Creed (2015)
Creed
I will start off by saying this: the only movie that has made me feel this way in the Rocky franchise is the original Rocky. As a Rocky superfan, being able to watch this movie was a true privilege. The continuation of Rocky’s story was great, but it’s Adonis that makes it so special. There were so many references, callbacks, and similarities between this film and the original Rocky, which was awesome. But, despite all that, it’s still an original movie. Sure, the story is a slight mirror of Rocky, but it’s still so unique. Despite my love for Rocky Balboa, bringing in a new main character who is still related to Rocky’s story was pretty sweet. I cannot stress enough how good this movie was, and I’m surely going to do an episode on it to show you how I feel about it. I would easily say it’s the best movie of the Rocky franchise, aside from Rocky itself. The characters were so brilliantly written, and they were my favorite part of the whole movie. Obviously being able to see Rocky again after nine years since the previous installment was very emotional for me. But don’t let Sly’s presence overshadow Michael B. Jordan. That man put so much into his performance. I loved how he wants to build his own legacy, instead of just being his father’s son. It just works so beautifully, and I could say so much more. There were several scenes that definitely made me tear up, which is something only the first and sixth Rocky has done. It’s just so inspirational and it really pulls at your heart (especially if you’ve seen the originals). One thing I wasn’t a super huge fan of was the way the matches were shot. They felt so much more modern (which they were), but that made it feel a tiny bit rushed and confusing. The same goes for the score. Although it was extremely good, I wasn’t a super huge fan of the more modern sound. But, bits and pieces of it were very reminiscent of the original Rocky score, which was great. And hearing “Going the Distance” again sent me through the roof. Overall, this movie was phenomenal, and I would highly recommend it, especially if you love boxing or sports movies. This film is officially Berry Approved, so go watch it now!