For the first time we have a double header at ‘Friday’s Finest‘ in Creed and Creed II. I have made it no secret that my affection for the early ‘Rocky’ films runs deep; referencing them in various articles ranging from the music of Christina Perri to Van Damme’s ‘Kickboxer‘.
My 14 year boy recently came back from a school excursion to a book and movie fair and presented me a Rocky IV poster which I recently put up on my living room wall. He’s crafty my son; since he didn’t want to lug it around all day so he paid a girl from his class (as you do) $5.000 pesos to do the carrying for him. I didn’t know if I should praise or rebuke him upon learning that, instead I did neither.
I always felt the Rocky franchise took a nose dive after Rocky II. The scripts, the stories and acting got incrementally worse culminating in the bombs Rocky V and Rocky Balboa. Some may think I’m being too harsh on the latter, anyhows…So when a hybrid franchise was released in 2015 called Creed I was less than roused with the prospect of seeing my beloved ‘original’ Rocky further decimated akin to what Disney did to Star Wars in their abysmal rebooted ‘woke’ trilogy. Despite learning that Creed had glowing reviews from critics and audiences alike, I was still reluctant to entertain the idea of seeing it in the event it would shatter the Rocky ‘lore’ as Kathleen Turner did to the Lucas’ Star Wars one.
Fast forward, perhaps two years ago I was zapping through my cable channels with nothing better to do when I put a tentative finger on the ‘play’ button midway through a ‘Creed‘ viewing. Call me cynical, but I was just hanging-out to see something f&/king ‘woke’, hand-me-down or blatantly inferior than the original movies so I had an excuse to change the channel and save myself the torture of viewing yet another failed reboot. But low and behold after viewing a few scenes my distrust and pessimism turned to one of pleasant relief and surprise. What I was seeing was very solid and nuanced acting, a mature and tight script, an invigorated plot that felt respectful to its source (the Rocky ‘lore’), but also refreshingly new – its own beast as it were.
IMDB Storyline:
Adonis Johnson is the son of the famous boxing champion Apollo Creed, who died in a boxing match in Rocky IV (1985). Adonis wasn’t born until after his father’s death and wants to follow his fathers footsteps in boxing. He seeks a mentor who is the former heavyweight boxing champion and former friend of Apollo Creed, the retired Rocky Balboa. Rocky eventually agrees to mentor Adonis. With Rocky’s help they hope to get a title job to face even deadlier opponents than his father. But whether he is a true fighter remains to be seen.
I ended up watching Creed in its entirety as well as its sequel, and on subsequent viewings I became even more engaged and impressed. Apart from the aforementioned praises, what I found quite remarkable in this new embarkation were 3 standout aspects:
- The sheer authenticity and credibility of Stallone’s acting in his reprised role. Although young Michael B. Jordan has the title role and does a sterling job in Creed, the film really belongs to Sylvester Stallone. Sly joins an exclusive club of players like Bing Crosby, Paul Newman, and Al Pacino who got two Oscar nominations for playing the same role.
I don’t think I have seen better performances from him (in any movie) since his original Rocky I portrayal than in Creed I and II (perhaps more so the sequel).
Beware: Spoiler alert!
At the end of this post I have presented an emotional scene when Rocky learns he has cancer. The acting there-in is a good sample of just where Stallone goes with this. Also consider the following:
Just as the film was entering pre-production, Sylvester Stallone’s oldest son Sage Stallone who appeared in Rocky IV died of a heart attack (36 years old). Stallone has admitted that the loss almost sent him into a full breakdown, but Ryan Coogler was eventually able to convince him to use the film as a dedication to Sage, focusing specifically on the father-son relationships that appear in it. Although initially resistant, Stallone said at the Golden Globes that Creed helped him cope with Sage’s death. - The acting and chemistry between Adonis Johnson (Creed) and his mystical and multifaceted girlfriend Bianca played by Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson respectively is fascinating. I mean, we as the audience are invested in and rooting for this couple from the get-go and onwards as their relationship evolves. It’s definitely not Hollywood ‘romance’ by numbers formulaic.
- The other element I admired so much about Creed I and II were the fight scenes. The choreography, realism and attention to detail made you feel you were witnessing the explosive action from inside the ring. They well surpassed any other fights I have seen in Rocky or any other boxing film for that matter. And that list is as long as my arm.
History has a strange way of repeating itself. Almost 50 years ago, Rocky Balboa became a household name and turned an unwanted actor into one of the greatest success stories in Hollywood. The fact that Rocky (1976) won three Academy Awards including Best Picture is of little importance compared to the real life struggle behind the making of that film. For Sylvester Stallone, it was a rags to riches story that mirrored his real life struggles to make a decent and honest living. Cut from the same cloth maybe, but Creed I and II are much more than just the seventh and eight installments in the Rocky film franchise. As a no- holds-barred sports drama, this is every bit an exceptional crowd pleaser with a lot of heart, plenty of amusing jabs to the ribs, and an unexpected but emotional haymaker to the gut. And a lot more. Quality.
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Hey Matt! I’ve never seen this before. I’ve heard about it but never watched it. I was afraid like you of what I would see…Stallone hates woke crap I found out lately…so I’ll give it a try. I’ve been watching movies left and right…I wrote up 12 movies while I was off.
It’s funny how when I got back from the Gym yesterday and prepared myself something to eat and went into coach potato mode – clicked on the TV – Guess what should appear on the first channel? Creed II. So that’s where the rest of my afternoon went lol
I really like these movies Max and they get better after each viewing.
