Running from the past of one immense secret, a man clashes with his feelings about a father he has never met, in “Rocky” spinoff “Creed”. Adonis Johnson (Michael B Jordan) never knew his famous father,world heavy weight champion Apollo Creed, who died before he was born. Adonis can’t help but understand there’s no denying the passion for boxing being in his blood, so Adonis heads to Philadelphia, the site of Apollo Creed’s legendary match with a tough upstart named Rocky Balboa. Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) sees in Adonis the strength and determination he had known in Apollo, the fierce rival who became his closest friend. Together, the two fight their own personal battles relying on the other to be their cornerman for the fight of their lives. There is something truly beautiful about a film franchise that is popping out winners, nearly forty years after the first installment. “Creed” flashes execution of brilliance that moves to the beat of it’s own jabs, implementing award-worthy experimental camera work and emotionally moving performances that make this anything other than just another boxing movie.

Michael B Jordan was born to play this role. There is a lot eerily about his look and the way his quiet and calming demeanor can fade away for fits of rage from a bottled up volcano of a haunting past. It’s in that backstory that we come to appreciate this character and all of his demons mentally that come with inheriting such an imposing name. Jordan delivered a breakthrough performance in 2013’s “Fruitvale Station”, but it’s as Adonis where Michael flexes his muscles both figuratively and convincingly as one of Hollywood’s widest ranges. The film is put on it’s feet by a hungry main protagonist, but walks in a confident rhythm with the on-screen chemistry between Creed and Balboa. Stallone does some of his very best work of the movie. It would be quite easy for director and writer Ryan Coogler to lose himself amongst the Rocky history, but this is Creed’s movie well beyond a title. Because Sly takes a step back as a supporting role, it makes his sentimental teachings that much more important during long-winded dialogue that take you inside the mind of this tortured soul. The once powerful Balboa has now lost everything and everyone that were once a major role of his everyday life, and he sees a bit of redemption in the undertaking of Adonis. Stallone is a master of on-screen emotions, and it’s nice that this film offered him a chance to shine his dramatic aura. Oddly enough, Stallone is now the same age as his manager in the original “Rocky” Burgess Meredith was in 1976. Just another impending reality that time is always undefeated in the ring. Tessa Thompson also brings a multi-dimensional character in the role as girlfriend to Adonis. There’s something pleasing to the audience that this woman is more than just another side piece to the male dominated series, and it’s a lot of her interactions with Creed that serve as a voice of conscience for him.

One of the things that greatly impressed me about the film was the eye for detail in heart-pounding cinematography. The film features two big fights for Creed, and they are both done in such completely different ways that you would think two different directors shot the scenes. The first fight is great because it’s done to look like one continuous shot for a seven minute scene. This is impressive for a couple of reasons. The first is the fact that the fight choreography is crisp and so fast paced. There is a lot that goes into these actors remembering every move without stopping to cut. The second thing impressive about it is that the camera pans away a couple times, going back and forth inside the corners of both fighters. If there was a cut in this scene, I certainly didn’t notice it, and I am usually a master at noticing the splice in a film reel. The second fight is the complete opposite, using a lot of quick edits from many different angles far and close. The movie shoots many tight shots from the floor and the point of view from Rocky, as well as many symbolic shots to capture the sheer brutality of boxing. From bloody ring canvases, to bloody ring buckets, to impressively detailed props and makeup work, the film has a wide range to please any fan of the sport. On the makeup, there were several times when i had to grit my teeth at the look of the closing of one character’s left eye. Through seven of these films, this is the first movie that made the violence and the hard hitting really impactful to a man sitting in a movie theater.

I didn’t have many problems with the film, but there were two things that kept this from being among the elite for my end of the year list. The first has to do with the length of the film. 128 minutes isn’t the longest of Rocky movies, but there is a point during the end of the second act where the movie goes through a few scenes that do nothing for the establishing subplots. This film could do without twenty minutes easily of the film that made the final cut, and it wouldn’t be any more damaging to the structure or the characters going through their stories. My second problem had to do with the ending of the film. I mentioned earlier how Adonis and Rocky each go through their own battles in this movie, and one of those battles leaves us without an answer. The film just kind of ends without fully satisfying the audience with the answers to the very intriguing questions raised by the challenges of the movie. It’s not something that ruined too much for me, as the movie is very impressive in most technical aspects, and the tone stays pretty gritty despite being in a franchise known for it’s cheesy moments.

Overall, “Creed” is a more than acceptable sequel, but this movie stands on it’s own feet for twelve enthralling rounds of dramatic mastery. This film offers an inspirational take on life, revealing that we can’t run from our pasts, instead we can embrace the lessons learned from our mistakes and keep on hitting.

8/10