Creed (2015)

  This was a phenomenal movie.  I had held off on seeing it because I had only seen two of the 6 Rocky movies but there's really no reason to wait.  Yes, it does reference the other films but you're never going to feel lost on some plot point.

Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordon), the illegitimate son of legendary boxer Apollo Creed, fought his way through foster care and juvenile detention centers until being adopted by Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad), his father's widow.  Mary Anne wants him to be an executive in a white-collar job but Adonis can't give up boxing.  He moves to Philadelphia to convince his father's rival, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), to train him.  Rocky is reluctant to make any new connections in what he sees as a holding pattern for death but Adonis is persistent.  They get an unprecedented opportunity when the manager for the world's lightweight champion "Pretty" Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew) contacts them about a title fight.  Conlan is looking at a serious jail sentence and needs a quick win for a lot of cash to make sure his family is taken care of while he's away.  He hopes to trade on Adonis' legacy as a Creed to generate publicity but Adonis isn't sure if he even has a claim to that name.

The best sports movies are the ones that are only incidentally about sports.  Sure, this has training montages, the famous steps in front of the courthouse, and the iconic theme, but Ryan Coogler transcends the label of "Rocky sequel" for an examination of identity, and how our traumas shape who we are.  Stallone puts in probably his best work in the last 15 years here as a quiet man grown comfortable in his has-been status, just waiting to die.  It makes you believe that he has been nominated for three Oscars.  Jordan is a fast-rising star and his performance here is no exception.  Tessa Thompson isn't given a lot to do here as the love interest but she's always a joy to watch.

This movie did something I never thought would happen:  it made me want to watch all the Rocky movies.  Maybe that's a marathon I could do before Creed II gets released on DVD.