Stallone, Michael B. Jordan on “Rocky” spinoff

He’s undefeated and obsessed with boxing, and retreats to a room at night where he watches YouTube videos of his father fighting Rocky, which he projects on a wall. Creed is out today and to celebrate the occasion I picked a few clips from the highly anticipated sports drama.

The “Rocky” movies had a significant impact on Cogler’s life because he grew up watching those films with his father, and they both rooted for Rocky and Apollo.

– Rocky Balboa, the most recent Rocky movie from 2006, was not so much a film as a pure nostalgia exercise, made for little reason except that Sylvester Stallone felt like playing Rocky again.

KENNETH TURAN, BYLINE: “Creed” is billed as a “Rocky” spinoff, but it’s actually something more interesting. To tell you the truth, I don’t if you’re special. As an adult, I see how Sylvester Stallone foreshadowed Rocky’s ability to survive punishment in the ring (the character was modelled on Chuck Wepner, known as the “Bayonne Bleeder”) with his determined, charming optimism out of it. Trust me though, you’ll love it. I can all but guarantee it. Don’t you dare miss out on seeing this one ASAP…

Of course, Bianca reps her own side of Philly too, as she performs at different smaller venues across the city, including the famed Electric Factory – and if the movie gets a sequel, you can bet Thompson will be gunning for her own musical version of a training montage. He’s running Adrian’s, living alone and, for the most part, leading a solitary life outside the restaurant.

Rocky sees much of his younger self in Donnie, who isn’t ready to fight for a championship, but who is hungry to prove himself. “I do the same thing, and yet I’m dealing with Creed Jr”, Stallone said. If it does well at the box office, it will happen. Fans of the original Rocky films will find this film as comfortable to slip into as an old shoe, with several points of familiarity, much to their delight. When I got out of the theaters I was motivated to work out while slowly wiping away my tears.

The real star of Creed however, is Michael B. Jordan, who is exquisite as Adonis Creed, a man struggling to match up to his father’s legacy.

Just as Coogler connected with his dad over Rocky, he connected with Stallone over filmmaking.

Fruitvale Station’s Michael B. Jordan is Adonis and that film’s director, Ryan Coogler, is at the helm.

And for boxers, one thing I realize – I know this from researching and having conversations and going to gyms – is these people, they lean on the women in their lives greatly. So when Ryan came to me with the idea of Adonis Creed coming into the picture, I thought it was incredible, this filmmaker who is so young and yet so captivated by what we’d begun all those years ago. But they hit it off and then don’t and then do, etc. You know the drill.

Jordan’s appeal sent women into huddles in the hallway after the film, oohing and aahing at his cardboard cutout calling him, “The hottest man alive”. In the end, it’s the audience who wins. I’d probably balk at taking my 13-year-old granddaughter to this film, mainly because I don’t think it would interest her. However, that does remind me that I saw the original Rocky in its theatrical release in 1976, when I was … thirteen years old.