The Rocky films are iconic for a reason, but there is no denying that the Creed trilogy outdoes them in several ways. When watching the Rocky and Creed movies in order, the nine films go together nicely as an extended franchise. Even the worst-ranked Rocky movies have subsequently been improved thanks to the explorations of the Creed films and their characters, proving the franchise to have a sense of longevity that many did not think possible after Rocky V‘s disastrous release.
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As the wait for Creed 4‘s potential story goes on, it is natural to look back on each movie in retrospect. Rewatches of the six Rocky films and three Creed films bring to light their positives and negatives, from the best and worst of Rocky‘s opponents to the strengths and weaknesses of Michael B. Jordan’s legacy sequels. While answering which franchise is better as a whole is difficult due to the sheer iconicity of Rocky, rewatching the various movies proves that the Creed movies do a lot of things better than their Rocky predecessors when removing nostalgia from the latter.
You are watching: 10 Things Creed Does Better Than The Rocky Movies
10
The Creed Movies Have Better Boxing Fights Than The Rocky Series
The Fight Choreography Got Better As Filmmaking Developed
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Immediately, it becomes clear that the Creed movies have better boxing fights than the Rocky series. This is true on both an emotional and filmmaking level, with some of the fights in Rocky – such as the titular boxer vs. Tommy Gunn – falling incredibly flat. Where filmmaking is concerned, though, it is no surprise that the modern Creed movies outshine those in the Rocky series.
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The ability to shoot fight scenes has simply gotten easier in all films as technology and techniques have developed. The Rocky movies have some excellent boxing matches, but even the best have moments where the punches can be seen not landing on their opponents. The Creed series has the added dynamism and fluidity of modern filmmaking that the Rocky films did not, proving the former to have better fights than the latter, from Adonis’ one-take match with Leo Sporino to his climactic fights with Ricky Conlan, Viktor Drago, and the anime-inspired clash with Damian Anderson.
9
The Creed Trilogy Has Better Screenwriting
Another Element That Has Improved With Age
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Admittedly, the Rocky movies – for the most part – are very well written. The first two movies and the sixth installment, Rocky Balboa, especially stand out as competently written stories. However, even these films have the cheesier, somewhat goofier elements that are a product of their time, and that is without mentioning the camper stories of Rocky III, Rocky IV, and Rocky V. Overall, the Creed movies flow better as, well, movies, proving that the more modern take of Ryan Coogler specifically outshines the sometimes dated elements of Rocky‘s scripts.
8
The Creed Trilogy Tells A Complete Story Unlike Rocky’s Installment-Like Fashion
Creed Flows Better As A Complete Story
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An element of the Creed movies that stands on its own as something better than the Rocky movies but also reinforces the point about screenwriting is how well they blend together as a trilogy. Every installment in Creed builds on something from the last, be it Rocky’s battle with cancer or Adonis trying to live up to his father’s legacy. Although this is true for some Rocky movies, like the first two, for example, there is no denying that the over-the-top, exaggerated elements of the latter few films made each one feel very different from the last.
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With Creed, however, each one feels like a thematic successor of what came before. Gone are the more exaggerated elements that make Rocky IV feel so inherently different from Rocky or Rocky II, for example. Instead, the Creed movies feel like a solid trilogy, with even moments from Adonis’ childhood in the first movie coming back to explore his relationship with Damian in Creed III. The Rocky movies had less of this interconnectivity as the series went on, making some installments feel worlds apart from others in terms of tone and story.
7
Creed’s Emotional Moments Hit Harder Than They Do In Rocky
Creed Has A Better Grasp On Emotional Storytelling
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The emotion of Rocky films is hard to quantify. The first two movies are the most serious and have strong, emotionally charged stories that depict Rocky as the underdog. Rocky Balboa is similar, but the emotional strength – or lack thereof – of Rocky III, Rocky IV, and the franchise’s worst movie Rocky V, are slightly different. Despite including some moments like Mickey’s death, Apollo Creed’s death, and the estrangement of Rocky and his son, Robert, the exaggerated moments of the stories and the less-well-written scripts make them fall flat often.
This continues in Creed II and Creed III as well, giving each installment a sense of emotional resonance that some of the Rocky films lacked…
The Creed movies do not have this issue. Overall, the emotional moments of the Creed films are depicted excellently and almost always work. Whether it is the scene in which Rocky explains his decision not to have chemotherapy to treat his cancer or the moment in the final fight when Rocky tells Adonis that he is a Creed and that he loves him, several emotional moments are exceptionally effective. This continues in Creed II and Creed III as well, giving each installment a sense of emotional resonance that some of the Rocky films lacked.
6
The Creed Movies Have A More Serious & Consistent Tone Than Rocky
Gone Are Rocky’s Exaggerated, Silly Moments
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As alluded to several times, the later Rocky movies suffered from having unserious or inconsistent tones. Cartoonish villains like Clubber Lang, Thunderlips, and even the robotic Ivan Drago made Rocky III, Rocky IV, and Rocky V inherently silly in ways that the Creed trilogy never was. Moreover, rewatching the Rocky and Creed movies makes it clear that the former series has much more inconsistency regarding tone.
