CREED: An Alleviating Cinematic Achievement

What a relief Creed is. With a current cinematic landscape dominated by remakes, reboots and sequels, the initial idea of Creed just sounded so unnecessary. A pseudo-combination of a Rocky reboot that is a sequel whilst also working as a remake just felt like something we really didn’t need.

Earlier this year, the commercial juggernaut Jurassic World came out and the same feeling arose. Whilst both franchises were birthed by cinematic classics that led into franchises that had diminishing returns, the way they attempt to insert themselves into the modern cinematic landscape show the difference between successfully delivering what the audience loves and merely pandering for the sake of latching onto nostalgia to make money.

Jurassic World was a complete misfire, a film which seemed ashamed of the films that became before it, using its unofficial mascot (the T-Rex) at the end as fan service so audiences will leave the theatre with a nostalgia-driven whimsical feeling inside, forgetting the incoherent, bloated empty mess that had preceded it. The film’s cynical approach to the previous three films made it seem disrespectful towards the iconic films that Spielberg had made back in the 90’s.

Creed is a film that respects the Rocky franchise, made by someone who seems to have a genuine love for the franchise and understands why people loved the very first film.

The One-Two Punch

Coming off the success of independent hit Fruitvale Station, director Ryan Coogler has taken the reigns of directing Creed, taking over directing duties from John G Avildsen (the first Rocky and Rocky V) and Sylvester Stallone (the other four) and this is also the first Rocky film not written by Stallone, as the screenplay was scripted by Coogler and newcomer Aaron Covington (a personal friend of Coogler’s).

Whilst this must’ve been a hard decision for Stallone, to hand over his most important and personal film franchise to a newer, younger director, the gamble has paid off well. Much like the previous film Rocky Balboa, Coogler strips away the excess sentimentality and superficiality that diminished the Rocky sequels and goes for an old-school approach.

The film leans on the original Rocky quite heavily, with the story beats feeling very similar, evoking the feeling of watching a remake of the original. Luckily the film has enough cinematic techniques and character moments that really gives the film its own identity, jumping out of the shadow of the previous six films, a quite meta statement due to the film’s overall message.

Creed is about Adonis “Donnie” Creed (Michael B. Jordan), the accidental son of boxing legend Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers is frequently seen in archival footage), who sadly never got to meet his father due to his death in the ring (caused by Ivan Drago in Rocky IV). Growing up being moved around different foster homes and childhood support systems, Donnie is eventually adopted by Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashād), Apollo Creed’s wife at the time of his death.

Growing up in a wealthy household (propped up by his late father’s money) and getting a successful, but boring financial job, Donnie has grown up with a built-in fascination with the sport of boxing. One aspect that the film needed to flesh out more is exactly why Donnie has such a passion for boxing, outside for it being his father’s job.

The film starts quite quickly, with Donnie quitting his job, giving us no context as to exactly why he chooses to quit his job so quickly or what internal decisions led up to this. Creed treats his decision as something that needs to be done quickly and urgently, but contextually within the film there’s no reason for it. Just an extra scene could’ve really established this at the beginning and given us a sense of Donnie living in an environment that makes him unhappy.

Between his boring shifts at work, Donnie attends private boxing matches in Mexico, where he frequently wins against the low-tier fighters. Understanding that he may have a natural talent for the sport, and inspired by his father’s victories, he decides to move to Philadelphia and make a real career in boxing. Needing a push in the right direction, he goes to the man that knew his father the best – Rocky Balboa.

Rocky, still a legend around Philadelphia, still runs Adrian’s Restaurant, but has become sadly alone again due to the death of Paulie between now and the events of Rocky Balboa. Still regularly visiting the gravestones of Adrian and Paulie, Rocky has accepted his life and ready to exit as he’s lost everything that’s been important to him – his friends and family. His son, Robert Balboa (Milo Ventimiglia) has moved to Canada, leaving Rocky alone in Philadelphia.

Although initially reluctant to get back into the world of boxing, Donnie’s burning passion for boxing alights the old flame within Rocky, starting a great friendship which propels both of them into the spotlight. Coogler and his cinematographer Maryse Alberti, inject this story with some original visual flair, combining long unbroken shots (without feeling pretentious), claustrophobic fighting inserts and even little things such as graphics which display character stats when each new boxer is introduced. It’s enough style to make the film feel fresh enough compared to its predecessors.

