“It ain’t about how hard you can hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”

– Adonis Johnson

Just the Start

I actually found finding a story hard for me. There have been many stories that I have either read or watched that I have fell in-love with, but didn’t affect me enough like this story did. I have been an athlete for as long as I can remember. Both of my parents grew up athletes, so it was almost promised I would too. So now here I am at 21 years old, playing my sport at a collegiate level. So why did this story stick with me the most?

My Experience

My story with this series seems almost boring. I wasn’t interacting with a game, or clenching a book in my hand due to the suspense, but rather eyes glued to the big screen in front of me, thinking what if that was me? My parents grew up on Rocky, and when they found put there was going to be a whole new series, they rushed to the theaters. (My parents never go to the movies, especially together) Well, I was there and I wanted to go. Did I know who Rocky was? Yes, but I didn’t know the actual story. The first Creed movie came out in 2015, I was about 13. This was also starting to get to the point in my life where my sport was becoming serious, and the thoughts of my future and playing in college where becoming a reality. Why is that relevant? Well I will tell you…

Being an athlete I always wanted to find things that motivated me to work harder and to push myself. I have grown up with two very competitive parents, and I always found myself wanting more. Seeing this scene in theater I specifically remember being glued too and for some reason made me almost emotional. The determination that was being shown in this film is something I didn’t take lightly, and all I could think about was putting myself in that situation. Because in the end it ends up being the best thing he could have ever done. I wanted that for myself. I wanted my hard work to pay off, but to me it was never enough and this scene showed me there is always more that can be done.

Im one of those peoples who constantly asked questions throughout the movies. Even the ones where the people i’m with have never seen it either, and I magically expect them to know the answer. I know i’m annoying but I cant help it! If i’m asking questions, you know i’m interested, so I guess take it how you want. Anyways, my father was getting annoyed, because just as much as he was watching it and trying to put the pieces together himself, i’m in his ears asking stupid questions. “Who is that?” “Is h going to win?” having to remind myself this is the firs time he’s seeing it also. I was sitting there, with my sour candy, and my Pepsi slush, so inspired by the goals Adonis had. There was never a doubt in my mind that he didn’t love what he did, and it showed. At this point in my life also I was started to figure out my interest and potentially what I would want to spend my whole life doing. Being an athlete and wanting to play in college kinda of forced me to figure this out early. If you know you know but the cinematography of this film and the story telling is unbelievable. I love a good movie that can tell a great story. Every aspect of this movie I loved, down to the acting, styling, soundtrack, quite literally everything. The end of the movie doesn’t end quite how I thought it would, which made it even harder that at the time, there wasn’t another movie to follow up.

What makes this so special?

I already mentioned that I was a sucker for cinematography, and I could honestly argue this was one of the movies that made me realize this. However, there is so much more that I feel like a lot of people don’t see. Most likely you are watching this movie for one of two reasons. You either know of Rocky and want the story to continue. Or, you love Michael B. Jordan. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t for both. Michale B. Jordan is starring in a movie? Im there. On a more serious note though i’ll break it down.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for this movie was just too good. I felt as though all the songs fit perfectly and they matched each scene well that they were used for. I love music, and being able to connect the audience to a film based off music you include is huge. There are plenty of scenes in movies where they don’t pick the right the type of music. However this movie did the complete opposite of that and made sure all songs used went with a scene it worked well with.

Casting

Above I have included the casting of the first movie. Michael B. Jordan is obviously amazing, but I feel like they did a really god job with casting for this film. Sylvester Stallone always has and always will be an icon, but each person played their roles perfectly and everything fit really well together. His mom in the film made the story come together really well, and I think adding her concerns and bringing in her husband (Apollo Creed) added a lot more emotion to this film. I also think this adds history to the film for the newer generations. Adding the history will me them curious and want to know what happened before Adonis, not limiting the story to the new Creed. Let the story live on, and make people want to know that history. I believe Tessa Thompson also did an amazing job at playing Adonis’s wife.

Storytelling

I think this film did a really good job at filling in the gaps. what I mean by that is the history they add to telling the story. We know he is doing this for his dad, but why is he really? I think this scene shows where their great story telling comes in. They are providing us with so much information, and history, it starts to put the pieces together on what exactly his story is. The other great spect about this series is there seems to be a whole new story coming. In the future I wouldn’t be surprised if his daughter makes a guest appearance in the ring.