Creed is the theatrical comeback to the famed Rocky franchise. After six films spanning 30 years, the Rocky film series seemingly ended, marking the final venture of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa. However, nine years later in 2015, the story would continue in a new way with Creed, introducing Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) as the lead and being directed by Ryan Coogler.

Adonis was the son of Rocky’s longtime rival and close friend Apollo Creed, and he is seeking to follow in the footsteps of the father he never knew as Apollo passed away before Adonis was born.

Adonis, after bouncing around foster care and juvie, is eventually taken in by Apollo’s wife Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad). She is not Adonis’ mother as Apollo had an affair, but she feels she should take him in and raise him so the son of her husband could have a good life. His lack of connection and constant reminder that his father was a boxing legend leads Adonis to pursue the same path as his father by asking a retired Rocky Balboa to be his trainer.

Rocky has his own storyline as well, facing feelings of separation and isolation as his family has long since either passed on or moved away. His wife Adrian and best friend Paulie now rest in graves he visits occasionally to tell them about how his life is going. His son Robert moved away due to past strife and disagreements resulting in Rocky not even knowing his own grandson. So when Adonis shows up seeking his aid to become a great boxer, it forces him to confront his feelings of missing his friends like Apollo and the pain of not having a relationship with his son. After persistent requests from Adonis, Rocky eventually gives in and becomes his trainer, assisting him as his second and in his career going forward.

Adonis encounters his own cast of characters when settling into his apartment in Philadelphia after Rocky agrees to train him, he meets his downstairs neighbor due to her music being too loud when he’s trying to sleep. Bianca (Tessa Thompson) is an up-and-coming local singer and producer in Philly, but she faces progressive hearing loss. She must use a hearing aid and she has trouble on stage sometimes, resulting in struggles in her own career as she and Adonis grow close.

In the modern day world of film, loaded with remakes and nostalgia-pandering sequels, I appreciate Creed for actually doing a passing of the torch as a franchise. Many films attempt this but I feel they don’t commit like the Creed franchise does. The series follows Adonis making his own mark in life, embracing the legacy of his father Apollo Creed and using the teachings of Rocky, but coming out the other side as his own man and boxer. This extends into the film series as a whole – yes, it’s a successor to the Rocky franchise, but it meaningfully individualizes itself and builds on older plots and elements in the Rocky movies rather than repeating them.

I feel this idea is further highlighted in Creed II, in this film directed by Steven Caple Jr., Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) returns with his son Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu) seeking to reclaim his honor and status he lost after being defeated by Rocky in Rocky IV. Using his son to challenge Adonis’, seeing him as Rocky’s son to live through him. While normally the idea of bringing back an old actor is done just for audiences to recognize and applaud, here I feel that it is done a lot more tastefully. Ivan was broken socially after losing in Rocky IV – his wife, who had considerable status in Russia, left him after his defeat and he was labeled a failure and an outcast. I find that this continuation of his character is compelling and serves the film well, establishing great dynamics and parallels with Rocky and his son. Drago is not just here to appease the audience or be a cheap callback villain. His story is important and plays out naturally, and new characters like Viktor add to the story.

I don’t think they’re all perfect films, I feel each one could give more time in places, namely the opponents Adonis faces. In the first Creed, “Pretty” Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew), is the current champion of the Light Heavyweight division Adonis faces off against. He isn’t all that interesting, just a few minor scenes for shallow depth. Ultimately he’s just the obstacle in this movie, nothing more. In Creed II, while I think Viktor is great already definitely could have used a touch more himself, but he’s not boring.

Finally, in Creed III, directed by Michael B. Jordan himself, Adonis faces an old friend, “Diamond” Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors). The two were friends in a rough foster care facility, with Adonis even accompanying Damian as he played in the Junior Boxing division in Los Angeles. But after an altercation, Damian is caught with a gun and is sent to prison. While inside, his fight-first attitude extends his sentence and he is forced to watch Adonis live the life he believed was supposed to be his.

Once out of prison he seeks Adonis’ help in becoming a boxer himself, but Damian, while strong and talented, is rough around the edges. He fights aggressively and a bit dirty in the ring, and outside the ring he’s no better; being locked up for so long and filled with resentment towards Adonis leads to many incidents. This behavior forces Adonis to confront him and accept that his old friend might not deserve the kindness and opportunity Adonis gave him. While I enjoyed Damian as an antagonist, the film runs through his arc pretty quickly, not leaving much room to let his character arc build up or resolve. He certainly could have used more screen time to really bring him to a higher level as an opponent.

Overall, this franchise is still a favorite of mine and will always be the best example of bringing back a series fans thought ended. There are talks of a Creed IV in the works, still starring and directed by Michael B. Jordan, but as nothing is currently in production, I’ll have to see how that affects my thoughts on Creed as a great successor franchise if/when it comes out.