Creed and Rocky Are the Same Movie

Apparently, I was supposed to love Creed because of its amazing acting, incredible story, and wonderful direction. Creed was pretty good, I suppose… for a remake.

The problem with Creed is the problem with every fucking movie Hollywood has been churning out lately. It’s a goddamn motherfucking remake. Yeah, that’s right, it’s a remake of the first film in the series: Rocky.

Rocky has long been hailed as one of the finest movies of all time. But it’s 40 years old. That means the current generation is largely unaware of it, and the last generation has probably forgotten most of it. It was an easy trick for the writers of Creed to do a virtual carbon copy of the Rocky screenplay and make it good. Of course it’s good. It was good the first fucking time in Rocky! That’s the reason everyone loved it. They were just watching Rocky again. What a crock of shit!

If you don’t believe that Creed is nearly identical to Rocky, check out this breakdown:

Creed: main character is an underdog no one takes seriously

Rocky: main character is an underdog no one takes seriously

Creed: main character finds an old, down on his luck trainer to teach him to be a better boxer

Rocky: main character finds an old, down on his luck trainer to teach him to be a better boxer

Creed: best fighter in the world sets up a publicity stunt match, giving the underdog a once in a lifetime shot

Rocky: best fighter in the world sets up a publicity stunt match, giving the underdog a once in a lifetime shot

Creed: main character meets a girl and falls in love during his journey

Rocky: main character meets a girl and falls in love during his journey

Creed: the big fight is expected to be an easy win for the champion, but the underdog holds his own

Rocky: the big fight is expected to be an easy win for the champion, but the underdog holds his own

Creed: main character loses by decision

Rocky: main character loses by decision

Creed: the point of the movie is the main character’s journey of self-discovery

Rocky: the point of the movie is the main character’s journey of self-discovery

As you can see, every major plot point is completely fucking identical. Creed puts no original spin on the story at all. Rocky is relegated to Mick’s trainer role, and Creed becomes the Rocky character. Nothing else is different. Creed comes from a rich background and Rocky from a poor one, but those changes are merely cosmetic. The important aspects: underdog, never gives up, goes on a journey of self-discovery, etc. are all exactly the same.

The concept of the young Adonis Creed trying to come out of his famous father’s shadow was a good one. Unfortunately, it wasn’t executed well. It lurches around as a plot point. The movie teases the idea in the beginning, then forgets about it, then remembers it again halfway through, then drops it, and then picks it up again at the very end. It doesn’t come across as smoothly plotted, just something that pops up at random times.

People won’t train Creed for inexplicable reasons. It’s not like they find out he’s Apollo’s kid and refuse to train him because of that. No, they just don’t do it. A young, strong, athletic kid would be any trainer’s dream, so it rings false that no one will touch him with a ten foot pole.

Sylvester Stallone was the highlight of the film. He comfortably slips back into his most famous character. Stallone delivers some funny moments, as well as some necessary gravitas. Rocky doesn’t take a total backseat to Creed as he has his own storyline to contend with. This emotional charge keeps us invested in Rocky, after all, it is his franchise. By the end, though, he passes the torch to the younger generation. It was a fitting send-off to an enduring film character, and a fitting cap to Stallone’s long career.

The only scene in the movie that really shined for me was Creed’s first big fight. It is a single, four-minute-long continuous take. The fight is brutal and realistic. It develops suspense in a way I hadn’t thought possible in a boxing movie. It builds and builds, and imbues the viewer with dual senses of excitement and dread. The director really showcased a unique idea which helped to elevate the film in this single scene. Sadly, it’s the only time he imbued an original thought into the film. The rest of it is pure remake.

Yes, there is a training montage, just like in every Rocky movie. Except it’s shorter, comes too early, and is disjointed. The original film had a famous scene of Rocky running through the streets with kids behind him, and him leaping up the steps to the art museum where he ends triumphantly. Creed apes this, but does so moronically. The scene starts with Creed already going down the street, then a bunch of people on dirt bikes and quads chase him/pop wheelies (*facepalm*), and then he just stops in the middle of the street and celebrates. I was like, “WTF dood? Why did you stop? Why are you celebrating?” A moment later, you realize he ran all the way to his gym. Way to make that clear, dumbasses. How far did he run? Where did he start? None of that is known, so his feat isn’t impressive.

It’s difficult to come up with a fair verdict for this film. Nostalgia is a bitch, and it’s hard not to like Rocky. This movie treats the franchise’s main character with respect, and gives him an important role to play. Plus, the performances were good, especially Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed. None of the actors were at fault here.

The filmmakers, however, made one of the most egregious sins in my book: they created a straight-up remake and pretended it was a sequel. I would much rather have an original story that fails than a stealth-remake that is good. Who care’s if it’s good when it was already good the first time around?

Creed deserves a score somewhere in the middle. It’s not an incredible, award-winning masterpiece. It’s an average movie with good performances, but is ultimately forgettable. Aside from one incredible scene and Stallone’s character arc ending on a high-note, there’s nothing else to like. Nothing else is original, and some of the stuff they remade (e.g. the training montage) was done better before.

Fans of the Rocky series should check this one out. If you’ve never seen the original, then you should watch it. You’ll enjoy it. But then go back and watch the original, and see how much better it was. If you fall somewhere in between, I don’t think this movie is one that you should be burning to watch. If it’s on TV or Netflix, sure. Otherwise, give it a pass. Creed was good, I suppose, but not that good.

Verdict: Average