Creed.

Review #760: Creed.

Cast
Michael B. Jordan (Adonis Johnson Creed), Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa), Tessa Thompson (Bianca), Phylicia Rashad (Mary Anne Creed), Tony Bellew (Ricky Conlan), Graham McTavish (Tommy Holiday), and Wood Harris (Tony "Little Duke" Evers) Directed by Ryan Coogler.

Review
Almost 40 years after the original Rocky, here we are with a spin off (or sorts), with Rocky still playing a role even outside the ring. To be honest, I had no clue on how it would be mainly because I had no clue the movie was going to be made in the first place. The four Rockys I had seen all had varying degrees of entertainment (the first being the best), and I was at least interested in seeing how Jordan and Stallone would do. As it turned out, they both did great. It rises from potentially being mired in cliches to deliver a movie that is flat out entertaining. Jordan and Stallone are excellent together, having a good rapport with Stallone (the only person from any of the past six films) passing the torch onto Jordan. Rashad, though she doesn't have a lot of screen time, is also good to watch on screen. Bellew doesn't get much personality to work with the role he plays, but he does manage to make for an interesting character for Creed to fight in the end, and he certainly looks the part. Jordan and Thompson also share some good scenes with each other that certainly make the movie a little more than just boxing, though admittedly the boxing is excellent nonetheless. It looks really well-done, even including some blood (you can't have a Rocky movie without a little blood). It's a movie all about identity, and by the end it certainly seems to have found a lasting identity and the seeds to build a legacy. I'd love to see more movies about Creed, or even just movies with Jordan in general. This is an engaging movie that manages to evoke fun and the Rocky spirit to make for a excellent movie.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.