Lazy Film Critic Movie Reviews
Creed
Creed is the 7th instalment in the Rocky franchise, this time it follows Apollo Creeds son trying to make a name for himself in the world of boxing, which is made all the more difficult by the pressure put on him for his heritage. The film stars Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson, and also features Sylvester Stallone returning to the role of Rocky Balboa. The film is directed by Ryan Coogler, who previously made Fruitvale Station.
Michael B. Jordon has been on a roll recently, ever since Chonicle came out his career has been hit after hit (okay, maybe not Fantastic Four, but still). And Creed shows one of his best performances yet, he's really likable, he plays the role really well, and brings a surprising amount of heart to the role. Tessa Thompson and the rest of the supporting cast are also really great, Tessa Thompson especially. As for Sylvester Stallone, I've heard a lot of really good things about his performance in this movie, and I've gotta say, he doesn't disappoint. This is probably one of his best performances in years, dare I say an oscar worthy performance.
Now, if you're going into this film expecting a traditional boxing movie, I'll let you know up front, that's not what this movie is. This movie is, at it's core a story driven film which drives its focus mostly on the characters. However, there are boxing scenes in the movie, so I should talk about those, because they're really great as well. There's only about three boxing matches in the film, but each one does a really good job of feeling like its really happening, and keeping you in the moment. There's one fight around halfway through that's one shot without a cut, and it's one of the most impressive fight scenes I've seen all year.
Like I said however, this movie isn't all about the fights, in fact the fights are not what you'll be remembering about this film. This is a character driven film, the plot and the writing focus the attention on the characters and their relationships. These characters are interesting people, and I loved the way they were written. I liked the kind of mentor relationship between Rocky and Donny, I like the relationship between Donny and Bianca. I even like some of the smaller relationships, like the one between the villain-ish boxer and his trainer, or Donny and Mary Anne. And that's something I really loved about this movie, and jumped it up from a great film to one of the best of the year.
Final Rating
By now, it's been a week since this movie came out, so I'm sure a lot of people have already seen it. However, if you're someone who hasn't seen it yet, I highly suggest you go check this movie out. It has some fantastic performances, and some of the best character writing I've seen all year. I'll probably end up watching it a second time because it is absolutely one of the best movies of the year.
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