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.