Sly shares the ring in cliche-riddled ‘Rocky’ reboot

Grumpy old Sylvester Stallone is back, generously sharing the ring in a bighearted “Rocky” reboot.

Unbeknownst to me, “Rocky” movies have been multiplying like socks in the dryer. I never considered these films an exalted franchise — like James Bond or “Star Wars” — because they’re so dumb, so corny, so all-American and populist. Yet the 1976 forebear won Oscars for director, editor, and picture (in the latter category defeating “Taxi Driver,” “Network,” and “All the President’s Men”).

“Creed” is the seventh installment in a franchise almost four decades old. Despite critical pummelings and disrespect, it keeps getting up from the canvas, bloodied but unbowed, to reliable cheers.

What’s the key to its success? Like its hero (once Balboa, now Creed), it believes in itself. And there’s nothing more American than that.

For those with no prior knowledge of these triumph-of-the-underdog boxing melodramas, don’t worry. I saw only parts of the Philadelphia soap opera, but the prior six are recapped in this new origin story.

In brief, the illegitimate son Adonis (Michael B. Jordan), of Rocky’s old nemesis/pal Apollo Creed, seeks self-validation in the ring, just like our past hero of the ’70s malaise era.

But “Donnie” (his nom-de-gym) is a different cat, slick and fluent in social media, raised in an L.A. mansion by Creed’s widow (Phylicia Rashad), more square than street — as noted by his musician love interest (Tessa Thompson, of “Dear White People”). Amateur boxer Donnie wants respect, to prove he’s not a mistake, so he naturally seeks out training advice from grizzled old Rocky (Stallone, now 69, as was Burgess Meredith in “Rocky”).

You can write the rest. “Creed” is a film unburdened by surprises — or any serious consideration of brain damage and CTE, which will have to wait for “Concussion.” Great emphasis is placed on the inevitable training montages — right down to chasing chickens.

All the past “Rocky” plots are woven into this one: running stairs, pet turtles, arrogant champions (real English pugilist Tony Bellew as “Pretty” Ricky Conlan), sudden knockdowns, miraculous recoveries, split decisions after 12-round bouts saved by the bell. “Creed” is a 50-pound heavy bag of clichés, yet the preview audience I watched it with loved it.

Amid such relentless hokum and uplift, is there anything realistically grounded in our age of #BlackLivesMatter? Writer-director Ryan Cooglar was hired on the strength of his recent “Fruitvale Station,” about the real police killing of an unarmed black Bay Area youth.

But “Creed” isn’t interested in such flaws; all gripes or grievances here are swiftly overcome. It’s only in the first few minutes of “Creed,” a 1998 prologue, that we see young black boys in a juvenile detention facility, warehoused for future imprisonment, from which Adonis is miraculously delivered. One has to suspect that Cooglar has read “Great Expectations” in this regard, with Rocky his Magwitch. Adonis is clearly meant for better things — i.e., more sequels, with the ex-champ whispering in his ear.

In preparation for “Spectre,” I read Simon Winder’s excellent 2006 cultural history of James Bond, “The Man Who Saved Britain,” which contrasts 007’s fantasy heroics with England’s loss of empire. In books and movies, the suave killer provided a kind of consolation for his nation’s humiliating postwar collapse.

Bond became a palliative projection of everything that the U.K. no longer was. So it is with “Rocky.” As economists now tell us, the great decline of our middle class (and unions) began before Reagan and Wall Street deregulation. The gutting of the American dream — self-belief, striving, Horatio Alger, etc. — sprang from the same compensatory moment of Rocky’s blue-collar triumph. Since then we’ve been sold the myth that hard work and moral fiber will raise your station. (Hence the patriotic kitsch of “Rocky III” and “IV” during the triumphalist ’80s.)

Adonis, however likeable, is a spoiled rich kid mentored by a wealthy old codger. He finds success by learning to be humble, disciplined and respectful. Unlike his father (plainly modeled on Muhammad Ali), Adonis isn’t uppity or brash, and white America will cheer him for that. For that older, non-urban audience, “Creed” offers the reliable pleasures of formula and nostalgia. (Though Bill Conti’s famous theme song is only suggested, never reprised.)

Stallone’s broken-down presence supplies the continuity: Never a great actor, his stiffness now suits Balboa’s sad widowed modesty. And there are flashes of the core shyness to his character that was best expressed in the original with Talia Shire. “Creed” does make you miss her, Meredith, and Carl Weathers (Apollo is seen in the YouTube clips his son studies obsessively), and some fans might be disappointed by the lack of a Dolph Lundgren cameo. Don’t worry: That surely lies just around the corner in “Creed II.”

“Creed”

Rating: PG-13, profanity, violence, adult themes.

Showing: Alderwood Mall, Everett Stadium, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Stanwood Cinemas, Pacific Place, Sundance Cinemas Seattle, Thornton Place Stadium 14, Woodinville, Cascade Mall, Oak Harbor Plaza

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

A stroll on Rome's ancient Appian Way is a kind of time travel. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves on the Appian Way, Rome’s ancient superhighway

Twenty-nine highways fanned out from Rome, but this one was the first and remains the most legendary.

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Inside Elle Marie Hair Studio in Smokey Point. (Provided by Acacia Delzer)
The best hair salon in Snohomish County

You voted, we tallied. Here are the results.

The 2024 Kia EV9 electric SUV has room for up to six or seven passengers, depending on seat configuration. (Photo provided by Kia)
Kia’s all-new EV9 electric SUV occupies rarified air

Roomy three-row electric SUVs priced below 60 grand are scarce.

2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD (Photo provided by Toyota)
2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD

The compact SUV electric vehicle offers customers the ultimate flexibility for getting around town in zero emission EV mode or road-tripping in hybrid mode with a range of 440 miles and 42 mile per gallon fuel economy.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.