Every MCU Director's Best Film (NOT In The MCU)
2. Ryan Coogler - Creed
After his powerful work on Fruitvale Station and Creed, Ryan Coogler was the obvious choice to direct the first MCU film with a Black lead: Black Panther.
It is not an understatement to say that the film is one of the most culturally significant movies of all time, with Coogler’s direction playing a big hand in that. Black Panther went on to become the highest grossing, non-Avengers entry of the franchise and broke barriers when it received SEVEN Oscar nominations - including Best Picture - and winning three for Best Costume Design, Best Production Design and Best Original Score.
As for Coogler’s best film, it is splitting hairs choosing between Fruitvale Station and Creed, but the Rocky spin-off/sequel narrowly edges it. Boxing movies have been done to death and as this was the seventh movie in the Rocky series, it had no right to be as good as it was.
Creed follows Adonis (Michael B. Jordan), the illegitimate son of the legendary Apollo Creed, as he trains to become a professional boxer under the guidance of his late father’s rival turned friend, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone).
While the plot doesn’t take too many surprising turns, it is an extremely well-made movie with plenty of heart. Johnson, Stallone and Tessa Thompson give perhaps the best performances of their careers, with Stallone earning his first Oscar nod since the original Rocky.
Accompanied by a fantastic musical sore from Ludwig Goransson and some incredible cinematography, with the first fight filmed as one continuous shot, Creed is easily the best Rocky movie since the original.