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Creed is Good

Forty years after 1976's "Rocky", it's time to get back in the ring. Not exactly a reboot or a sequel (hence not called "Rocky VII") "Creed" is an adopted member of the franchise that's both new blood and a matching blood type.

Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) learns to fight in foster homes and juvenile detention centers before being adopted by stepmom Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad). His father, the former heavy weight champion Apollo Creed, was killed in the ring before Adonis was born, and his biological mother (who Apollo had an affair with) died not long afterwards. Adonis has a promising Los Angeles career in finance, while fighting on the side in Tijuana dives. He quits his desk job and moves to Philadelphia to find his father's old rival and friend Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) for training.

After this setup, the ensuing plot practically writes itself, which is not to say it's boring. What makes "Creed" remarkable is how comfortably it slips into the original "Rocky" mythos (which it most closely resembles) and how many rounds it can go on a one-two punch of sincerity and humility.

Rocky takes his time arriving on screen, but once there is a familiar and fairly consistent presence. Long-since retired, he's now running the Italian restaurant Adrian's. Surrounded by old boxing photographs and posters, he looks more like the curator of a museum than the manager of a restaurant. He also spends time in the cemetery, keeping the gravestones of his wife Adrian and brother-in-law Paulie company. If Rocky is a living legend, he's also the walking dead.

Adonis' youthful enthusiasm gradually wins over the old champ. Their trainer-trainee relationship develops patiently, and they spend as much time figuratively as literally "shadow boxing," as they both have pasts - and past selves - to contend with. Adonis also ingratiates himself to Bianca (Tessa Thompson). A singer-songwriter, her most attractive quality is she's not standard Hollywood one-dimensional eye-candy, but is as much of a fighter in her way as Adonis and Rocky.

At 2 hrs and 12 min, "Creed" is not quite slimmed down to its fighting weight, though pound-for-pound it's surprisingly lean considering how much ground it has to cover before the main event against "Pretty" Ricky Conlan (Anthony Bellew).
That Adonis can develop from self-taught amateur to champion contender in a span of months is an uncomfortable stretch, no matter how athletic one's imagination. The Creed brand justifiably opens opportunistic doors (Adonis Johnson becomes Adonis Creed), but arguments for his abilities too often rely on passionate platitudes and motivational psychobabble (though that's also a fair description of "Rocky").

Jordan is the star and driving force of "Creed," and his performance is strong and versatile enough to carry on the legacies of both Creed and Balboa. Stallone is quietly compelling, and like an experienced fighter, makes every moment count. Directed and co-written by Ryan Coogler ("Fruitvale Station"), "Creed" enlivens and expands the franchise with cross-generational and cross-racial appeal, which makes it easy to root for.