Creed Step Aside Rocky We Ve Got A New Boxing Champion

It’s rare that a franchise makes it to a seventh movie. It’s rarer still that a franchise’s seventh installment is any good; just look at any slasher series if you want an example of a bad seventh chapter. But one of the rarest things in cinema is to find a seventh film of a franchise that is the best of the bunch. In 2015, this has already happened once – Furious 7 is the best Fast and the Furious movie, and it’s not even close – and now we have Creed, which, at least as far as I’m concerned, overthrows Rocky for the top movie in its franchise. Possibly the only two seventh-is-the-best franchises in film history, and both seventh chapters were released in 2015. That’s some kind of amazing. Creed succeeds for many of the same reasons that Rocky did, and in fact, for most of the time, sticks pretty closely to the mold that the franchise has relied on for almost 40 years. It most closely mirrors the first film – underdog gets a shot at the boxing champion despite not being anywhere close to the number one contender – but is better for a couple of main reasons: (1) The emotional core that exists is so much better and (2) the boxing scenes are incredible, while in Rocky they just don’t hold up. Sorry, but they don’t. Outside of V – which most would prefer never to mention – they’re the worst technical boxing scenes in the series. What you’re not likely to expect is a great performance out of Sylvester Stallone, who in recent years has been mediocre to embarrassingly bad in most of his films. But it’s here, with Creed, that he might get another Oscar nomination. This isn’t a physical performance like most of his films; instead of focusing on his body, we key in on his face. This is a reflective and sad Rocky, one who’s lost almost everything he had in life. A couple of the monologues that Stallone delivers here are some of the best of his career. Going toe-to-toe with Stallone in the acting category is Michael B. Jordan. Jordan got into tremendous physical shape for the role, but most actors would have done that. It’s the way that he gives his character so many layers that makes the performance noteworthy. You can feel both his determination and his fears at any given moment, and the relationships he forms with Rocky and Bianca are great. Speaking of the love interest, Tessa Thompson gives more to the role than was required, easily topping Talia Shire, if that’s the comparison we’re going to use. And, just for the record: isn’t it kind of great for a movie to have a character with a physical disability and not make a big deal about it? Creed is almost as good a Rocky movie could get – which means that, yes, it’s better than the original. With a strong emotional core, amazing boxing, and great acting, Creed is a fantastic movie. It follows the Rocky formula we’ve come to expect, but injects it with a new life and with small details that make it feel fresh again. Creed is a home run, slam dunk, hole-in-one, ace, and any other sports metaphor you can think of. Oh yeah: Creed is a knockout! Bottom Line: One of the best boxing movies ever, and the best of the Rocky franchise, Creed is a fantastic movie. Recommendation: Watch the previous Rocky movies first (except V), just to get some of the callbacks and references, but do not miss Creed. [rating=4.5]