CREED Movie Review

                             CREED is referred to as a "spin off" movie, but I'm going to call it a sequel to the previous 6 Rocky movies, starring Sylvester Stallone. Before I get into my thoughts on CREED, let us define the terms "spin off" and "sequel".  Spin off is defined as the by product or incidental result of a larger product. A sequel is defined as something that takes place after or as a result of an earlier event. CREED, starring Michael B. Jordan (Friday Night Lights TV Series and The Fantastic Four) as Adonis "Donnie" Johnson and Sylvester Stallone reprising his iconic film role as Rocky Balboa and is directed and co-written by Ryan Coogler (Fruitivale Station, which featured Jordan).
                            Is CREED any good? To my surprise, that answer is a resounding YES. This movie has so much going for it. First, it's a drama. Second, it's a boxing movie, of course. And third, it's a love story and a story of friendship. And when I say love story, no, it's not a love story between Creed and Balboa. Adonis has a female love interest played wonderfully by Tessa Thompson. ALL of the main characters here are fully developed flesh and blood people, which is a triumph for a Rocky movie nowadays. Some of the previous entries had reduced Stallone's creation to a comic book character, but in CREED, Balboa is returned to a fully developed character like in the original Rocky film. Stallone is amazing as an old Balboa. His performance is a breath of fresh air that deserves an Oscar nomination. Jordan is spectacular as the title character. Notice how I have referred to him as Creed and Johnson. I'll leave that one alone. The writing and directing are, as I have already mentioned, rock solid by Cooglar and the musical score is awe inspiring, composed by Ludwig Goransson. And the boxing scenes are more realistic than in the previous Rocky films, although it still manages to keep some of the over the top elements of the previous films intact.
             I think one can enjoy CREED without having watched the previous 6 Rocky films, but for those who have, your experience is greatly enhanced, which is another feat pulled off by the filmmakers.
             I highly recommend CREED and give it an A- because of it's unnecessary use of language that I found to be very disappointing from characters that seem better than that.It's PG-13, by the way.