”) comes to tell him the truth about himself. It’s revealed that Adonis’ father was Apollo Creed, and Adonis is the child of an affair; after Adonis’ birth mom died, Mary Anne found out about Adonis, tacked him down and adopted him. We flash forward fifteen years or so, and Adonis is now working professionally, but fighting on the side. He decides, after winning another fight in Mexico, to quit his job to follow in his fathers footsteps and pursue his passion for fighting.
I think one of the things I liked most about this film was the fact that sports weren’t in the spotlight 100% of the film, and though boxing took up a fair amount of Adonis’ (Michael B Jordan, “Black Panther”) time and energy, the majority of the screen time was spent to developing his character and his relationships with other characters like Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone, “Rambo: Last Blood”) and his new girlfriend Bianca (Tessa Thompson, “Men in Black: International”). Adonis’ character is pretty well developed, and his determination makes him a rather likeable character, much like Rocky’s character in Rocky.
Like “Rocky” I think a lot of this film’s charm comes from our protagonist being the underdog, though Adonis isn’t as down and out as Rocky. Adonis comes from a place of privilege, yet for reasons that have yet to be revealed, he chooses a life of a fighter instead of that of an office worker. His choice takes away a life of wealth and easy living, and gives him a life of poverty and hard work. While we as viewers aren’t keen on what persuades Adonis make this choice in the beginning of the film, watching him navigate the world helps to further our understanding of him. Through Adonis’ character development, we find that, to him, boxing is not just a fight to see who is better at a sport; to him, it is a chance to prove his own worth.
As far as acting goes, I think Sylvester Stallone easily gives the best performance he’s given in years (and I could actually understand him for a fair amount of this movie too). There’s some genuinely great character growth as far as Rocky’s character is concerned, though, his character arc is rather predictable. Michael B Jordan has consistently put in good performances, and this film is no different. Tessa Thompson is one of the finer working actresses today, and she, too gave a very commendable performance; she just knows how to steal the screen whenever she’s on it.
While I actually really did enjoy a lot of the character stuff, there were some pretty cheesy moments here and there. What would any sports movie be without a training montage? There are a few of those in here, and some are fine, some go on too long. Perhaps the worst (and funniest) scene of the film was when Adonis is running through a neighborhood and suddenly starts calling these kids sitting on the side of the road to accompany him; the kids hop on their dirt bikes and start popping wheelies as they ride down the street into the sunset while inspirational music plays. Both my brother and I were in stitches at this overly dramatic moment.
One thing that really stood out was the cinematography, primarily in one fight near the middle of the film where the entirety is shown without ever cutting. Adonis walks into the ring, fights, breaks apart for a minute to talk to Rocky, goes back into the ring and fights again, and then when the fight is over, people flood him and talk to him; the whole scene is probably four or five minutes long, the camera continually moves, and it all looks pretty darn great in the process.
Verdict:
As a whole, this was a very satisfying flick, and, again, that’s coming from someone who could really care less about sports. I think anyone who likes sports movies will like this movie, and, even if you don’t care about sports, you might find enough to like in the dramatic elements. I certainly did.
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