Review of Creed (2015) by Kirk S — 12 Mar 2016

'Rocky' was one famous film franchise that kind of passed me by. I saw parts here and there, usually the films' boxing climaxes, but I couldn't tell you the particular Rocky movie from which a character or scene originated. Therefore when they announced 'Creed', I was less than excited. To be honest, I had low expectations. However, the rave reviews came followed by numerous award nominations, including a surprising golden globe win for old action junkie Sylvester Stallone. So I figured okay why not. It's clear now that all this hype was for good reason.

What is most intriguing about 'Creed' is not the actual boxing but the knock-out blows delivered outside the ring. Stallone is impressive, not only for the fact that his speech is audible but for the amount of heart, body and soul him and Michael B.Jordan bring to the narrative. For me, the boxing battles played second fiddle to the heart-warming dynamic between the two leads that crucially helped 'Creed' establish a strong spiritual connection with the 'Rocky' story. It also enjoys the additional accomplishment of not having many cheesy moments, a trait frequently synonymous with rags to riches sports movies. Despite saying it acted as second fiddle to the character development of Jordan and Stallone, a boxing movie would hardly be a success if the boxing scenes weren't good. The fight cinematography is great, building atmosphere right from the dressing room nerves to the ringside action where the director utilises multiple camera angles to allow the viewer to experience each brutal jab and uppercut absorbed by the boxers. Room for improvement would definitely be the fight choreography. Though it is fun seeing people go toe-to-toe, the boxers showed an unlikely lack of appreciation for defence, meaning the matches unrealistically became slugfests start to finish. Furthermore, it was hard to believe a man with one professional fight under his belt would get a title shot. Still, this is something to be worked on for the sequel, a movie that I'll be excited for and one which won't pass me by thanks to the high quality set by 'Creed'.