Creed Review

Written By: Travis Lantto

CREED was a movie that I was highly excited for since I loved the character Apollo Creed, played by Carl Weathers in the original Rocky movies.  He was so conceded and thought he was the best boxer in the world until Rocky Balboa, The Italian Stallion rocked his world and eventually won the championship from him.  Sorry for the spoilers but these are movies that came out in the 70s and 80s and 90s.

Michael B. Jordan stars as Apollo Creed's kid, Adondis Johnson. When we first meet him he is a child and is locked up in a juvenile detention center fighting to survive. He then meets his mom who is played by Clair Huxtable herself, Phylicia Rashad.  She takes him in and grows up living the good life.  We then see an older Adondis who boxes at night and during the day he works at a desk for a financial company.  Recently promoted, he decidedly quits his job and decides to follow in his Fathers footsteps and box professionally.  Although he needs a good trainer in order be successful so he leaves and goes to Philadelphia to try and find Rocky Balboa.  However this is not the Rocky we are accustomed to, this Rocky is old and refuses to help because he wants to leave that life behind. After a lot of convincing by Johnson, the former Champ ultimately caves and becomes Creeds trainer. I'm not gonna spoil any more.

I really enjoy movies where I can get lost in the story and CREED does it for me. I wanted to jump up and cheer and cringe when he was hit hard. They really did all that they could to make a quality movie and it shows.

Compared to the other rocky movies I think it really lives up to the expectations that a fan would have.  Even for new fans, it's a good gateway movie to the others if you haven't seen them already.  It's a rare breed that a series that has been around for so long can still keep it fresh and exciting for viewers who loved the series and for new ones to come in a much different generation.

CREED was very good. I enjoyed the hell out of it. It had all the Rocky heart but with a modern take. All of the actors did an excellent job of taking a great legacy and making it their own. I didn't like the ending all too much but I don't wanna spoil anything however, I feel like they copped out with an ending that feels like it has taken place before but that's just me.  I hope we see more of Creed because it's a winner. The director is the same who directed Fruitvale Station so it felt gritty, dark,  and with all the heart that takes place in the movie I felt like it was balanced really well. The sound during the fights were great too. The punches looked and sounded incredibly real and all of the music was done very well.

Go see Creed. You won't be disappointed.

Final Score 4 / 5