Creed finds new life in Rocky series

And I just dismissed Ryan’s idea, but… he was very adamant about it, he came back a year and a half later – and then I thought, “You know, my story is told, but there’s a whole other generation out there – two generations since Rocky started – and their story has not been told”.

This sticks to formulas of boxing movies that were established well before Rocky. It’s good to see how ol’ Rock’s doing, and it’s pleasant to be back in this world again, but I want to spend more time with the kid. You can’t ask a “Rocky” film to do more than that. But still she makes music, one note at a time, one song at a time… It’s first and foremost a character study.

Remember Apollo Creed, Rocky Balboa’s boxing nemesis? All I want is for my husband to be safe, and to be treated fairly…You have this belief that you are better than us.

That last shot leaves enough ambiguity to the end of the film, in a way, and I like that because you resolved the ambiguity from the end of Rocky III. Rocky the lovable doofus is far more interesting than Rocky the invincible superhero. It was simply time for “Rocky”, written and starring Sylvester Stallone, directed by John Avildsen.

Overall, Creed is a brilliant film that’s among the very best titles of 2015.

There’s a lot of raw emotion and solid acting supported by director Sylvester Stallone, who has been known to sleepwalk through a movie here and there. As for Stallone, if he does get into the Supporting Actor race, watch out…he could surprise everyone and win the thing.

Michael B. Jordan is both moving and believable physically and mentally in his portrayal of a young guy who can mix it up in the ring, but suffers greatly from the demons that put him there.

Jordan, who also broke out with a stupendous performance in “Fruitvale Station“, finds layers in Adonis, and a drive that reveals without consuming. Then he gets her to take him for cheesesteaks at Max’s. He walks out of a promising job with an investment firm. Ultimately, he decides to pursue his true calling, but his story plays out like “Rocky” in reverse.

Facing a series of personal setbacks himself, Rocky reluctantly agrees to train the talented but undisciplined Adonis. Few boxing films manage to evoke that sense of attachment, and Creed, is one of them.

Except â€1/8 Apollo’s son is practically family (he calls Rocky “Unc”). And it’s this fight to become unbroken that propels Creed forward, and turns the climactic fight scene (which we all know is coming) into a stomach-clenching classic.

Stallone also seems keenly aware of the opportunity Coogler has provided him. Stallone has never won an Oscar but did receive two nominations for the first Rocky film. I’m going to be 70, I feel good, I’m working, but I have friends, fellow actors, who – some of them have passed away, some of them aren’t working due to their health, or because they can’t get the roles.

Meanwhile, Adonis gets to know Bianca (Tessa Thompson), a singer who lives in the apartment below his. In a movie landscape littered with resuscitated franchises, this runs the risk of being just more of the same.

“Creed” could’ve easily been a chance for Coogler to cash in on “80s nostalgia, a popular and lucrative trend in the industry right now”. All of the early reviews are pointing to one heck of a movie, especially if you’re a Philly native. It’s packed with riveting, creatively shot boxing matches and those traditional training montages remain exhilarating, even as they’re updated for a new era. Time, you know, takes everybody out. That’s one kind of story, one vital way of framing the world through African-American male eyes alongside Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me and Black Lives Matter.