Movie review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2

Hello!

The 15th MCU movie and a sequel to the 2014’s Marvel gamble – Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 – has premiered on my side of the world, so, I’m going to talk about it!

IMDb summary: Set to the backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #2, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ continues the team’s adventures as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill’s true parentage.

Before I review the actual film, here are the links to my previous Marvel reviews, starting with GOTG Vol.1, Doctor Strange, Civil War, Avengers 2, Ant-Man, Captain America 1 + 2.

SPOILER WARNING

Writing

The writer and director of the first film – James Gunn – also penned the screenplay for the sequel. Overall, I very much enjoyed seeing the continuation of the Guardians story but I did feel that the first act of the film was a bit wonky. I thought that the set-up involving The Sovereign was choppy. In addition, The Sovereign were not utilized in a useful way throughout the rest of the movie (they just popped up in the third act because the film needed to have an even bigger space battle – they were basically the sequel’s Nova Corps). Plus, the fact that Aysha was interested in Peter’s heritage and, in the very next scene, Peter’s dad Ego suddenly appeared seemed as just too much of a coincidence.

The jokes and the banter at the beginning also seemed a bit forced. They were the bad kind of cheesy. However, as the picture progressed, the humor got way better and the narrative also found its footing and started to unfold quite cohesively. GOTG 2 just needed those first 30 minutes to get going and it could afford that, being a 2h+ movie.

I also really liked the character development in the film. I loved learning more about Peter, his past, and his dad. Ego was a wonderful addition to the cast and I also really enjoyed the fact that they turned him into a villain. And he actually was a good Marvel villain – menacing and threatening! I liked the fact that his and Yondu’s backstories fit together quite organically as well. I’m just worried that the filmmakers might have overpowered Ego – I can’t imagine what will Thanos be like?

A character which surprised me a lot was Yondu – I did not think much about him in the first film but the reveal of his backstory and true feelings towards Peter made him into a wonderful character. Sucks that he met his end as soon as I started to like him. The other new addition to the Guardians (well, sort of) was Nebula – I did enjoy learning more about her and thought that her and Gamora’s relationship progressed nicely. The definite newcomer – Mantis – was also a fun new inclusion. I loved the duo she and Drax made.

Lastly, I loved the thematical core of the film – the Guardians coming to terms with the fact that they care about each other and are a family. Yes, the family angle is cheesy and overdone (Fast and Furious in space) but it still works and has a universal appeal.

Directing

James Gunn, once again, directed the movie (and he also just recently announced that he will be back to helm Vol. 3). I believe that he did a great job. The visual design was just extraordinary, especially the visual realization of Ego in his various forms. I loved the landscapes of his planet as well as his appearance as a human. The visual sequence of Ego rebuilding his human body from a skeleton to being Kurt Russell was really impressive. The fact that they actually put a face on a planet was also really cool and a neat nod to the character’s representation in the comics. Another great visual sequence was Yondu’s ‘Ravager’s funeral’: it was so colorful and actually emotional. An extremely funny visual was the space travel facial distortion – it was such an unexpected but really brilliant gag.

The ‘money shot’ – the round shot of all the Guardians standing together was also just glorious. The camera work, in general, was very vibrant and elaborate – and it made the action look amazing. The opening shot was really great too – the focus on the Baby Groot with the action happening in the background was a really inventive and funny way to kickstart the film. Generally, Baby Groot was a complete scene-stealer. Huge props to the CGI department for realizing an animated (basically) character and adding so much personality (much more than the adult Groot had) to his movements and facial expressions. I also loved the fact that his size was an asset to the team and that Baby Groot was part of a final solution, not just the cuteness relief (a cute version of comic relief). Lastly, I loved the two visual gags and how they were both part of the story and fun references to the real life – I, of course, am talking about the cameos by David Hasselhoff and Pac-Man.

Music

The film’s soundtrack was also really good – equal to the soundtrack of its predecessor. Tyler Bates was responsible for the music but I think Gunn also had a hand in picking the songs. I also appreciated the fact that the music was half-diegetic and a part of the story.

