Creed packs a punch for fans

Movie Title: Creed

Grade: A-

Rating: PG-13, 2 hours 12 minutes

In a Nutshell: The Rocky franchise is back and better than ever! It packs a punch for fans with humor, drama, emotional growth for the main characters, that amazing theme song, a respectful nod to the past, and lots of boxing.

My husband and sons box….so yeah, this film was preaching to the choir.

Uplifting theme:

“1 step. 1 punch. 1 round at a time.” – Rocky
“You can’t learn anything if you’re talking. It’s a fact of life.” – Rocky
“Build your own legacy.” – Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad)
“The plan is just to do what I love for as long as I can.” – Bianca (Tessa Thompson)
“You are your father’s son. You’re a part of him, but that doesn’t mean you have to be him.” – Mary Anne Creed
We all have to fight mortality. Sylvester Stallone said in an interview with Jimmy Fallon that it’s how we choose to fight mortality that makes the journey interesting.

Things I liked:

Michael B. Jordan does a believable job as Adonis Johnson Creed. I liked him soooo much more in this film than in the recent Fantastic Four. Yes, Michael Jordan is his real name. Once, he received a $40,000 royalty check that was supposed to be sent to the NBA star Michael Jordan!
How do they film some of those shots?! Wow!
Well done, Sylvester Stallone. He did a great job acting, producing and allowing Ryan Coogler to direct. He has just received a nomination for a Golden Globe! Stallone admits that he didn’t want to make another Rocky movie, but the story was so compelling that he agreed to do it.
Great training sequences. Just what we love.
It was cool watching Adonis shadow box to the original Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed fight on YouTube. You can too! Here’s the same video he watched:
I loved seeing Rocky hit the speed bag next to Adonis, the original who started the whole story and the young buck who is going to carry on the legacy.
When the camera zoomed onto the aquarium in Rocky’s house, my husband whispered to me “Cuff and Link!” Now, there’s a true Rocky fan who remembers even the water turtles’ names.
Young people will be able to relate to the struggle of following in their parents’ footsteps vs. making a name for themselves.
I loved the camerawork in the scene in the locker room when the shot followed Rocky and Creed out into the big arena.
I got a kick out of seeing Liverpool, England again. I was just there this summer!
I liked the helpful stat boxes that popped up on the screen when the film introduced new boxing characters.

Things I didn’t like:

Adonis grew up with a silver spoon, but they tried to make him appear Street. With some work, they were actually pretty close to making us believe it.
It was odd to see a tough boxer like “Pretty” Ricky Conlan (Anthony Bellew) talk with an Irish accent. Sometimes I couldn’t even understand what the heck he was saying.
No big surprises here. You’ve seen the story before.

Funny lines:

“I otta knock you out myself.” – Mary Anne Creed
“I think they added a few more steps.” – Rocky, after he climbed to the top of the steps in Philadelphia again.
“Women weaken legs.” – Rocky

Interesting lines:

“We’re making champs in the Delphi ring. We aren’t dancing. We aren’t singing. We’re fighting.” – Tommy Holiday (Graham McTavish)
“Apollo didn’t get hurt. He got killed.” – Mary Anne Creed
“It’s you against you. He’s just in the way. Get him out of the way.” – Rocky
“So, what are you afraid of?” – Bianca

“I’m afraid of taking on the name and losing.” – Adonis

“Prove what?” – Rocky

“That I’m not an accident.” – Adonis

“Time takes everybody out; time’s undefeated.” – Rocky

Tips for parents:

Be forewarned: your young children are going to learn a bad word in sign language.
There is a steamy kissing scene on a couch.
Some profanity.
Lots of fighting: some of it in the ring and some of it not.
Some discussion of Cancer and death.