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The silliest movies in the Rocky series actually include some of the franchise’s most serious moments, yet the inconsistent tone makes them feel strangely out of place. Rocky III has the titular character fall into depression after Mickey’s death, with this subplot coming shortly after the inclusion of Hulk Hogan’s insanely cartoonish Thunderlips. Apollo’s death in Rocky IV comes moments after his exaggerated entrance to the fight as a true patriot. All of this proves how inconsistent the Rocky movies are with tone, something the Creed trilogy has never struggled with.
5
Creed Has Better Character Relationships Than The Rocky Movies
Creed Has A Better Grasp Of Characters & Their Friendships
One of the harsh realities of rewatching the Rocky movies is that, beyond Rocky, characters serve little to no purpose. All of the other major characters of the franchise only exist due to their connections to Rocky. Adrian, Paulie, Apollo, Mickey, Robert, and any other big characters in the franchise rarely have interpersonal relationships with each other; instead, they only exist as people Rocky can talk to.
The Creed movies are much better at handling character relationships beyond Adonis. Adonis’ relationships with Rocky, Bianca, and Mary Anne are a focus, yes, but there are other relationship elements included in each film beyond this. Be it Rocky’s relationship with Ivan Drago, Robert, or the late Apollo to the friendship between Mary Anne and Bianca or the exploration of Ivan and Viktor Drago’s father-son bond, the Creed movies focus a lot more on characters and their relationships that have no link to Adonis Creed.
4
Creed Has Much Better Written Villains Than Rocky Did
Creed’s Opponents Vastly Outweight Rocky’s
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The next big strength the Creed movies have over their predecessors is the better development of villains. The villains of Rocky are rarely depicted with any nuance, save from Apollo Creed. Clubber Lang, Ivan Drago, and Tommy Gunn are all incredibly one-dimensional villains who are simply obstacles in Rocky’s way. Even one of the better-written Rocky movies, Rocky Balboa, gives little to no time to developing the titular character’s main opponent, Mason Dixon.
Mason Dixon and Ricky Conlan are both played by real-world boxers, Antonio Tarver and Tony Bellew respectively.
The same cannot be said of any of the Creed movies. The first film is arguably the weakest in this regard, with Ricky Conlan being the least developed. Even so, the film goes out of its way to explore Ricky’s reason for fighting, which is to avoid jail time to provide for his family. Viktor Drago and Ivan Dragon in Creed II are so much better than the Drago depiction of Rocky IV, giving them a reason for fighting beyond simply being an evil, robotic Russian. Damian’s development in Creed III continues this trend, proving how much better the series does villains than Rocky.
3
The Creed Movies Have A More Well-Rounded Score & Soundtrack
Creed Has A More Varied Musical Style
Despite one of the more iconic aspects of the Rocky movies being its main musical theme, the Creed series is more well-rounded in this regard. Be it the exceptional musical scores by Ludwig Görranson or the varied soundtracks of local Philadelphia bands like The Roots or other rap artists, the films have a more consistently strong sound to them. This makes the Creed movies also work better as legacy sequels, given the usage of the Rocky score by Bill Conti.
2
Apollo Creed’s Legacy Was Handled Better In Creed Than Rocky
Creed Was Focused On Creed
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After Apollo Creed’s death in Rocky IV, the series somewhat fumbled the focus on his legacy. Rocky IV‘s plot centered around avenging Apollo, yet this can be argued to have been overshadowed by the Cold War propaganda that turned the film into the USA vs. Russia rather than Rocky vs. Apollo Creed’s killer. Rocky V then shifted to Rocky becoming a mentor and focused on Mickey’s legacy as his former mentor, while Rocky Balboa went in another direction by focusing on Rocky’s legacy after retiring.
For this reason, Apollo Creed’s legacy is handled a lot better in Creed. By focusing on Adonis, his relationship with Rocky, and living up to the legacy Apollo left behind, the character was arguably never better than he was in Creed despite being long dead. While it may seem obvious to point this out in a series titled Creed, the three movies honored Apollo Creed more than Rocky ever did.
1
Creed’s Longevity Is Beyond What Rocky’s Was
Creed Remains As Strong As Ever
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The final element that Creed does better with Rocky is justifying it as a franchise. Beyond Rocky II, the Rocky series struggled to justify each new installment, leading to diminishing critical approval as it went on. By the time of Rocky V, the franchise was all but dead. Creed, however, brought it back with three equally impressive installments, with Creed 4 even potentially focusing on another character beyond Adonis. The Rocky franchise’s inability to do this led to its abrupt end until Creed, with franchise longevity being one way the latter improves upon the former.
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Rocky
PG
Rocky tells the story of Rocky Balboa, an underdog boxer from Philadelphia who gets an unexpected shot at the world heavyweight title. The film explores Rocky’s personal and professional struggles, his romance with Adrian Pennino, and his journey toward self-respect and determination.
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*Availability in US
Release Date
November 21, 1976
Runtime
120 Minutes
Cast
Sylvester Stallone
, Talia Shire
, Burt Young
, Carl Weathers
, Burgess Meredith
, Thayer David
Director
John G. Avildsen
Writers
Sylvester Stallone
Source: https://dinhtienhoang.edu.vn
Category: Entertainment