Acting/Favorite Character Moments

• Chris Pratt (Passengers, Jurassic World, The Magnificent Seven, The Lego Movie) as Peter Quill / Star-Lord. Pratt was really good in the role – he has that infinite charm of a leading man and I can’t wait for him to appear on screen with other MCU leading men, like Robert Downey Jr. I also though that Pratt’s and Kurt Russell’s/Ego’s (The Hateful Eight) chemistry was believable. I bought them as father and son for a while and that scene with the ball was really touching and a nice callback to Peter missing out on this type of activity during childhood because of a lack of father figure.
• Zoe Saldana (Star Trek Beyond) was also good as Gamora, my favorite shot with her was when she picked up that oversized gun. Her and Karen Gillan’s/Nebula’s (The Big Short, The Circle (premiering this weekend in the US as well)) chemistry was good and the banter – really enjoyable.
• Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer. Bautista’s acting abilities have improved since the first film and his unapologetic and unironic comic relief was amazing. His budding relationship with Pom Klementieff’s Mantis was also lovely. Their scene on the steps was really moving. Klementieff was a nice addition to the cast and her performance was appropriate for the character.
• Michael Rooker as Yondu Udonta. The scene-stealer of the film. I loved the sequence where he used the arrow to escape from the Ravagers. It was just spectacular. I would have loved to see more of Rooker’s performance in subsequent films, but, oh well.
• Vin Diesel (Fast&Furious) as the voice of Baby Groot  I have no idea why Diesel returned to voice Groot when Baby Groot sounds nothing like Vin Diesel. Well, at least they can put his name on the adverts and posters and that will get them a lot of money in China. 
• Bradley Cooper (War Dogs, Joy) as the voice of Rocket. Cooper’s voice somehow fits Rocket’s appearance and behavior. I loved how the actor depicted the character’s dry sense of humor.
• Elizabeth Debicki (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) as Aysha. While Debicki did look cool with all that gold make-up on, I don’t think she took the role seriously enough. Her acting seemed a bit cheesy but I am excited to see where her character’s story goes next, cause my favorite moment with her, performance-wise, was her delivery of a few lines during the mid-credits scene. In that scene, she sounded way more ominous and authenticate than she did in before.
• Sean Gunn as Kraglin. I really liked the fact that we got to see more of Sean Gunn’s on-screen character during the sequel. If you didn’t know, he also does the motion capture for Rocket.

5 CREDITS SCENES

As James Gunn promised, the film had 5 scenes during the credits (that has to be some kind of record). 2 scenes played before the credits, 2 in the middle and 1 after. They were very well dispersed and the credits themselves did not feel long at all. The scenes were mostly related to the predeceasing film but they also set up some minor but long awaited stuff.

1. The first pre-credits scene depicted Sean Gunn’s character Kraglin learning to work with Yondu’s arrow and failing at it. It was both funny and developed the story further.
2. The second pre-credits scene showed Sylvester Stallone’s (Creed) character reforming the Ravagers out of the characters who were the original Guardians of the Galaxy in the comics. Their inclusion during the credits probably means that they will have a role to play in MCU or at least in GOTG Vol.3. It was also nice to see another scene with Stallone as he only appeared in a handful of them during the main runtime of the movie. It was basically just a cameo and if the role would not have been played by a big name talent like Stallone, no one would talk about it.
3. The first mid-credits scene was a conclusion to The Sovereign’s plotline and a potential set up for the arrival of the long anticipated character – Adam Warlock! I really hope he finally shows up in the next film!
4. The second mid-credits scene was probably my favorite out of all of them: it showed the teenager Groot acting as a typical teenager, while Peter attempted to be the Dad. Groot is kinda the child of the Guardians. What a dysfunctional yet lovable family.
5. The last scene which came at the end of the credits was another Stan Lee cameo. He had a cameo in the main part of the film but it was also nice to see him again. I read online that they film a lot more scenes with Lee than they actually use, so it was quite neat that they found a place to use some more of that material.

Rate: 4.5/5

Trailer: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2

Review of The 88th Academy Awards

Hello!

Remember when I told all of you that this post will be my last post about the awards’ season. Well, I lied. I couldn’t contain myself and just had to talk about the awards season one more time, focusing solely on the crown jewel of the awards season – The Oscars Ceremony. For the first time in like 4 years, I watched the ceremony live and tweeted the whole event. I probably lost quite a few followers with my endless tirade of tweets with the hashtag #Oscars. Go to my Twitter account (@LunaTheia), if you want to see my brilliant ideas that make absolutely no sense. And cut me some slack, it was 5 am by the time the Oscars finished in my time zone.

