Creed, Ryan Coogler, 2015
My grandfather was once the No. 1 ranked middle-weight contender in the world. He died when I was 6, but my grandmother and father never stopped telling me tales of his exploits.
Rocky came out in 1976 when I was 13. My Dad took me, and I later saw it in the theaters at least 10 times. It was my favorite movie for years, as it reminded me of the grandfather I barely had time to know. I saw it again recently, and it still holds up. Great movie.
Creed is Ryan Coogler's imaginative, bracing reboot of the oft-maligned franchise, with Michael B. Jordan cast as killed-in-the-ring Apollo Creed's illegitimate son, Adonis, who gets a shot at the title with Rocky Balboa himself in his corner. It's such an obvious narrative, you have to wonder why it took this long to finally appear.
Coogler mixes an old-fashioned narrative with a revitalizing, modern twist that is obviously manipulative, yet still incredibly entertaining and moving. When you go see this one, leave the cynicism at the door, because
Creed is, surprisingly, one of the best films of the year.
The film holds onto the pomp, the cheese, even some of the badness that is in the previous
Rocky films. But the most important element that it retains from those films, is
heart. There are moments in this film that soar, that makes you tear up, that makes you cheer. And the filmmakers don't come by those moments cheaply.
Yes, there are some obvious call-backs to the various
Rocky movies: chasing a chicken for training purposes, the iconic steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, training montages, and even turtles Cuff and Link (well, Cuff or Link) get a shout out. None of these call-backs seem at all cheap or forced; they are organic to the story being told.
While the final fight doesn't quite have the pizzazz of other Rocky final fights, it is still, somehow,
right. Coogler and his cinematographer, Maryse Alberti, film the fighting footage in such an inventive and thrilling way, that I had to go back and see it again to see what was being done - the first time, I was just caught up in the movie.
What Coogler and Alberti do in a lot of the fighting sequences, is shoot it in one-take, with the camera dipping and dodging and swirling around the combatants, like it was a fighter itself. In one scene, Adonis fights his first major opponent - the son of one of Rocky's old friends. The fight is thrilling - the action never cuts - there are no edits - from the time Adonis enters the ring until the fight is over. From the fighters to ref to the corner action to the people in the stands, for two whole rounds - it's all in one shot.
It's perhaps one of the greatest movie-fight sequences in cinema.
Jordan is damn good as Adonis Creed, and he's a worthy successor if this franchise is to go on...but the real star of the film, is, of course, Rocky. Sylvester Stallone imbues his most iconic role with a grace and humility that is both touching and heartbreaking. I found myself mourning Adrian and even Paulie along with him. He's a sick, old man now, but somehow, he is still "The Rock" he always was.
Everyone knows the legendary story of how the first Rocky was made - Stallone never backing down, turning down hundreds of thousands of dollars when he was broke - unless he could star in the movie. He was nominated for two Oscars that year - and never nominated again. He tried following up Rocky with some interesting failures, but when he hit the top of the box office again with the Rambo movies, Stallone never looked back - and embraced the mono-syllabic, action-star cliche his career had evolved into. We forgot what a powerful, quiet performer he can be.
But now, it comes full-circle. Stallone is back as Rocky...the role that started his career. And he's already won some critics awards for Best Supporting Actor, and was just nominated for a Golden Globe. Wouldn't it be something, forty years after the first Rocky, if Stallone takes home an Oscar for the same role? What a perfect ending to his Hollywood story that would be.
I won't spoil it for you, but the ending scene actually made me cry. It reminded me of my grandfather, my Dad, having Rocky posters on the wall, being in line, excited, for each subsequent Rocky film.
Yes, it made me cry.
Because I'm 52 now, because just like Rocky, I miss loved ones who have passed, times I can't get back, and most of all, I miss my youthful self and the things and people that shaped me. But I will still happily, if slowly, climb those damn steps, one at a time. Just like my childhood hero.