After the success of “Rocky Balboa” (the movie, not the character) the character of Rocky was put to rest with dignity. But Hollywood, being Hollywood and having run out of original ideas a long time ago, decided to bring back the Italian Stallion in the form of a supporting role in a new spin-off movie called “Creed” (2015, directed by Ryan Coogler) and eventually saga, (because it was successful, and Hollywood is still Hollywood).

The film also marks the second out of six times that director Ryan Googler and star Michael B. Jordan work together on a film with the duo previously working together on the film “Fruitvale Station”, and later making “Black Panther.”

The film picks up ten years after “Rocky Balboa” and is about Adonis “Donnie” Creed (played by Michael B. Jordan), the bastard son of Apollo Creed, trying to make his way in the world of boxing. In order to do so he seeks out his old mans’ main rival/best friend, the legendary Rocky Balboa (the character, not the movie, still played by Stallone) who’s officially retired from all boxing (again) and has gone back to his restaurant, Adrian’s.

Despite the very glib opening paragraph, the film actually does a great job of respecting the previous Rocky films while at the same time, doing a good job of making an identity of its own.

A very clever example of this is the soundtrack, whenever a scene is mainly about Adonis the music uses a lot of hip-hop or rap for the scene but when a scene is about Rocky, it uses the old Bill Conti score or music that sounds a lot like it. 

However, whenever it is about the two of them working together or Donnie is doing something that calls back to the original films, the soundtrack actually mixes the two styles together.

Speaking of Donnie and Rocky, Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone, not only effortlessly slip into their characters, but have amazing on screen chemistry and are generally hilarious together with the generational gap sometimes causing misunderstandings between the two. 

Jordan is great as the brash and hot headed but ultimately caring Adonis. He sells that he could be a genuinely great fighter, if he just learned to think ahead.

Stallone’s Rocky works wonderfully as the wisened mentor who’s seen it all, while still having that simple worldview that makes Rocky so endearing. It also helps he not only sells the aforementioned comedic scenes, but also many dramatic scenes, like whenever he talks to Adrian’s, and now Paulie’s, graves or reads them the paper.

Add these two personalities and you get one of the best on screen teacher/student relationships to come out in recent years.

But it isn’t just Balboa that Donnie has great on screen chemistry with, as the romance between Adonis and his neighbor Bianca (Tessa Thompson) is, similar to the one first Rocky film, very natural and charming to see unfold. 

Aside from character, the film also nails it for any of the boxing scenes, with great sound design and tension that really puts the audience on the edge of their seats. A stand out is a fight in the middle of the film, that is done all in one glorious take.

There are only really two problems with the film, and they’re pretty minor, and in no way ruin the experience.

The first is that the main antagonist, “Pretty” Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew) is merely an okay villain in the grand scheme of things. Better than Mason Dixon from “Rocky Balboa” (the movie, not the character) but nowhere near as memorable as Ivan Drago, Clubber Lang, or (ironically) Apollo Creed.

Speaking of Apollo Creed, it’s very jarring, that he would randomly have an affair with a random woman, when all of the other films had shown Apollo as a faithful husband who loved his wife with all his heart and their relationship seemed rock solid.

Creed has done the seemingly impossible and that was to make another Rocky film after “Rocky Balboa” (the movie, not the character) and proved it has a reason to exist.