Opening monologue, jokes and Chris Rock

Chris Rock absolutely nailed the opening monologue of the ceremony. He dragged everyone: those in support of racism and those against racism. He also seemed very relaxed. However, I wish that he would have prepared some jokes that were not about the current controversy, because, by the 3rd hour of the programme, black vs white humour just seemed very repetitive. There was also enough of awkward moments – the one with Stacey Dash. What was that? Sarah Silverman also had a weird rant. However, Louis C.K. killed his short monologue.

Presenters

The stars did a nice job presenting the awards. The bit with Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe was quite funny. However, the best and the cutest presenter were definitely the two young actors that should have both been nominated – Jacob Tremblay and Abraham Attah. Loved that part!

Snubs and Surprises

I predicted all of the major categories like the majority of movie goers. I was also pleased with the winners of most awards and truly felt that these people deserved the statues, the praises and the honour. The only 3 things that I wasn’t that happy about and was a tiny bit surprised by was:

1.  The fact Best Original Song was awarded to Sam Smith and Jimmy Napes for ‘Writings on the Wall’ from Spectre. I was sure that Lady Gaga will get this one, especially after that stunning and emotional performance. But I guess Bond songs are favorites of The Academy – Adele got an Oscar for ‘Skyfall’ just a few years ago.
2. Best Supporting Actor – I was happy for Mark Rylance and definitely thought that he deserved the win. However, I did feel sad for Sylvester Stallone as this was probably his last chance to get an Oscar. Well, he might get a Special Lifetime Achievement Award someday.
3. Best Picture – I did like Spotlight as a film but felt that it was the most obvious, the most traditional and the safest choice for the Academy. I can understand why they did not want to give the award to Mad Max – I guess they are still against genre films, but then they should have at least rewarded the artisticness of The Revenant. Spotlight was a really good film about a serious and important subject, made by a team of accomplished, passionate and hard working actors and filmmakers. Nevertheless, it was  just way too conventional to be exciting.

Leonardo Dicaprio

I was really hoping that Leo would win and I kinda knew that he would. Nevertheless, I started running around my tiny student housing room and punching the air when it was actually announced that he won. I have never been so happy for a person that I don’t really even know. I also enjoyed his speech, just wished that he would have thanked his fans for sticking with him and rooting for him for a such a long time.

Winners

I was really happy to see Alicia Vikander and Brie Larson take the awards for acting, in a supporting and leading role respectively. The fact that Pixar’s Inside Out got the Best Animation Feature also pleased me. I also loved the fact that The Academy gave the visual effects award to a small budget film Ex-Machina  and that it awarded the 87-year-old Ennio Morricone his first Oscar for the best soundtrack for The Hateful Eight (if we do not count the Honorary Oscar that he recived in 2007). I was also proud of the whole Mad Max’s team for getting all of those practical and technical awards – 6 of them in total!

Performances

As I have mentioned, Lady Gaga’s performance just blew me away. I also did like Sam Smith’s performance and his acceptance speech. The Weeknd also killed it with the live performance of ‘Earned It’. While that song is not my favorite of his, I can’t wait to see him live this summer!

Overall, The 88th Academy Awards was an interesting but predictable awards ceremony. The surprises that we got were not that shocking. Chris Rock did a nice job, just could have had more range in the themes of his jokes. Overall, I enjoyed watching and live tweeting the event – it’s certainly an experience, participating in the online conversation and the guessing game with millions of movie fans from all over the world.

I promise (again) that I won’t mention the awards season or The Oscars till at least next October. Let’s all start the countdown to the summer blockbuster movie season, which basically starts next month with Batman v Superman.

FILM AWARDS SEASON is OVER

Hello Hello Hello!

Welcome to the last (finally) post dedicated to the awards’ season. This time, I won’t be reviewing any nominated motion pictures (I have done that already), but I  will tell you my own personal winners and will list all the others films in a very subjective order in each category. I am listing all the films because it was very hard for me to pick a definite number 1 spot. In addition, a lot of these films would have probably made my Best movies of 2015 list if I had seen them before January 1st, so I feel the need to at least mention them here.

