Creed (2015) *Poll*

[dgwphotography]

Rocky trains Apollo Creed's son.

Go see this movie. It is much better than it had any right to be. I give it a solid 8

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[Guest Mets Willets Point]

Wow, the kid looks like he could be related to Carl Weathers.

And Sly is channeling Burgess Meredith.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Love that actor, ever since he was debating the origin of chicken nuggets with D'Angelo Barksdale and Bodie.

The only thing keeping us from this last weekend was our utter inability to make our way to movie theatres on weekends.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Whoa, I didn't realize that was "Wallace." I wanna cry when I think about that kid.

[Frayed Knot]

No better than an average flick to me.

Look, I got sick of the whole 'Rocky' franchise many years ago. At this point I don't even remember when I bailed (after '3' maybe) and they're not movies I'll latch onto if I pass by them on the dial (and lord knows there are enough opportunities to do so). Did I get into the first one back when it first came out? ... Sure, but I was also 18 years old or whatever so was almost genetically programmed to like it. But each succeeding sequel was increasingly cheesy and dumbed-down to the point where they not only increasingly sucked but managed to take more and more shine off the original with each tacked-on roman numeral. Hell, I will (and have) watch the original RAMBO before I see ROCKY again.

Having said all that, this one certainly had less of the corny crap that increasingly cluttered I thru V (plus whatever they tacked onto after that) and once you get past the flimsy backstory which shoe-horns this previously unknown offspring of Creed into existence it's certainly not a bad movie and Michael B. Jordan is quite good. But in the end it's still just another version of an underdog getting into shape for a fight where he's in over his head but wins the respect of all around who doubted him and the woman who believed in him, yadda, yadda. And Rocky gets to play Mickey - which is certainly a lot better than having Stallone go through a dozen or so suitcases worth of horse-steroids/HGH that he'd have to do in order for anyone to want to see him take his shirt off at his age.

[Vic Sage]

and that is why i'm not even going to bother, unless i catch on cable at some point.

[Frayed Knot]

Vic Sage wrote: and that is why i'm not even going to bother, unless i catch on cable at some point.

That was my initial reaction, but then I was led to believe (not just by DWG above but by professional-type reviewers as well) that this one was a top-notch movie on its own - although I'm beginning to think that maybe it's more a case of this one being graded on a curve.
Or maybe it's just me, who knows.

[Guest themetfairy]

We got around to seeing this today. It was indeed entertaining, with a lot of appropriate homage to the original Rocky story. Not nearly as schmaltzy as it could have been, and the boxing sequences were very well filmed - we enjoyed it.

[Guest El Segundo Escupidor]

Best film I've seen in the last 12 months.

It excelled in creating "heat" through well-written characters and realistic dialogue. Fight scenes were fucking fantastic. I nearly cried. Then I got so pumped up at the end I nearly convened a press conference to call out LWFS for a fight at MSG next June, brother.

If they don't bring Ivan Drago's son into the universe it would be a tragedy.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I PREDICT PAIN, MOTHERFATHER.

I just caught this on Thursday. I don't know if I've ever seen this well-worn template done better, outside of the original "Rocky." Maybe.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

El Segundo Escupidor wrote: Best film I've seen in the last 12 months. It excelled in creating "heat" through well-written characters and realistic dialogue. Fight scenes were fucking fantastic. I nearly cried. Then I got so pumped up at the end I nearly convened a press conference to call out LWFS for a fight at MSG next June, brother. If they don't bring Ivan Drago's son into the universe it would be a tragedy.

Young Vladimir Drago is a loner growing up on the mean streets of Kiev. He seeks an outlet for his burning desires not in the boxing ring, as his famous father had, or in the fashion world, as his globetrotting mother, but as The Greatest Computer Hacker of All Time.

Why the interest in computers? Well, let's just say he's a mutant: as a result of his dad's steroid use plus effects of Chernobyl, Drago was born with both an abnormally large brain and a face that looks like Spider Rico after 12 rounds with Clubber Lang. Recruited by Putin's Special Forces to plan a secret attack on the United States, Vladimir must secretly, electronically reach across the globe to the one man who can save America: Senator Rocky Balboa

[Guest El Segundo Escupidor]

I PREDICT PAIN, MOTHERFATHER. .

I'm gonna DANCE AND DANCE and I will make you look FOOLISH in the storm of blindness that is my DANCING.

Young Vladimir Drago is a loner growing up on the mean streets of Kiev. He seeks an outlet for his burning desires not in the boxing ring, as his famous father had, or in the fashion world, as his globetrotting mother, but as The Greatest Computer Hacker of All Time. Why the interest in computers? Well, let's just say he's a mutant: as a result of his dad's steroid use plus effects of Chernobyl, Drago was born with both an abnormally large brain and a face that looks like Spider Rico after 12 rounds with Clubber Lang. Recruited by Putin's Special Forces to plan a secret attack on the United States, Vladimir must secretly, electronically reach across the globe to the one man who can save America: Senator Rocky Balboa

No worse than this screenplay:

Originally CBRM [Communist Boxing Redemption Movie] was written with communist Cuba in mind, but when Russia invaded Ukraine, writer Andrew LeMay couldn’t resist writing a new story to reflect today’s cold war nostalgia. With the popularity of movies like The Dark Knight, LeMay believes his script “Drago” will resonate with movie goers, turning Ivan Drago from the villain into the anti-hero. The premise? To save his mafia boss brother, Ivan Drago must fight his way through prison and defeat the heavyweight champion of the world, Mason “The Line” Dixon.

http://totalrocky.com/articles/screenplay-for-new-rocky-spinoff-based-on-ivan-drago.html

[metirish]

Creed sat on my DVR for a year and I finally watched it last night , glad I did, enjoyed it more than I expected

[MFS62]

In the opening scene of the Alien Nation TV sci-fi series, a cop in the future drives past a movie theater. The marquee shows that the film playing is Rocky VI. Every time I watched that show, I chuckled over something so unimaginable.
So, to avoid life imitating art so closely, (or maybe it was the reviews of Rocky Balboa?) I stopped at Rocky IV.

Later

[Edgy MD]

In my experience, Rocky Balboa got a mostly positive reception.

[MFS62]

Edgy MD wrote: In my experience, Rocky Balboa got a mostly positive reception.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I couldn't bear to watch another one.

Later

[Edgy MD]

I didn't say if I liked it.