15 Best Films Of 2016 (So Far)

Rocky was done. Properly, completely done. Part V buried the franchise, then Balboa dug it up for a fitting emotive end to the Philly World Champ's arc, but there was nowhere to go from there.

Unless you shift the focus to the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed striving to follow in his father’s footsteps, bringing a permanently retired Rocky out from the shadows as his trainer. If you do that, treating this not as Rocky VII: Adrian's Revenge, but as Creed 1, the start of a whole new franchise, then it might just work.

And work it did. Creed feels as fresh as the original Rocky, the best film in the franchise since 1976. It's another legacyquel (see also: Jurassic World, Mad Max: Fury Road, Tron: Legacy), but gets the balance better than even Star Wars; ridiculous moments like the death of Apollo, at the fists of ‘roided Russian two scenes away from an 80s robot, are retroactively made serious and impactful. Crucially though, it also stands by itself as a great, singular movie. Michael B. Jordan is intense and doubting as Adonis and Ryan Coogler doesn’t pull punches, giving the drama time to breath and framing each fight in a unique, ingenious way (homage, long-take, slow-mo).

Let's just hope this new sub-series doesn't take the same downward spiral as its predecessor.

For more on Creed, check out Rocky: Ranking All The Movies From Worst To Best.