Now, my categories won’t have a definite number of spaces in them. I have actually picked 20 films in total that have been nominated for either a Golden Globe, a SAG, a BAFTA, an Oscar or for all 4.  Also, I will be joining adapted and original screenplay categories into one. The distinction between lead and supporting roles will also be treated subjectively and not necessarily the way that the studios wanted. At the end of each category, I will also give my more objective prediction of who will probably take home the Academy Award.

P.S. The reviews of all these movies are linked to the names of the films only once – in the first category because it just seemed irrational to link you to a single post 5 or 6 times.

Best Picture

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. The Revenant
3. The Martian
4. Spotlight
5. Creed
6. The Big Short
7. The Hateful Eight
8. Steve Jobs
9. Room
10. The Danish Girl
11. Bridge of Spies
12. Brooklyn
13. Ex-Machina
14. Concussion
15. Joy
16. Straight Outta Compton
17. Trumbo
18. Beasts of No Nation
19. Carol
20. 45 Years

Prediction: As much as I would love for Mad Max to get the win, it seems very unlikely that this will happen. Although, with all the backlash against the Oscars online, the Academy might want to calm the fanboys/fangirls down by giving the award to the fan favorite. If they do decide to go the traditional route, The Revenant will probably be their top pick.

Best Directing

1. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller
2. The Revenant – Alejandro González Iñárritu
3. The Hateful Eight – Quentin Tarantino 
4. Room –  Lenny Abrahamson
5. The Big Short – Adam McKay
6. Creed – Ryan Coogler 
7. Beasts of No Nation – Cary Joji Fukunaga
8. Bridge of Spies – Steven Spielberg 
9. Straight Outta Compton – F. Gary Gray
10. The Martian – Ridley Scott
11. Steve Jobs – Danny Boyle
12. Ex-Machina – Alex Garland
13. Spotlight – Tom McCarthy
14. Concussion –  Peter Landesman
15. The Danish Girl – Tom Hooper
16. Brooklyn – John Crowley
17. Trumbo – Jay Roach
18. Joy – David O. Russell
19. Carol – Todd Haynes
20. 45 Years – Andrew Haigh

Prediction: Again, I would love for George Miller to take the award home, but I kinda think that Iñárritu will get his second win in the row. I would be willing to let Iñárritu win if Mad Max gets the Best Picture statue.

Best Writing

1. Spotlight – Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer
2. The Hateful Eight – Quentin Tarantino
3. Steve Jobs – Aaron Sorkin
4. The Martian – Drew Goddard
5. Creed – Ryan Coogler, Aaron Covington
6. The Big Short – Adam McKay, Charles Randolph
7. The Revenant – Mark L. Smith, Alejandro G. Iñárritu
8. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nico Lathouris
9. Bridge of Spies – Matt Charman, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
10. Straight Outta Compton – Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff
11. Ex-Machina – Alex Garland
12. The Danish Girl – Lucinda Coxon
13. Room – Emma Donoghue
14. Trumbo – John McNamara
15. Concussion – Peter Landesman
16. Joy – David O. Russell
17. 45 Years – Andrew Haigh
18. Beasts of No Nation – Cary Joji Fukunaga
19. Brooklyn – Nick Hornby
20. Carol – Phyllis Nagy

Prediction: this is the hardest category to predict. My best bet is that the original screenplay statue will be awarded to Spotlight, while the adapted one – to The Big Short.

Best Male Performance in a Leading Role:

1. Leonardo Dicaprio for The Revenant
2. Eddie Redmayne for The Danish Girl
3. Tom Hardy for The Revenant and Mad Max: Fury Road
4. Matt Damon for The Martian
5. Jacob Tremblay for Room
6. Michael Fassbender for Steve Jobs
7. Samuel L. Jackson for The Hateful Eight
8. Michael B.Jordan for Creed
9. Will Smith for  Concussion
10. Bryan Cranston for Trumbo
11. Tom Hanks for Bridge of Spies
12. Christian Bale for The Big Short
13. Mark Ruffalo for Spotlight
14. Domhnall Gleeson for Ex Machina
15. Abraham Attah for Beasts of No Nation
16. O’Shea Jakcson Jr. for Straight Outta Compton
17. Tom Courtenay for 45 Years

Prediction: this is one of the few categories where my objective and subjective side think the same thing. If Leo does not win this year, he should just stop trying altogether.

