Creed: The Stand-Alone Son
By: Cameron Smith
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylica Rashad, Tony Bellew
As a successor to the Rocky series, this film was genius! It not only took the best traits of the 1976 Rocky to another level, but also adds creative variations and elements of our real world to the universe -- providing a strong sense of realism. This could have easily been a cliche and cheesy nod to the former films, but it turned out to be anything but; instead, it gave new, modern life to what seemed as a dying series with it's past two films. It has excellent character development of Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) and chemistry between the aforementioned, his girlfriend Bianca (Tessa Thompson), and the champ Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). It is clear that Stallone is excellent in the film, but it is also apparent that Michael B. Jordan killed it! I have come across fans of the original who only praise Stallone and didn't (so to speak) dig this one. Again, rather than taking away from the original feel of the series, it added to the appeal and told the same story from a different perspective -- of an African-American. In short, I believe that a good bulk of the complaints against this film are from those who relate more to an Italian-American and don't see the other perspective.
I would like to reiterate that this film was a great revival to the Rocky series/extension of the universe -- and a successful one at that. Not only did the franchise gain a new generation of fans, but also fans who now see the same story from another perspective. The allusions made to the former installments made sense, struck the right chord, and all-in-all done in a way that wasn't forced or overly played out. The training scenes (sometimes) played off the original -- as in with the punching bags -- but also included up-to-date music (my favorite being Nas' "Bridging the Gap"), lines, and settings which gave the film yet another stroke of genius. Thematically, it follows the notion of being a stand-alone, and not only a continuation of your predecessor very well; Adonis "Johnson," despite having an "overnight success" has been through his own struggle as a juvenile delinquent and being disconnected from his father. In short, I cannot wait to see where the series goes from here!
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