‘Creed’ Trailer Review: Rocky Mentors Apollo’s Son and it Delivers a Punch

 

What could be called either a somewhat sequel to Sylvester Stallone’s last hit Rocky 5 in his hit movie franchise, or more of a ‘spin-off’ of the boxing series remains to be seen. But judging from the two minutes and forty-three seconds of the first trailer to  Ryan Coogler’s Creed I just watched, Rocky fans as well as new to the story will be in for a possible movie hit.

The interesting thing about the creation of this production is that Coogler and rising star Michael B Jordan first teamed up on the Sundance sensation and critically acclaimed hit Fruitvale Station. Coogler, a self admitted fan of the Rocky movie franchise, saw the opportunity to continue the direction of the son of the late Apollo Creed. The film follows Adonis Johnson stepping into the boxing ring, a profession which killed his father in Rocky IV when he fought the Russian fighter Drago. With other boxing movies coming out on Hollywood’s horizon soon like Miles Teller in Bleed for This and Jake Gyllenhaal and 50 Cent in Southpaw, it was Michael B. Jordan’s turn to lace up his gloves as well.

A trainer reminds the young Creed, “Your Daddy died in the ring.” to which Adonis fiercely responds “That got nothin’ to do with me.”

The question is will longtime fans embrace a young black actor who may reboot a well beloved movie, without a backlash based on his skin color? Some examples include reactions to actor John Boyega’s appearance in the trailer for the upcoming new Star Wars movie as a black Stormtrooper. The internet exploded with comments of condemnation for a person of color in a ‘revered’ role.

 Looking at the gritty Philadelphia backdrops and imagery, this looks to promise a realistic update to the classic story of an underdog boxer battling his way to the top. Phylicia Rashad appears also as Adoni’s mother, which is sure to add well to the actors’ engery on set. Check out the line from Adonis that fans will get a slight chill from:

“I heard about a third fight between you and Apollo behind close doors, is that true?,” asks the fighter.

“How do you know all this?” asks Rocky.

Declares Johnson: “I’m his son”.

 

Creed opens November 25, 2015 nationwide.