Best Female Performance in a Leading Role:

1. Brie Larson for Room
2. Alicia Vikander for The Danish Girl and Ex-Machina
3. Charlize Theron for Mad Max Fury Road
4. Rooney Mara for Carol
5. Jennifer Lawrence for Joy
6. Rachel McAdams for Spotlight
7. Cate Blanchett for Carol
8. Saoirse Ronan for Brooklyn
9. Charlotte Rampling for 45 Years

Prediction: once again, I both objectively and subjectively think that Brie Larson should get the Oscar, although, I would be pleasantly surprised if Vikander gets the win. On a side note, the saddest part about this category is that out of the 20 films, I could only find 9 actresses in  leading(-ish) roles, while there 17 male leading roles.

Best Male Performance in a Supporting Role:

1. Ryan Gosling for The Big Short
2. Mark Rylance for Bridge of Spies
3. Sylvester Stallone for Creed
4. Nicholas Hoult for Mad Max Fury Road
5. Domhnall Gleeson for The Revenant
6. Bradley Cooper for Joy
7. Idris Elba for Beasts of No Nation
8. Oscar Isaac for Ex-Machina
9. Matthias Schoenaerts for The Danish Girl
10. Walton Goggins for The Hateful Eight
11. Michael Keaton for Spotlight
12. Alec Baldwin for Concussion
13. Corey Hawkins for Straight Outta Compton

Prediction: while I would like Gosling to win, I think that the award will go to either Mark Rylance or Sylvester Stallone. I wouldn’t be sad in either case.

Best Female Performance in a Supporting Role

1. Kate Winslet for Steve Jobs
2. Jennifer Jason Leight for The Hateful Eight
3. Jessica Chastain for The Martian
4. Tessa Thompson for Creed
5. Amber Heard for The Danish Girl
6. Gugu Mbatha-Raw for Concussion
7. Diane Lane for Trumbo

Prediction: I would like the win to go to Kate Winslet, but the actual award will probably find itself in the hands of Jennifer Jason Leight. On a side note, this was probably the hardest category to fill, because I put a lot of actresses in the leading role category, while the Academy and the studios said that they were playing supporting roles.

I really hope that you enjoyed this post because I worked really hard on it. I felt the most challenged not when I was compiling the actual final lists, but while I was watching and reviewing all the films. Tell me in the comments your personal winners! Bye!!

Movie review: Creed + a look back

Hello!

Welcome to another review of the Oscar season! This time, we are talking about the 7th entry into the Rocky franchise – the spin-off/sequel Creed!

IMDb summary: The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.

2015 has already had one boxing movie – Jake Gyllenhaal’s Southpaw. However, Creed, being a sequel to the Rocky franchise, received much more attention: it earned more money and got a few awards’ nominations, while Southpaw lacked both.

Before seeing Southpaw, I knew nothing about boxing (still do not know that much) or sports movies, however, I watched all of the 6 Rocky films in a span of 2 days before going to see Creed. I have also watched a lot of other sports movies during the Christmas break like McFarland USA, Million Dollar Arm and Concussion, so I am no longer a newcomer to the genre of sports dramas. Nevertheless, Creed managed to surprise me and exceeded all my expectations – it wasn’t just a great sports movie, it was simply an amazing film.

A look-back

As I have mentioned before, I have seen all of the Rocky films. It is not essential to watch them before seeing Creed, because that film stands on its own, however, your enjoyment will definitely be improved if you are able to catch all the references and callbacks to the previous films.

Rocky franchise has always had so much heart because these films were made by people who actually cared about the story. Sylvester Stallone basically created Rocky for himself and used this character as a building block for his entire career. While nowadays, some of the scenes (mostly the romantic ones) from the first few films look a bit cheesy, the overall story/arc of all the films is timeless. Rocky is also one of the best characters of cinema because he is the everyday-est everyday guy that anyone can relate to or identify with. He is also one of the truly nicest characters – he is never cocky and always good-hearted, even when he finally succeeds in boxing.

