First Take Classics: Creed- a very hard hitting film indeed

SYNOPSIS:

The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.

3 years ago, Ryan Coogler was an up and coming filmmaker. Then this film came out and rebooted the Rocky franchise. Need I say any more. With Creed II opening in the UK this week, it was time to get this one reviewed.

Coogler’s direction is pretty damn tight throughout the film, building up the tension and the stakes to the obligatory fight night climax incredibly well- clocking in at a neat 2 hours 13 minutes, there’s enough character development in the script from Coogler and Ryan Covington to make it all feel about as real as it did when the original Rocky films came out. Ludwig Goransson provides the score, which blends those original Bill Conti themes and modern influences perfectly, and the cinematography from Maryse Alberti is just spot on.

At the core of this film are the performances from Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone respectively- as Creed and Balboa, these two are the reason why this film garnered an incredible amount of attention during the awards run of 2016- add to that a supporting cast that includes Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Andre Ward, now-retired boxer Tony Bellew and many other personalities from the world of combat sports, this film feels as real as boxing can get.

THE VERDICT

This is the film that quite rightly secured the Black Panther gig for Coogler, taking the Rocky formula, twisting it, and letting new talent shine and climb those iconic steps. But with the new film opening later in the week, the big question is whether the return of Ivan Drago can prevent too many references to the past- we will know what Creed II is like sooner rather than later.

RATING: 4.5/5