Sylvester Stallone is back as Rocky Balboa in ‘Creed’

Sylvester Stallone after winning in a scene from the film “Rocky IV”, 1985. “I was definitely a fan, but obviously didn’t have the opportunity see a lot of the movies in the theater”, says Jordan in Miami Beach on a press tour for Creed, the seventh and seemingly final notch in Rocky’s belt.

Expressive, memorable and engaging, The music director delivers a sound performance that more than makes up for his last movie.

Even if this wasn’t a Philadelphia-based blog we would wholeheartedly endorse Creed, the long-awaited Rocky spin-off film that passes the torch from the Italian Stallion to Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed, son of Apollo Creed. Balboa himself remains a lovable but lonely lunk, having lost everyone in his life since the events of 2006’s swan song film “Rocky Balboa”.

Jocelyn Noveck of the Associated Press does the same, saying that “Jordan deserved a good movie after the awful ‘Fantastic Four, ‘ and he gets one here” with “Creed”. And it all comes back to Coogler and his dad.

Coogler’s father, meanwhile, has been posting endlessly about his son’s latest film on Facebook. Instead, he chose Coogler, a filmmaker who’s still in touch with the struggle of becoming a professional filmmaker, and then some.

The “Rocky” star didn’t exactly jump at the idea. It’s Adonis’ new musician girlfriend (an appealing Tessa Thompson) who convinces Donnie, as she calls him, that he can. But Mr. Coogler chose to dramatize the day in Oscar’s life that preceded his death, and the film celebrates that life in all its beauty, contradiction and thwarted promise.

“Did I get hurt? You might have heard of it – we did $200 at the box office'”.

Stallone takes a supporting role both in front of and behind the camera – he directed most of the preceding six “Rocky” films and wrote all of them – ceding the spotlight to the next generation. And the only activity that they could do together was watch TV, whatever was being broadcast at the time. “But the fight game? No”. The first Rocky film had ten nominations and took the award for Best Picture. “It was a leap of faith”, he said. Because boxing’s been done so many different ways, that’s the challenge of it. Boxing works, if you can find it. People will go with you.

Indeed, as the popularity of boxing has waned over the decades, some may wonder whether the almost 40-year-old franchise has the resonance it once did.

Sylvester Stallone has revealed why he chose not to pen the screenplay for Ryan Coogler‘s upcoming sports drama “Creed”.

“How confident were we?”

With Stallone’s blessing and him officially on board as a producer, the stage was set for Coogler to fully realize his vision for “Creed”. You often go into a gym, and the owner of the gym points to his wife for sign-ups, and you realize this woman runs all the numbers at this gym. Why would he live the life of a boxer, he is asked over and over again, when he has been given so many privileges? “It really kept me focused”. “That’s a testament to Sly and this guy”, he said, pointing to Coogler. As I grew older, I have come to realize that the Rocky franchise are more than just a boxing film; it’s an underdog story that is relatable to every person in the world. “He’s like nuts, man”, Coogler said.