CREED

CREED

Creed is a GOOD movie that IS theater worthy 

Rocky and Adonis Creed

One fighter entering the ring and another ready for his final round. Is it as good as Rocky . . . HELL NO! Is it supposed to be . . . of course not, but here we have Adonis Creed, the son of the great Apollo Creed, and the man who beat his father and befriended him with the greatest of passion. Now, I had a hard time watching because some woman brought her two screaming kids to the film, which leads me to my first point . . .

          *PARENTS . . . SINGLE OR NOT . . . IF YOU DON’T HAVE A SITTER THEN STAY THE HELL HOME!!!!*

This film is all kinds of awesome, whether you’re a Rocky fan, a Creed fan, or a simply a fan of film altogether. Now at first the film starts out in Los Angeles, which is cool since we found out in the third film that this is where Apollo got his start in boxing, but it quickly winds up back in Philly where the story first began. You get to see all of the old sights brought back anew, and some not so much, and in doing so you really get to relive some of those old experiences of the original films all over again!

Something that I think is important to point out is that this is a CREED film, not a Rocky film, so don’t expect it to FEEL like a Rocky film. Rocky has always been about humbleness, humility, and hard work. Rocky had the drive, the passion, and the instinct to be a champ but never made any noise to be one. Once he was chosen however he did rise to the occasion to become as such. Creed, on the other hand, was a man who just had a whole different way about him, a whole different personality. He wasn’t humble and knew no humility, not until Rocky taught him some, but instead was prideful and stylish. Being that he was the best of the best he was always far too proud to admit defeat, even if it meant his death, but he also had a style and flare about him which Rocky could never be or have. So, take all of that pride and flare, that

Adonis Creed (left) and Apollo Creed (right)

style and passion, put it in a young modern day boy and you have Creed. This isn’t some kid coming off the streets and training in some smelly sweaty pair of sweats with holes in it. No, no this kid is coming in with top of the line apparel, surrounded by new and clean equipment (most of the time), and has an entitled pride, obviously passed on through his father, which you see as he tries to take on too much too soon. But don’t let this fool you, just because it doesn’t feel like a Rocky movie isn’t a bad thing. As I said, this is a Creed movie, a movie about the true legacy of the champ known as Apollo, and thus it must feel as such. Rocky films were always slow and dramatic leading to a fast paced end. This has a fast paced character with a fast paced story and an even faster end. This movie deserves to have a feeling unique to the character it portrays and the latent champ and father that it pays homage to.

Rocky and Butkus



If you’re a film fan then I think that you'll just LOVE the cinematography of the film. They implement some old school techniques that are reminiscent of classic boxing matches and even boxing films such as Ragin Bull. The first major boxing scene for Creed after recruiting Rocky’s help is a single shot scene. The entire boxing scene is one long continuous shot and it will absolutely SUCK YOU IN!!! Now for those of you not savvy in filming techniques you’ll notice that in each scene there are dozens of shots that make up the scene. With this technique you really feel like you’re right there in the situation watching it as it unfolds. This technique is extremely difficult on everyone in the process seeing as how one little mistake by anyone, the talent, the cameramen, the audio, the extras, literally anyone, and the team has to start all over again from the beginning. The longer the scene, and depending on the actions of the scene, then the more complicated the shot. While it may have been complicated it was also worth it because the effect is second to none in the theater experience. I’d even say that, if done right, 3D doesn’t even compare!

I’ve already heard from more . . . esteemed reviewers. . . that there’s already talk about Sylvester Stallone deserving an award for his performance. If you'll remember the original film, Rocky, it won an Academy Award for best picture of the year and yet Sly (Sylvester) himself did not win anything for best actor, so this would be quite an accomplishment. However, I unfortunately just don’t see it. You won’t find anyone who loves Sylvester Stallone and respects his work more than me, but I also try to stay at least somewhat objective and from that perspective I just don’t see it happening. Although the film is most definitely theater worthy and every element comes together to make another great film in the Rocky franchise, nothing really screamed extraordinary to me. The writing was great but a far cry from 1^st, 2^nd, or even 6^th installment and the acting was amazing but nothing that we haven’t seen from Sly before. And again, that's just in my opinion. To their credit there was a myriad of emotions and actions performed exuberantly, even some well written humor with even greater delivery. To tell you the truth, I think Sly’s best acting in YEARS came from Balboa, the last Rocky film, but that’s me (again). The cinematography (shooting of the film) was amazing and even it left you with a sense of the old Philadelphia we all came to know and love in Rocky.

"Tie-breaker" fight between Rocky and Apollo
at the end of Rocky 3 (1982)

To sum it up I would say that if you’re going into this movie expecting Rocky to train like Mick, a slow drama build up the leads to a work out montage, or a humble quiet character beating the odds then you’ll be disappointed. Now, if you go in this expecting to see exactly what the previews and title suggest the movie is about, the son of Apollo Creed following in his daddy’s footsteps, then you’ll find a big ole smile on that face come the ending credits! And don’t worry, because although this is about Creed, the film also gives a lot of attention on Rocky as well. You get all sorts of shout outs to the original films, lines of nostalgia, and even an answer to the question EVERY Rocky fan has ever asked . . . who won the third fight between Rocky and Apollo from the end of the 3^rd movie?

Enjoy!!!

Rocky and Apollo paining