I told you it was gonna be unorthodox. I feel I have to apologize though when I first reviewed this movie cause I feel I did it a huge disservice despite the praise I gave it way back when. It truly is more than just a repackaged Rocky 1, it is a goddamn great film in my opinion. If memory serves correct here I believe this was the first movie I ever did see Michael B. Jordan in and boy what a tremendous first experience, he truly does carry the legacy of Creed and I know Carl Weathers gave him some strong love and respect cause he really did earn it. Just the passion of Adonis involved for the sport, to prove he is his own man and not just Apollo's son, the relationship between him and Rocky, I mean it's just compelling even moving storytelling. It's pretty ballsy to make Rocky have cancer in this movie, but it makes every word Sylvester Stallone says that much more important and it is there with purpose. And that's the only real way I could describe this film, it has purpose, a drive, a reason to be. Cause through real world tragedy of Sly loosing his kid Sage, he didn't want to do this in the slightest but it was through the dedication and passion Ryan Coogler had for this series that he accepted, it shows in every aspect. This was no movie made for monetary gain or to give just one more film to the fans for the fun of it. There's a story worth telling, actors who make it come to life, and directed by someone who made it all happen as well as it did. You take as much as it gives, and if you step back and appreciate it all you'll find a lot to love. Just as one example, I was so immersed in it I never noticed just how many long tracking shots there are, the film crew have free reign with this camera and they go a while before they call cut which shows a highly professional film crew and actors who nail it big time. The movie has more emphasis on the training aspect which I love greatly, you could almost argue it's the point of the film, and that's one particular thing I think the Rocky series does better than any other movie. Anybody can have a training montage, but with these movies it is essential to the story and more importantly the character dynamic and progression. It tells the story without a single expository line, you need your Gonna Fly Now, you need your No Easy Way Out, you need Eye Of The Tiger, not for the kickass-ness of the song but for the character arc. It's just super well made and I know I can gush about it even longer than I have but I'll let the numbers speak for themselves. Since that was the dark ages before I adopted a score system, this will put it on record. Of course it gets a full 4 gold stars, I give it an 8.5/10, and next time will be my second viewing of Creed II.
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