Article by Robert E. Moore

(Warning: Spoilers below)

Creed brings an exciting and fresh chapter to the everlasting and beloved Rocky boxing franchise. The Fruitvale Station team of writer/director Ryan Coogler and actor Michael B. Jordan injected some much needed youth and vigor to entertain the younger generation (who may not remember a film series that started all the way back in 1976) but also keept the old school fans (this dude included) satisfied.

The story centers on young Adonis Johnson (Jordan), a seemingly intelligent and upscale young man working at an investment firm who moonlights as a slugger on the weekends, traveling to Mexico to fight in illegal underground boxing matches (where he remains undefeated). Rescued from a life of juvie hell as a young teen by none other than Apollo Creed’s wife, Mary Anne (played by Phylicia Rashard), she changed his life forever after informing him he is in fact the — ouch —  illegitimate son of Apollo. Though not her own, she raises him as her son, hoping to keep him away from the fighting life that got her husband killed in the ring so many years ago.

But of course, young Adonis discovers the easy life and working in an office just isn’t for him, and breaks the news to Mary Anne that he’s leaving sunny California for Philly, where he plans to track down his father’s old nemesis-turned-friend Rocky Balboa (Stallone) at his restaurant and request the elder man train him to become a fighter.

After meeting, the rugged and rather broken-down looking Rocky rejects Adonis, saying boxing is no longer a part of his life. This is a Rocky that fans have never really seen before. He’s an old man at this point, still running his small Italian restaurant, but otherwise – totally alone. (We learn his son has moved and, sadder yet, Paulie has died. Adrian passed away years earlier as first noted in the previous Rocky film, Rocky Balboa.) And now, in walks Apollo Creed’s son, Adonis Johnson (who has thus far refused to use his father’s name in an effort to make it on his own). Through Rocky’s sense of responsibility, a desire to relive his glory days, or perhaps guilt over not throwing the towel in to save Apollo’s life so many years back (See Rocky IV), he soon changes his mind to help Adonis, and to honor his late friend.

He gives the young man the old school treatment, and Adonis slowly adopts the older man as the father and male guide he never had, all the while romancing a talented (but deaf) local musician (Dear White People’s Tessa Thompson). All is going great, but the young fighter is thrown a curveball when Rocky is diagnosed with cancer, ready and willing to throw in his own towel. This places the title fight with the menacing Ricky Conlon (convincingly played by real life fighter Tony Bellew) in the balance, as Adonis refuses to fight if Rocky denies getting treatment. Thankfully, he manages to convince Rocky to start chemotherapy and fight once more, this time for his life. The story carries on, the tension rises, and there’s now an added emotional bond between the two (Seriously, have tissues at the ready), where both men lean on each other in support to get to the end goal.

In the exciting climatic final fight, Adonis battles the ruthless Conlon in a brutal exchange; his only goal is to be worthy of his late father’s name and, more importantly, to prove to all that his own life is not a mistake. (Tissue time!)

Thanks to Coogler’s assured direction, the film stays fresh and relevant with a finale that should satisfy fans both young and old (And yes, those famous museum steps are seen once more). Jordan continues his recent hot streak with a confident and charismatic turn, with Sly giving a quietly touching performance as the aging Balboa. This may well be one of Sly’s most effecting performances in a long time, and could well lead to his first Oscar nomination since the original in 1976. There are some flaws in the script (the love story between Adonis and the musician is not the most original) and the story also suffers from a lack of well-rounded supporting characters (Conlon is portrayed merely as a petty thug only out for a paycheck). Despite all this, “Creed” succeeds as a stand-alone film as well as a worthy entry in the “Rocky” cannon, and with Jordan’s performance being so winning, there is plenty of room for further films of his character and growth as a fighter (and man) a la Balboa. This hopefully can lead to a potential film series with an African-American leading man at the forefront for once. Going the distance never sounded so promising.