Creed: "Building a legacy"

Ryan Coogler's Creed takes on the task of shifting an iconic American franchise into the 21st century. The film touches on the typical subject matter of a boxing film, issues of class, poverty and wealth, struggle and success. But the films own legacy lends it the unique opportunity to present a story about aging, a passing of the torch, as well as a tonal shift from competition and conquest, to shared success.

Centering on the training of Adonis Creed by Rocky Balboa, the film carries a  message about identity. A key part of the movie revolves around whether or not Adonis should use his father's name during his fights, and whether or not the name, and the legacy that comes with it, belongs to him.Throughout the film, it is Adonis himself, and his fixation with his father's legacy, that holds him back the most. This is addressed briefly in the film, when Rocky has him "shadowbox" with his own reflection. The film reflects on the impact of identity on success, with perception, both self and public, having central role in the film. Ultimately, Adonis reaffirms his identity as a Creed, while forging his own legacy, as Rocky passes on to him his own.

As far as boxing films go, Adonis' character was refreshingly different. Unlike his famous predecessors, Adonis does not box out of necessity, but for more personal reasons. Adonis, before his boxing careers begins, had the strange circumstance of having a troubled early childhood, only to grow into a life of luxury and success. Adonis' early struggles, and later lifestyle are also attributable to his father's boxing career as well. His unique upbringing creates an incentive in Adonis to come to terms with, and learn more about, the man responsible for his challenges, and his later success. Adonis does this by taking up his fathers legacy of boxing, whilst simultaneously creating his own. 

The theme of struggle and hard work runs deep through the boxing genre, particularly in the Rocky franchise and it's famous training montages. While boxing is often portrayed as foolish within the genre, a savage, primitive sport that somehow flew under the radar and made it into our modern world. Out of place and anachronistic. Yet, within sports in general and boxing in particular there is a particular appeal, that's almost subconscious. An appeal to an inner desire to prove one's worth, to emphatically announce to the world, as Creed puts it that: "I'm not a mistake". In Adonis' case, there was a sense of unfulfillment looming over his life. There is something about success unearned that feels wrong, incomplete. Adonis takes up boxing in this context not only to come to terms with the legacy of his father, but to prove himself worthy of it.

 The final shot of the film takes inspiration from the famous stair scene from the original Rocky, but shifts the tone of the scene. Rather than the victorious, competitive vibe coming from it in the Rocky films, Creed blends nostalgia with pride to create a moment, that closes an open wound left in the Rocky franchise. A product of the racial tension in the mid-late 20th century, Creed shifts the narrative into the 21st century by ending the film with a peaceful, optimistic, almost reconciliatory tone. The film comes to terms with it's past much like Adonis does, seizes the present, and looks forward to a brighter future.