Franchises that already have seven movies under their belt Fast and Furious, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and now Rocky. The seventh installment of Rocky, which is a spin-off and is titled Creed, and if that name sounds familiar it's because we've seen him in the ring before, that's right, this movie is about Apollo Creed's illegitimate son, who has decided that he is going to honor his father's name, and also join a family business, so Adonis Creed is going to seek help from one of the most legendary boxers who fought with his father and prove that a name is not only what defines your legacy.

Michael B. Jordan brings to life a real person (Adonis "Donnie" Jhonson), and you know, it's not like he has a lot of problems, the guy was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Yeah, early on as a kid he had several problems and went to juvie, but he teaches it before he started boxing, the guy lives in mansions, he's got a cool job and I thought that would be a negative thing, because he wasn't like Rocky who started from nothing. I saw it more at first as a whim, but to be frank with you, the more the movie progressed the more my idea changed regarding this subject.

It would be easy to give up on his goal and go back to his rich guy life without a care in the world, but he stays consistent, fighting for what he wants. It's not for money, it's not for fame, it's not to put his name up, it's to make a name for himself and leave a legacy, to be the best on his own, and Michael B. Jordan represents all of those qualities. The more the film progresses the more he adapts to the tough streets of Philadelphia, he meets friends, he meets mentors, he meets partners, but we see a solid transition from an inexperienced dreamer who is willing to fight, to a monster in the ring.

_{Adonis "Donnie" Jhonson}

Speaking of monsters, and I'm not saying this because of his face or his accent, the wine analogy "The older the better" doesn't only work with Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone somehow manages to captivate with his performance, to such an extent that he gets an Oscar nomination. One could even argue that the best performance he ever gave was in the first Rocky movie, and so many years later he is back to work the same magic which is a bit surprising, because we could imagine an older actor giving a pretty good performance, but we could never imagine Sylvester Stallone after all the action movies he has done, being the master of drama.

Creed is not a pure fight movie, in fact there are only two fights in the whole movie, but that's a recurring thing in Rocky movies. It's not a boxing movie or a sports movie, it's a movie about two people in emotional places, where they need to come together, keep each other company and learn from each other. It's a boxing-themed drama, where the boxing scenes felt very strong, they make them more special, because they raise their level of importance and we know the magnitude that the results could cause. We see construction of characters and situations that when the moment of truth comes, your heart is hanging by a thread, we could expect anything because the atmosphere feels real, anything could go wrong at any second, and because of this, when things finally have a happier, more victorious tinge, it feels satisfying, it feels good, it feels like you've earned it.

Fantastic movie, which situates a few things I didn't like and let's talk about that. It's not like Rocky had nothing to do in the movie, as I told you Sylvester Stallone might even be the best actor in this one, there is just a little story that felt a little manipulative, as they say in the trailer and without ruining it completely, Rocky has a disease that is affecting him quite a bit, and this was not a negative aspect of the movie, in fact again it creates more hostile environments, where Adonis and Rocky have to learn to live with it and despite that, continue with the affection they have for each other. Just one thing, I think it was handled too fast, it doesn't last that long in the movie and for the resolution it has I would have liked a little more, since they do the montage in a classic way.

The montage done in my opinion took away a bit from the importance of Rocky's illness, as usually dealing with this has to be slow and painful, which we can see through the montage, but if it only lasts three minutes then I think it's only there to cause emotion and concern, rather than to attribute anything to the story. But other than that, I have no other discomfort.

My final conclusion, Creed is an ambitious film and so is its narrative, as I said, Sylvester Stallone brings the good stuff back. The whole movie has the charm and magic that made Rocky popular, it keeps the outcast story, but they make it look in a more urban way. Now everything feels more hostile, tougher, because not all Rocky movies are good and many are just for fun, but this one, like the first, marks a turning point in the history of cinema, it takes itself seriously and is strong.

In itself it is a boxing story, but there is much more to it than that, there is a story that covers all the fights and at the end of the day we feel as if we have gotten to know these people, as we see them in their lowest moments of weakness, that when they reach high we feel it with them, we are rooting for them, and Creed gives us reason to do so.