Creed

Now with the seventh and most recent installment of the Rocky series, Creed, the series brings in some fresh blood to the mix creating a potent and moving film that stands toe to toe with the original. That's right, you heard me. Creed is the best Rocky movie since the first one. 

Adonis Johnson has had a rough life with a father who died before he was born and a mother who died when he was young. He bounced from foster home to foster home until he wound up in Juvenile Detention. It is there that he is found by Mary Ann Creed (played by Phylicia Rashad) who offers to take the young man in for you see Adonis is actually the illegitimate son of the late Apollo Creed. We then jump ahead as an adult Adonis (played by Michael B. Jordan) is trying to find his place in the world, working an office job in Los Angeles and fighting in Boxing Matches in Tijuana, Mexico. But he feels the call of the ring and wants to fight professionally so he decides to quit his job and try to get a trainer. When he can't get a trainer in LA, he hops the next plane to Philadelphia. His plan is to look up his Dad's old friend and former rival Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone), which he finds right where we left him working at his restaurant, Adrian's. Rocky is understandably hesitant to train Adonis, remembering all too well what happened to his father. But through the boy's persistence, he eventually agrees. 

Meanwhile, Adonis meets a young woman living in the apartment below him, Bianca (played by Tessa Thompson). She's a spiky up and coming musician and sparks fly between the two almost immediately. As Adonis and Rocky train, Adonis gets the chance to fight another local fighter. It's just before that fight that the manager of the other fighter figures out who Adonis really is and before long the press has caught wind as well. This catches the attention of the manager of Liverpool boxer "Pretty" Ricky Conlan (played by Tony Bellew). Sensing an opportunity, he proposes a fight between Adonis and Conlan. Unsure if he's ready for it, Adonis decides to think it over. While training, Rocky falls ill and is rushed to the hospital. It's revealed that he has Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and it is recommended he start chemo immediately. Rocky turns him down, stating the chemo didn't save Adrian. Adonis finds the pamphlets and confronts Rocky, refusing to accept that Rocky just wants to give up. He makes a deal with Rocky that he will fight if he does. Rocky begins taking chemo treatments as he trains Adonis by his side, practicing his punches and running up and down the hospital stairwells. The two must both prepare themselves to face the fights of their lives.

Creed was directed by Ryan Coogler as well as written by him along with Aaron Covington, marking the first film in the Rocky series not written by Stallone himself. By centering the story on Adonis, they found a way to inject some new life into both the series as a whole and into Rocky Balboa himself. This film was a passion project for Coogler, who had to coax Stallone into agreeing to take part, who was reportedly as hesitant to take on the project as Rocky was to take on Adonis. Thank god he said yes though because Stallone gives the performance of his career with this film. By this point, Rocky has lost both his wife and his best friend Paulie and just content with shuffling along doing his thing when Adonis shows up in his life, shaking up his entire world. Michael B. Jordan likewise does a great turn as Adonis, who does a great job showing the inner turmoil and conflict in the troubled young man. He develops a strong father-son dynamic with Rocky as the story goes on, even eventually moving in with Rocky, sleeping in Paulie's old room. Tessa Thompson rounds out the trio nicely as the strong willed, fiercely independent Bianca. Her relationship with Adonis nicely mirrors Rocky and Adrian's in the first film. It was a nice touch for Bianca to be the polar opposite of the Adrian we first meet in the original film. Likewise, it's nice to see Phylicia Rashad turn up as Apollo's widow Mary Ann. She does wonders with a disappointingly small role. 

This film strikes just the right note, keeping the overly nostalgic temptations to a minimum, focusing instead on telling it's own story. There are nods here and there (we finally found out who won the rematch at the end of Rocky III!) and the traditional Rocky theme does kick in at a critical moment of the climactic fight (not gonna lie, I teared up hearing it). Creed wins with flying colors, ranking as the best in the series since the original.