With few Rocky movies left in him, can Sylvester Stallone transfer the franchise over to new
talent? You're watching Beyond The Trailer's review
of Creed.
Sylvester Stallone created Rocky, and in many ways the character has defined his career.
Both underdogs that nobody ever expected to be champions in their field, Stallone has
written and starred in every single Rocky film while directing all but the first and
fifth film. Overall there have been six Rocky films, and they earned Stallone his only Oscar
and Golden Globe nominations to date - for both Best Actor and writer for that first
film. So naturally, Stallone is very sentimental when it comes to Rocky and has had a hard
time letting the character go, along with Rambo. But Stallone has also proven to be
a savvy producer, and he obviously realizes that the only thing left Rocky to do at this
point is to pass the mantle - and perhaps for Stallone to pass the mantle of the franchise
itself as well. And why not? Hollywood is franchise crazy right now, and Rocky certainly
has a lot of brand recognition. But what makes this transfer tricky, and perhaps brilliant
if it pays off, is that Stallone is handing his Italian Stallion over to a black writer-director
and actor, the Fruitvale Station team of Ryan Coogler and Michael B Jordan. Narratively
it makes sense, as Creed tells the story of the estranged and lost son of Rocky's greatest
rival in the ring, Apollo Creed. This brings the story full circle in many ways, as Adonis
Creed feels the weight of BOTH his father and Rocky's mantle. Furthermore, an African-American
star accurately reflects boxing today. And business-wise it also makes sense, as African-American
moviegoers- and non-white moviegoers in general - are becoming more and more potent at the
box office. But are Coogler and Jordan the right team to make this transition? Fruitvale
Station made an impressive initial splash, but was forgotten by the time awards season
came around. Although in a lucky break for Creed, Coogler now is rumored to be the frontrunner
to direct Black Panther after Selma's Ava DuVernay turned Marvel down. Speaking of Marvel,
Jordan crashed and burned in Fox's Fantastic Four reboot, where the race-bending of Johnny
Storm did not have a happy ending. On top of that, Jordan and Anthony Mackie seem to
be in some sort of race to see who put their foot in their mouth the furthest in the press...
So yeah while Stallone, and therefore Rocky, vouch for this new team, that doesn't guarantee
that audiences will form the same emotional attachment...