Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Creed’ on Prime Video, A Triumphant Boxing Film That Spurred The ‘Rocky’ Universe Comeback 

Creed (and Creed II) find their way to Prime Video just in time for you to engage your own training sequence and either catch with or revisit the impressive new chapters of the venerable Rocky franchise. Creed (2015), directed and co-written by Ryan Coogler and starring MIchael B. Jordan alongside Sylvester Stallone and Tessa Thompson, logged over $170 million at the box office on a budget of $35 million. Creed III, which marks Jordan’s directorial debut, releases to theaters March 3, 2023.  

CREED: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? 

The Gist: In 1998, a young Adonis “Donnie” Johnson (Alex Henderson) fights his way through Los Angeles foster homes and juvenile detention programs before Mary Anne Creed (Philycia Rashad) offers to take him in. Donnie is the product of Mary Anne’s late husband Apollo’s extramarital affair, but she raises him as her own.  

Fast forward to 2015. Donnie (Michael B. Jordan) regularly wins bouts on the amateur circuit in Tijuana, but isn’t taken seriously as a fighter by Tony “Little Duke” Evers (Wood Harris), the son of Apollo Creed’s trainer Duke Evers, so he seeks out Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) in Philadelphia, where the aging boxing legend operates Adrian’s, a quiet Italian restaurant named for his late wife. Donnie longs to be a professional fighter on his own terms, and not live in the shadow of the famous prizefighter father he never knew. Will Rocky train him? 

It takes some convincing, but Rock naturally agrees, and soon his porkpie hat-wearing “Unc” has Donnie chasing chickens for agility and stamina, sprinting along the Delaware River, and endlessly jumping rope in Front Street Gym. It’s a training montage, folks, and Nas’s “Bridging the Gap” is on the soundtrack. Donnie also meets Bianca (Tessa Thompson), an aspiring singer-songwriter with progressive hearing loss, and as their love grows she helps Donnie navigate his burgeoning father-son relationship with the man who was his dad’s greatest opponent and best friend.

Once the secret is out about a new Creed on the scene, the larger boxing world comes calling. Will Donnie’s natural ability, endurance, and the tutelage of Rocky and a cadre of veteran cornermen be enough to keep him upright against “Pretty” Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew), an aggressive English boxer and the reigning lineal light heavyweight champ?

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? All of the original Rocky films hold up, both as compelling sports dramas and in their quieter moments; if they didn’t, the numerous callbacks in Creed wouldn’t be nearly as effective. And for a different look at what drives boxers, there’s director Sho Miyake’s subtle, evocative 2022 film Small, Slow, but Steady. 

Performance Worth Watching: For his grizzled, quietly confident, and emotional performance in Creed, Sylvester Stallone added a nomination for Best Supporting Actor to his work as Rocky Balboa, which earned him Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay nods going back to the original 1976 film. 

Memorable Dialogue: When Rocky inevitably comes around to the idea of training Adonis, it’s not without resignation. “I don’t really know what I’m doing here. I got other plans for my life and this wasn’t part of it. Your father was special. Tell you the truth, I don’t know if you’re special. Only you gonna know that when the time is right. It ain’t gonna come overnight. You’re gonna take a beating, you’re gonna take this, you’re gonna get knocked down, you’re gonna get up, and you’re gonna see if you got the right thing. But you gotta work hard. I swear to God, if you’re not gonna do it, I’m out.” 

Donnie was prepared for this moment.

“Rock, every punch I’ve ever thrown has been on my own. Nobody showed me how to do this. I’m ready.”

Sex and Skin: Nothing explicit here. Donnie and Bianca’s love story emerges in a few key scenes handled with illuminating clarity and grace by Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson. 

Our Take: If you want to understand the instantaneous perma-bond Donnie forges with Rocky in Creed, just know that in their first meeting the brash young amateur quotes a host of deep cut statistics about the epic battles between the Italian Stallion and The Master of Disaster, by their second encounter he’s calling the older man “Unc,” and as of their third, they’re living together in Rocky’s same old place in Philly, where Donnie stays between training sessions in the room that once belonged to Paulie (Burt Young), Rock’s brother-in-law and boxing confidante. There’s a gravitational pull between Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in these scenes that makes them intimate, aggressive, immediately gripping, and often provides openings for body blows and jabs packed with lasting humor. 

The boxing action in Creed is also handled with striking, penetrative craft. While the traditional arcs of sports dramas in the ring are honored, the keynote fight sequences here feature some incredible Steadicam work, creating extended takes that allow the audience to exist fully within the ropes. There are also no less than two extended training sequences – what sports movie can’t have them? – and there is no shortage of visceral, percussively edited punching moments, when Donnie or one of his opponents takes a right hook he didn’t see coming and the jaw snaps back to offer its spume of blood to the camera and canvas. These are also in line with the boxing tactics and encouragement imparted. In all of this, as he stares down his main event opponent with an unswollen eye, Donnie has only wanted to prove that he’s not a mistake. That he’s his father’s son, on the terms he sets. Rocky gets it. “Knock that son of a bitch down.” 

Our Call: STREAM IT. With Creed III on the way, now’s your chance to catch up. And if you’ve already seen Creed or its sequel, why not hit the Everlast speed bag for some old times’ sake preparation? Your memories of the original films will also thank you.

Johnny Loftus is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter: @glennganges