Rocky Balboa is back and he is the biggest legend of boxing, even when is not boxing.
Creed comes with Apollo Creed's son, Adonnis, who wants to fight, but never knew his father and wants Mr. Balboa to train him, that's the story. Very simple but there's more.
I had no expectations for this movie, and i'm still very surprised for what i've just seen, one of the most impressive things from this picture it's the magnificent direction by the young Ryan Coogler (who did an amazing job on Fruitvale Station), everything is edited very well, there are a few long takes which are impressive, even in fight scenes, it's hard not to punch the air during the fight scenes.
Michael B. Jordan redeemed himself (after the horrible Fantastic Four) and brings a very charismatic Adonnis Creed, the great Tessa Thompson is the new Adrian Pennino, and Sylvesyer Stallone brings his best performance ever, no doubt this is the second best movie of the Rocky franchise, very strong and very, very, very emotional. Ludwig Göransson's score it's one of the greatest points of this picture, bringing pieces of the classic Rocky theme, a lot of hip-hop beats, and orchestrated sound, makes it almost perfect.
Even though this film recycled elements from the first film, it's one of the best ones from the franchise and you must see it now, i mean, right now ! 9/10

Creed hits all the best notes of the original Rocky, while also being able to step out from its shadow to deliver a nearly perfect film.

From start to finish, this movie had me invested. It was a brilliant choice to make Apollo Creed’s son the lead of the new franchise. On the surface, Adonis Creed should have it all in terms of wealth and security. But due to him being a bastard child, his life was a struggle, giving him the same hunger that Rocky had in the original, which I thought was done really well.

The chemistry between all of our characters is spectacular throughout. There is a deep sense of care that Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) and Adonis (Michael B. Jordan) have for each other. Rocky and Adonis develop a close father-son relationship as Rocky attempts to fill the void left by his estranged relationship with his son, and Adonis sees Rocky as the father figure he's never had. This connection creates some fantastic dramatic story beats that had me on the verge of tears. Bianca (Tessa Thompson) is a fantastic addition to the cast and creates that motherly figure for our two leads. These three take on the roles of Rocky, Adrian, and Mickie from the original while also having their own unique presence. My one complaint is that the opponent, "Pretty" Ricky Conlan, is pretty underdeveloped, but the main focus is really on the dynamic between Rocky and Adonis, so this wasn’t a huge drawback for me.

The fight choreography is insane in this film; it is without a doubt the best of the series. There is a boxing matchup in the middle of the film that is one take with some incredible angles; it completely immersed me. The ending is really well done, with a super long buildup that had me genuinely nervous for Adonis.

The score is fantastic. There are still similar notes from the original Rocky that are subtly present throughout the film. But they are mixed together with contemporary rap beats and rhythms that give the film a modern feel. It is a great homage to the past while also being true to the culture of our lead character.

Overall, this film surpasses Rocky in almost every way and goes down as the best in the series. I am utterly blown away with how much I enjoyed this.

Score: 98% |
Verdict: Masterpiece

Cleverly deducing that he wasn't really fit for the ring himself anymore, Sylvester Stallone engages the services of Ryan Coogler and the hunky Michael B. Jordan to develop this competent spin-off series from his "Rocky" franchise. The youngster (rather aptly named "Adonis") was born on the wrong side of the blanket, and is leading a life of petty crime when he is adopted by "Mary Anne" (Phylicia Rashad), the wife of his father, the late heavyweight champion "Apollo Creed". She gives him a home and a decent education and he ends up working in an office, bored out of his tiny mind. Frustrated, he heads to gym seeking training but nobody wants to touch him. Nobody that is, but "Rocky" (Stallone) who deicides to teach him the discipline necessary to become a winner. Meantime, the actual world champion - "Conlan" (Tony Bellew) is in a bit of a fix with the British prison authorities so an easy defence of his title against the son of a legend looks attractive to his venal manager "Holiday" (Graham McTavish). The fight is set - but can the young challenger upset the odds? What this does miss is the Bill Conte score, but otherwise it is a perfectly watchable story of grit and determination, again demonstrating effectively how boxing was a route from poverty and despair for so many across the world - and the fight scenes, especially at the end, look very convincing. I could have been doing with a little more of a backstory of "Conlan" - anyone who doesn't appreciate that it is just as tough growing up in Liverpool as in anywhere in the USA isn't really given much opportunity to realise that both boxers here are from the streets, as it were. To be honest, Jordan isn't actually a very good actor, but he is very easy on the eye and Stallone brings just enough class to the proceedings to make this a worthy cousin of the original.

**Creed celebrates all the Rocky films that came before while establishing a fresh new direction for the franchise.**

After decades of Rocky movies, with recent entries leading us all to believe the franchise's best days were behind us, Creed burst onto the big screen, proving everyone wrong. Creed is a legacy sequel in league with films like Top Gun: Maverick. The performances, the cinematography, the sets, the fight choreography, and the soundtrack were all incredible. But the most outstanding element of Creed was the writing. The decisions made to enhance the story were BRILLIANT! Changing the story to follow the son of Creed rather than Rocky's son and Rocky's battle with cancer showing his same unyielding fight even against a new foe, signal an exciting new era for the Rocky franchise. Creed sets the gold standard for legacy sequels while being a great place to jump in if you're new to the Rocky films.

I wasn't expecting this movie to be that good. I was blown away by this movie. Way better then all the rocky movies combined. Just the way they play the history of the movie was awesome.