He may or may not have set moviegoers on fire as Johnny Storm/Human Torch in this summer’s Fantastic Four reboot, but Michael B. Jordan was definitely a knockout as Creed. The old sayings are true: everybody loves an underdog because the world needs a (super)hero, and Michael B. Jordan is both.
Still, who knows that better than Sylvester Stallone, the man that went distance six times in the course of four decades as Rocky Balboa? This time, the ltalian Stallion is the Mickey to Adonis Creed (Jordan), the son of Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), who gave Rocky that ‘Eye of the Tiger’ in defeating Mr. T’s Clubber Lang, which was then followed by a third fight that only us moviegoers know.
The film begins with young Adonis in a juvenile detention center fighting with another boy. He was soon adopted by Creed’s wife Mary Anne, for it was discovered Adonis was the product of an affair Apollo had while he was still married. Next, we see Adonis as a man, where he decides to resign from one promising career to another: boxing. No one, not even Mary Ann, wants Adonis to followed the footsteps of his famous father, but he doesn’t care. Adonis want to be the best, so he goes to Philadelphia to be trained by the best. Enter Rocky Balboa, the man that went the distance with Apollo twice – and finally became the champion. Not only that, Adonis finds love with a budding, beautiful singer.
As one generation trains the next, each will face one bout after another in and out of the ring: Adonis proving his name as a Creed, and Rocky on whether he can still go the distance after losing the people he loves the most. But like father, like son, Adonis will help the Italian Stallion rediscover that ‘Eye of the Tiger’.
Definitely taking you back all the way to the beginning, Creed has all the formula ingredients that has made the Rocky saga very successful — and inspiring. It is a film that will have you cheering not just for the holidays, but all day long whenever you go see this movie.
Look for Creed in theaters everywhere. Rated PG-13. 2 hours, 12 minutes.