Review of Creed (2015) by Wayne K — 07 Jan 2019

I seen the original Rocky a few years ago, and I wasn't impressed. I found it drawn out, predictable and rambling, with most of the screen time dedicated to Sylvester Stallone mumbling about this and that, and occasionally doing a bit of boxing.

Creed was a lot better, but certainly follows a similar structure. I really enjoyed the boxing sequences, especially the ones filmed in a single take, which must have been Hell to choreograph but are the most rewarding to witness.

It has a similar problem that Raging Bull has, in that the boxers take a stupid amount of punches to the face, more than any regular fighter would, and the referee is curiously nowhere to be seen when a boxer isn't defending themselves.

That said, the fight scenes are still thoroughly engaging, and the drama works well too. It's a bit of a slave to formula and convention, and the inevitable scenes where the lead falls out with those closest to him feels so forced and unnecessary that even the movie seems to acknowledge this, having them all reconcile about 10 minutes later.

It might follow the Rocky template a little too closely, but it still adds a lot of meat to the bones. Bolstered by raw power, great performances and a lot of retrospection that a character like Rocky would undoubtedly be going through, Creed is a fine film with plenty of replay value.