If your wondering what happened this week is that I had way too much homework Wednesday and Thursday to work on the blog and I got really sick on Friday so I could barely do anything except sleep and on Saturday I was going to do the weekend box office prediction until I looked and saw that only 'Krampus' was coming out which didn't have a wide release and I don't think most people knew even existed. Yet I did see the movie Creed and so I am here with a review for Creed.
Creed is the seventh installment in the Rocky movie series, Adonis "Donnie" Johnson Creed is the illegitimate son of heavyweight champion Apollo Creed. Starting out in a juvenile detention center after the death of his mother, he is taken in by Apollo's widow Mary Anne where he grows up into a temperamental young man who works at a security firm yet boxes on the side. Eventually he quits his job to follow his dad's footsteps as a boxer and seeks help from none other than his fathers old rival turned friend Rocky Balboa.
First off I have never seen the previous Rocky movies. I wasn't born by the time the first five movies of the series came out and when the sixth one came out Rocky Balboa I was too young to see it. Not to mention I've never been a fan of sports movies so while I do want to see the others their not that high on movie watch list. Yet I can safely say after watching it I did very much enjoy Creed.
The film is well acted, very well directed and well scripted movie. The movie was directed and co-written by Ryan Coogler the same guy who did Frutivale Station (a movie I really want to see and I have on my list in Netflix but I haven't been able to rouse myself to watch the really depressing flick) and he does a great job here. Pacing for the movie is perfect it never feels too slow but it never feels too fast as well and all the story beats come at the right moment and by the end of the ninety minutes you feel perfectly satisfied. The tone is very uniform and consistent, the dialogue comes off natural, their are one or two speeches in the movie but their few and far between and never feel forced. The movie is also not overly comedic but it's not lifeless in fact it's quite upbeat and the jokes in the movie are very natural as well.
I hate to keep using the word but 'natural' can really be said about the acting as well. Everyone feels like a real person here with none of those overly dramatic angry or crying scenes you see in movies around this time of year but unlike those movies it's a lot more effective of getting an emotional response out of you. I found myself getting more teary eyed than I do around other movies.
Everyone one is good in this and yes even Sylvester Stallone does a good job in this movie. Their is not over acting or dead-pan deliveries from him here as he actually gives a good and reserved performance, it's not Oscar worthy by any means but it doesn't have to be. The stands out to me were Michael B. Jordan as Donnie, Tessa Thompson as Donnie's girlfriend Bianca and Tony Bellew as Ricky "Pretty Conlan the guy Donnie fights in the movie. Jordan is very good in the role as he makes what would otherwise be a very stereotypical sports movie protagonist very human and very complex as we see his struggle with his own legacy vs. the one of his father and how he learns to come to term with his issues. Thompson, like Jordon, also gives what would otherwise be the stereotypical girlfriend role a lot of sensitivity and character and the character of Bianca actually works as a great foil for Donnie as she too is a person who is trying to follow her dream even against some health issues that are similar to Donnie but not the same and Thompson and Jordan do have good chemistry together.
Yet the stand out to me was Tony Bellew as Ricky Conlan which is weird because he's not in the movie that much but whenever we see him he always leaves an impression and even in scenes where they just mention him he has some kind of presences. I am so grateful they did not make Conlan a villain in this movie but instead make him just a very human guy who has a lot of issues and made a lot of mistakes in his life and Bellew makes that clear through his performance through every scene he is in as he comes off very likeable and honorable if temperamental. Like Bianca, Conlan serves as another foil for Donnie as Conlan has a legacy but unlike Donnie's where it's someone else's it's his own. Whereas Donnie is trying to make his own legacy at the same time respecting his fathers Conlan made a legacy for himself and his kids already and botched it up big time and is trying to preserve it before he goes to jail.
Now before it sounds like I'm worshipping this movie at the alter this movie does have one flaw and it's pretty huge especially since it leads to other smaller flaws. Besides the characters of Donnie, Bianca and Conlan this is a pretty generic sports movie in terms of themes and story. It's the same story you've seen in a lot of sports movie. You've got the hothead lead trying to prove himself in his area of expertise and they happen to have big daddy issues to go along with it, you have the artsy girlfriend who supports him, the concerned mother, the rivals and the mentor with the main theme of living up to yourself and your legacy having been done in a lot of other movies not just in the sports genre but a lot of action, adventure and Oscar drama movies. Heck they even have a cancer subplot that really could have been cut as the person doesn't even die in this movie and it would have made the movie stronger.
Now this wouldn't have been as bad if the movie hadn't tapped into new and interesting themes with a lot more potential that was ultimately wasted or weren't developed enough. Mainly the idea of how important an athletes image is especially in today's society and especially how just one mistake can ruin an athlete for life (real life examples could be Tiger Woods and now Tom Brady.)For example the character of Conlan who the only reason he's fighting Donnie is because he's going to jail for a gun charge and if he fights Apollo Creed's son his reputation won't be tarnished completely and he can go out on a victory. Also when it's revealed to the public Donnie is Apollo Creed's son it cuts to a scene of two ESPN guys talking about it and whether or not it harms Apollo Creed's legacy now. Their are other themes they touch upon that never go through all the way and if they had gone through with it the movie would have been one of the best of the year instead of just "Pretty good."
Now of course while it does waste a lot of potential unlike some of the most abysmal movies of the year Pitch Perfect 2 and Pan the movie is strong enough to overcome that and I definitely want to see a sequel to this movie especially with the same team back as I believe without the crutches of the typical clichés of most sports movies they could turn out something really special. On that note too the ending is also very good, it's very quiet and nothing that big but like most of the emotional moments in this movie leaves a big impact. It's also one of those ending where if they just made this movie things would be fine but if they made a sequel you would also be perfectly fine as well.
I give this movie a 8.5/10- A really good movie and one of the most consistent movies of the year that has a lot of potential it wastes but it's still strong enough to enjoy.
