‘Creed’ Is The Rocky Film 21st-Century America Needs

By W. Kamau Bell

Stop saying that Creed is the best Rocky movie. You aren’t saying that because you believe it’s true — you’re just trying to sound smart. Yes, Creed has universal critical acclaim. And yes, Creed also has something better: the universal acclaim of the people (including this “people” who is typing this right now).

And yes, it may just be the best in the franchise. But we don’t know that for sure yet. We need time.

Here’s what we do know: director Ryan Coogler, co-writer Aaron Covington, actor Michael B. Jordan, and Rocky himself, Sylvester Stallone, have created a film that masterfully adds to the incredible legacy of the Rocky franchise. At the same time, Creed makes the Rocky narrative relevant to 21st-century concerns.

I love Rocky movies as much as I love Black cinema — and surprise!, Rocky is now officially a part of Black Cinema. Who could’ve imagined that Coogler would follow up his debut film, Fruitvale Station — the best film about racism in 2013; sorry, not sorry, 12 Years A Slave — with a Rocky sequel? It’s kind of like if Spike Lee had followed up his debut film, She’s Gotta Have It, by directing a James Bond film, but with Denzel Washington playing James Bond.