I hate to get really personal here, but I can’t think of a better way of making my point for this movie. I had to pee throughout this entire movie, but I didn’t go. The phrase “If I had gone right now...I would have missed this” went through my head multiple times. Like 25 times maybe more. If I had gone right then I would have missed that amazing tracking shot walk in. If I had gone right now I would have missed that amazing fire stuff, and perfect zoom in shot. If I had gone right now… You get the point. Creed is a great scene to scene film with each building on the last. Creed’s so creatively directed during all of it’s scenes that it elevates the cliches that brought down a film like Southpaw. I liked that film, but Creed slaps it around in more ways than one. Adonis (played so tenderly by Michael B. Jordan) is so compelling. He’s not your typical boxing hero mainly because his arc is different. Most heroes in this type of movie treat boxing like a job, but it’s made readily apparent that Adonis is doing this because he is passionate about fighting, and wants to get out of the shadow of his father. There’s an early scene that sets this up excellently literally showing him both fighting, and defending his father. It’s an excellently built character. Adonis with this passion for the fight conscripts Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone again) to train him. Stallone is amazing in this film. Hands down. Not only is it a fine performance on his part, but there’s a weight to an actor returning to a role that he created, and that he was meant to be. Stallone has been caught up in a lot of bad projects (seriously this film makes you beg the question of why he’s in or ever went to The Expendables?), but with this role he’s back in the limelight of great actors. I haven’t seen this man like this since I saw the first Rocky, and it’s good to see him back. Tessa Thompson of Dear White People also holds her own as just a pronounced of a love interest as Adrian years ago. But here’s the real thing. Creed is so incredibly and deceptively simple in it’s storytelling that it sneaks up on you. The way an earlier video clip is used sets up all the exposition needed, and most of said exposition comes from performance. Each characters exposition sets up simple, but excellent, stakes, and there is more riding on the final fight then just who wins. There are true stakes for everyone. Rocky is fighting. Adonis is fighting. The opponent that is brutally fighting Adonis is fighting. All are fighting for something by the end, and the stakes are so high. The film has so many great scenes that make the story work, and I never sensed a lull in it. Every time it seems to be slowing down director Ryan Coogler shoots another incredible directed scene in. Stallone delivers an extremely powerful moment. It’s a beautiful film if anything, and the level it is working at is unparallelled. Coogler’s direction by the way. The boxing sequences by the way. These are the best boxing sequences you will ever see. The intensity here is incredibly palpable. The way Coogler uses tracking shots, and hard cuts to make the boxing seem fluid and brutal has such an exciting, and fluid quality that I almost get why someone would enjoy watching boxing. To reiterate Creed is the best boxing movie since Rocky. It’s has endearing characters, and thrilling boxing and a great performance from one of the old greats. I give Creed a 9.5 out of 10. REVIEW BY STEPHEN TRONICEK
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December 2017
CategoriesAuthorHello welcome to FilmAnalyst. My name is Stephen Tronicek, and I really like movies. This is a way to get my opinions out to people. Thank you for visiting. |