GONNA FLY NOW!
Article by Adam Mast
A confession: I greatly enjoyed ROCKY V. In fact, I truly believe that movie gets a bad rap. Don’t get me wrong, it’s far from perfect and it certainly suffers from dopey lapses of logic (how the hell did Rocky Jr. age 8 years while his dad was kicking ass in Russia) but I liked that this much despised sequel was more about character then the big fight.
Having said that, CREED looks more in tune with what Stallone probably wanted ROCKY V to be: A story in which Rocky appears in the Mickey role. Furthermore, while I have no doubt that this will be the rousing underdog sports film we’re all hoping for, I suspect it’ll be something much deeper.
What the ROCKY series really needed to move forward is a fresh pair of eyes and it looks to be getting just that in the form of FRUITVALE STATION director Ryan Coogler. Not only does Coogler look to be building on the Balboa mythology, but he’s doing it from an entirely new perspective by choosing to focus on Apollo Creed’s now grown son, Adonis (Michael B. Jordan).
I loved the first trailer for CREED and this second clip is every bit as powerful. It’s certainly more Rocky heavy, but with good reason. This isn’t just a story about Adonis’ battle with his inner demons and his opponents in the ring. It’s also a story about Rocky fighting a fierce battle of his own.
Jordan looks positively stellar in this and so does an aging Stallone. A moment in which the Italian Stallion has an emotional breakdown is undeniably moving and it reminded me of what a powerful actor Stallone can be when under the right direction.
I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THIS MOVIE!
CREED opens in theaters November 25th.