I’ll Forgive The Boxing Puns

Whilst this film is the potential set-up for a new series of films based on Donnie Creed, this is still a Rocky sequel as well and Stallone returns to the role perfectly. This must’ve been quite a risky endeavour for Stallone – making a Rocky film where he is truly not in control any more, within the film and behind the camera. The film reflects that sentiment though, as whilst Rocky is revered for his past success, age has really hit him and he’s longer the dominant man.

The defining character trait of Rocky Balboa is that whilst accomplishing his dream of being a famous boxer, the great success achieved at the end of Rocky is not the boxing match, but the fact that Rocky is finally together with Adrian, the love of his life. Their relationship has defined the franchise, as Rocky is quite a loyal, loving character, whose life is twisted by success and the various characters around him. Creed luckily understands this arc of Rocky’s character, as Rocky is quite a lonely humble man now that he’s alone again. The introduction of Donnie Creed lights that passion inside Rocky again, not because he’s boxing again, but because he’s become a father figure to Donnie, able to be part of a family again.

Stallone plays the role perfectly, reminding us of why he became the blockbuster star he is today. It’s quite understandable to forget why Stallone is such a defining pop culture icon, due to his large quantity of terrible films, including his misguided Expendables franchise, that water down his cinematic successes. Whilst the easy thing to do would be to merely state that Stallone deserves an Oscar nomination because it’s “his time” (the famous example of this is Scorsese winning Best Director for The Departed), Stallone totally deserves any upcoming awards attention he’ll definitely receive.

Stallone’s portrayal of a wounded Rocky is quite possibly his rawest performance ever, with a couple of scenes where he’s forced to address his emotions that Stallone absolutely nails, giving one of the most emotional performances on-screen this year. His ability to shift between a conflicted boxing teacher, mournful widower and humble father figure is done with ease, Stallone shows an ability to diminish his large bulking frame by making us focus on his emotional state.

Apart from Stallone, the full cast is consistently tremendous, with Michael B Jordan solidifying himself as a Hollywood leading man, showing the aggressiveness of Apollo Creed but combining it with the thoughtfulness of Rocky Balboa, a unique mix of the two icons in his life. Earlier this year, Jordan copped a lot of grief (alongside his co-stars) for the cinematic misfire Fantastic Four, but with this film, he crushes any wrong-doings Fantastic Four might’ve caused.

His love interest in the film, Bianca, played by upcoming actress Tessa Thompson, does a great job of establishing her own character, injecting Bianca with enough personality that makes her stand out, not merely being another generic love interest. She is a singer with degenerative hearing disorder, meaning that at some point, she will go completely deaf. The parallel in their relationship, both following careers that will ultimately end in tragedy is an interesting dynamic, making their relationship feel genuine, rather than inserted to fulfill mainstream movie demands.

The “antagonist” of the film, ‘Pretty’ Ricky Conlan, the heavyweight champion of the world who Creed is ultimately forced to verse to make his name in the business, is one of the better antagonists in cinema this year. He is played by real-life British boxer Tony Bellew, who does a terrific job of translating his real life experiences into the film, feeling like an opponent for Creed who is actually intimidating and can back up his promises. His entrance at the end of the film is outstanding, setting up one of the best final scenes in cinema this year.

Conclusion

If more spinoffs and reboots were like Creed, I don’t think people would be as cynical about every old property that’s brought back to try and make more money. Whilst Coogler showed potential with his debut feature Fruitvale Station, he shows with Creed that he has the chops to have a great career in Hollywood. Between his rhythmic editing and interesting cinematography choices, the film never slows down or feels tired, using the old story beats from the original Rocky as foundations that he has modernized and built upon.

The entire cast, especially Stallone, brings their A-game in a film which could spawn an entirely new franchise, but I’d be perfectly happy if no sequels happened either. It’s quite refreshing to see a mainstream film with established characters that doesn’t feel like it’s constant set-up for an inevitable sequel or something that will spawn tons of merchandise.

The constant theme in Creed is the fight to create your own legacy, stepping out of the shadows of those people before you. Creed’s fight to make his own name against his father’s massive legacy is a meta-statement on what Coogler tried and achieved successfully – making his own mark against a huge legacy, the immortal Rocky franchise. Don’t be scared people, this one’s one of the good Hollywood films that people complain that they don’t make any more.

Is there any other successful Hollywood spin-off films that you can think of?