That is good you were so productive during your time off from your blog. I find ‘blog writing’ quite addictive. I feel like ‘sh/t’ if I have missed a day.
Oh by the way, I wanted to wish you and your team good luck today. I will be watching both your game and the mighty Ohtani tonight and the game prior ‘Mets and Phillies’. I decided after years watching baseball, my favourite team now are the ‘Mets’ (see Colombian pitcher Jose Quintana – who had a blinder the other day and its Seinfeld’s favourite team), but I like your lot the Dodgers and Oakland too although the latter are consistently crap.
Hey check out this BBC article on Ohtani claiming he is better than Babe Ruth:
https://www.bbc.com/sport/baseball/articles/cm29lvze0gyo
Yea he isn’t as great as Ruth… the numbers…even for seasons aren’t there. He does seem like a great guy though!
The Mets and Tigers are the two hot teams this year…The Dodgers better get some good pitching…their ace (Glasnow) is out… we will see how it goes.
I assumed based on the article’s content that Ohtani was at least comparable to Ruth or even exceeding some of his numbers. But heck, you know way more about this stuff than most. His homer last night and overall performance was epic. Very charismatic individual as well.
Regarding pitching, they showed last night the long injury list to the Dodgers pitching staff. Their record this season considering all that ‘woe’ is impressive!
Mets came back for the second time in a row from the 8th inning to win a playoff game. That is the third time ever a team has achieved that in the Play Offs. Very cool.
The biggest comparison would be both are great pitchers and hitters. That is the common thread between the two…this season is Ohtani’s best season….I think because he concentrated on hitting and that is all…and yes he was great this year.
Pretty cool for him since this was his first playoff game!
Yea man…The Mets and Tigers are the dangerous teams this year.
The Mets won’t have played a game at their stadium for two weeks as well (until Tuesday), which is remarkable in and of itself! Also I found a team finally. Giddyup!
I think when Ohtani comes back from the Tommy lay-off in full beast mode as both pitcher and hitter, it will be telling. I’m looking forward to the games today.
Oh the Mets got hot at the right time! With my Dodgers…I think it’s a damn miracle they are this good without most of their pitchers.
Ohtani will be pitching next year…but I promise you he won’t have as good of an offensive player…he will be great…but probably not this great. I would be happy Matt if he only hit!
I’m probably outta my league even opining on this matter, but it seems if Ohtani can hit next year above 30 HR with a 0.3 Average and pitching ERA below 3.0 he will be in best of all time talks. Is that a fair assessment?
I really like Freeman’s style at the Dodgers like I do Jose Iglesias at the Mets. Both are dependable workhorses vintage style it seems.
Oh yea…and he will probably do that. I don’t see 50 HRs again with him pitching but they will be great. Like I said I wish he would just hit but this year…I would take him pitching lol. In a heartbeat.
The Dodgers are doing it with smoke and mirrors in the starting pitching.
Yeh, it’s pretty extraordinary their pitching feats considering the injury list. I imagine Kershaw will be pitching. Do you know when?
No he won’t be pitching. He is ruled out. He has an injury.
Wow. Will he retire soon?
Alonso home run. He’s already a legend that guy for the Mets
I don’t think so…it’s a minor injury with his toe of all things…but that can mess your delievery up. If the Dodgers luck up and win…it will be a huge story. Their offense is just as good or better than anyone…but pitching usually wins.
What did you think of the Profar incident last night? I was just watching videos of it. Haha
It was a mess..that guy had trouble with the dodgers before…it all sucked
The BBC highlighted the incident and it didn’t look good for Dodgers fans. I still can’t work out the controversy. Anyways…
No…actually Dodger fans have a reputation for not caring and leaving early…this is different lol. Players were hit and the players got mad and so the crowd jumped in
Why did the crowd get involved? It was an amazing catch. I’m obviously missing something.
Oh a Dodger pitcher hit a Padre batter and it went from there…Profar is an asshole…not that the fans needed to enter…that was wrong…but he is not a nice guy. That is why Texas and Oakland got rid of him. He was egging them on as well…but it’s stupid to take the bait.
I didn’t know Profar was the bad guy. Now I’m getting it, if what you purport of his character is correct. I think how the fans in the stadium almost did on multiple instances a Steve Bartman like interference, I was elated Profar took it from them. Thanks for filling me in on the whole thing.
That doesn’t give the fans the right to do that though….but I was happy to see Dodger fans pissed! lol
They won convincingly unlike that which occurred when it did whn Bartman innocently interfered. Despite the characterisation of Profar I thought it was pretty cool and Dodgers fans need a rethink.
Usually they have that southern california laid back feel…I don’t know what got into them last night
I imagine it was one or two idiots who let loose. It shouldn’t cast all the fans into disrepute. But I didn’t take to the ones trying to catch the ball when Profar was there.
Someone had too much beer probably… speaking of too much beer…I love the seventies…this is “10 cent beer night”
After consuming 10c beers all things are bound to happen. What an audio! Thanks Max
I thought you would like that.
10 Cent Beer night…what could go wrong?
They spoke of streakers. I spoke of a girl I dated in the early 2000s in my Springsteen posts: ‘Happy’ and ‘Loose Change’, we actually were so inebriated that we danced nude in some joint in Melbourne. Until we were forced off. In fact I can’t remember that part.
lol….now that was worth it just for the story.
You know when you wished you had your time back? My life is full of that. We were messed up man.
Messed up is underrated…