Creed

Creed (12A)

USA 2015 132 mins Dir: Ryan Coogler Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson

If new Rocky movie Creed is to be commended for anything, it’s restoring a sense of credibility to a franchise that seemed on the ropes. 2006’s Rocky Balboa was entertaining but undone by the frankly ludicrous sight of Sly Stallone’s title character taking on someone less than half his age in the ring. And let’s not forget the film before that was 1990’s widely lambasted Rocky V, not exactly a high point in the series. Thankfully, Creed punches well above its weight: it feels both classical and progressive, embracing the familiar Rocky clichés whilst adding some terrifically unexpected right hooks.

Much of the credit goes to director Ryan Coogler who brings to his new movie the same sense of exciting, street-level authenticity that earmarked his powerful 2013 drama Fruitvale Station. In that sense, he’s the perfect man to take on the Rocky mantle: let’s not forget that, for all its escapist tendencies, the franchise began on a relatively gritty and plausible note with the 1976 original, only dipping into increasingly cartoonish caricature with the sequels. It’s fallen to Coogler to restore conviction to the series, in the process coming up with the best entry since it all began.

It helps of course that Coogler has the presence of his charismatic Fruitvale Station actor Michael B. Jordan on leading man duties. The rising star is winningly vulnerable and tenacious as Adonis Johnson, the son of Rocky’s late friend Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers seen briefly in flashback). Having spent a troubled childhood being raised in detention centres, Johnson (the product of an illicit affair between his father and another woman) is taken in by Apollo’s wife, subsequently enjoying the kind of affluent upbringing afforded him by his father’s megastar status. It’s an intriguing and intelligent contrast to Rocky’s rags-to-riches story, Johnson resisting his father’s formidable legacy by leaving the wealthier climes of Los Angeles behind and travelling to Philadelphia to train with the ageing former Heavyweight Champion, played with the utmost sensitivity by Stallone.

That’s but one of several ways in which Coogler expertly ducks and weaves around the rich history of the Rocky series, fashioning a movie that’s very much his creation yet also in-keeping with the canon. It famously took Stallone a lot of persuading to return to the Rocky fold and on seeing the end result, it’s perhaps not hard to see why: Coogler’s script finally requires the star to act his age, compelling Rocky to take the backseat mentor role formerly occupied by Burgess Meredith’s Mickey (whose spirit, not to mention that of Rocky’s wife Adrienne, is movingly evoked in a lovely graveyard sequence).

As with Jordan’s role in Fruitvale Station, Creed also touches on notions of fatherhood: instead of lingering in his father’s shadow, Adonis must learn to embrace the past and emerge as his own man. It’s a statement of intent for the movie as a whole: embrace the familiar series tropes whilst also being bold enough to stand on its own two feet. So, whilst the likes of Mickey’s Gym, the Philadelphia Steps and the familiar brassy restrains of Bill Conti’s Gonna Fly Now are all present, Coogler deploys them matter-of-factly and discreetly, the movie respectful of its origins yet never overawed by them. If Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been criticised for being overly in thrall to series progenitor A New Hope, Creed is a model of how to honour a franchise whilst also moving the drama and characters in new directions.

Yet at its heart, Creed is the classic underdog story, an engrossingly old-fashioned experience rich in character and nuance. Jordan is superb, conveying both youthful petulance and psychological complexity with aplomb (not to mention showing off the chiselled abs as necessary), but the real surprise is Stallone. The actor has in the past demonstrated an affinity with character roles, as the likes of the original Rocky and Cop Land attest, and via his often tear-jerking performance, we glimpse this iconic character reliving past glories vicariously through his new protégé. Excellent support comes from Dear White People actress Tessa Thompson, urgent and believable as Johnson’s new girlfriend Bianca.

Yet the real star of the show is Coogler himself. Fruitvale Station earmarked him as a filmmaker who derives power from discretion and character dynamics, and Creed only serves to cement his reputation. Heck, even the boxing sequences themselves (including a single, astonishing one-shot take) ring true with sweaty realism, surely a first for a series that’s previously revelled in deliberately OTT, arm-lunging operatics. As with everything else in this impressive movie, it’s a decision that adds a refreshing note of conviction without ever shouting too loudly.