Other characters of the franchise are also worth mentioning. Personally, I really disliked Paulie – he was such a whiny brat. I also had mixed feelings about Adriana – I really liked her in a few films and hated in others. However, my favorite character of the series (not counting Rocky) was Apollo Creed, so I was very pleased that his legacy is continued in Creed and future sequels. I really liked Rocky’s and Creed’s friendship, so that’s why the 3rd film is my favorite. I also enjoy Rocky 3, because that film contains a few scenes of Rocky training in the pool and for me as a swimmer that just seals the deal.

The Rocky franchise also has really exciting fighting scenes that make the viewer feel like he/she is in the ring. Rocky films are also famous for their training montages, which are not only amazing to watch but are great examples of spectacular film-making and editing. These montages are usually followed by great theme songs. Eye of the Tiger is the most famous one, though, the one that I enjoy the most is Hearts on Fire.

Rocky 5 is my least favorite film of the franchise and it is also the film that showcases Rocky in a trainer’s position. I was worried that Creed would also suffer from the same problem, since Rocky is once again training someone else and not fighting. However,  Creed was really smart when dealing with this problem – the creators just wrote a side storyline for Rocky which not only made him even more interesting of characters but tied that storyline into the main plot-line and the main idea of the film (more on this later).

Awards Rocky vs Creed

Rocky won 3 Academy Words back in the 49th Oscars – best editing, director, and picture. Creed has only received one nomination – best supporting actor for Stallone and lots of critics are predicting that he will surely win since Stallone has already picked up a Golden Globe and a Critic’s Choice Award. I think he definitely deserves it not only for his amazing emotional performance in Creed but for his whole life’s work of being Rocky.

Writing and Story

Ryan Coogler was the person that came up with the whole idea of Creed. He was the one who convinced Stallone to come back to the franchise and to continue it. Coogler then also co-wrote the script with his friend Aaron Covington. Both of them are kinda new to Hollywood. The only previous feature film on Coogler’s resume is Fruitvale Station (he both wrote and directed it) also starring Michael B.Jordan.

I believe that both Coogler and Covington did a really nice job with the script. They paid respect to the lore of the franchise with all the references and callbacks to the previous films as well as reinvigorated it with fresh storylines and new characters. One of my favorite scenes was the dialogue between Rocky and Adonis in the jail cell when Creed finally broke down. I also loved Rocky’s side story. It felt so unfair that an athlete, who has suffered a lot in a ring, can now possibly be defeated by an illness. I also felt bad for Rocky because he did not deserve this, being such a nice guy in general. This story-line also touched me on a personal level, as I have lost a few close relatives to cancer. Finally, the idea ‘I fight, you fight’ just totally destroyed me emotionally in the best way possible.

Directing

Ryan Coogler also directed the picture and did a very good job. That’s why Marvel/Disney snatched him up for Black Panther. I loved the visuals in the scene where Adonis is punching the air by the screen, which is showing the video of Rocky’s and Apollo’s fight. I also really liked the long takes and around/circle type of filming of the fight scenes. This type of cinematography differed a lot from the jump-cuts of the previous Rocky films’ fight scenes.

Acting

The movie had a great ensemble cast, consisting of both old and new faces. I will only briefly mention a couple of them.

• Michael B. Jordan as Adonis “Donnie” Johnson Creed – Jordan was amazing in the role. The physical transition that he went through is also worth a separate round of applause. He is definitely a wonderful actor and I hope that Creed will turn into a separate franchise on its own because I do want to spend more time with his character. I have seen only a few of Jordan’s films (to be truthful, he has not been in that many films), sadly one of them being Fantastic Four. While that movie was awful, I do think that Jordan was really good as Johnny Storm. He also has a comedic side – watch him in That Awkward Moment – a really nice comedy (and that is coming from someone who hates comedies most of the time). I still need to see Jordan’s and Coogler’s Fruitvale Station – I am sure that it will be amazing. I am also thinking about checking out 2012’s Chronicle.

• Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa. Stallone was really good in this role back in 1976 and he is still a great Rocky 40 years later. He is one of the most likable actor ever. The last movies that I have seen him in were The Expendables trilogy (he came up with the idea of that franchise as well). Now I just need to re-watch all the Rambos. 
• Tessa Thompson as Bianca –  she was a really great love interest for Jordan’s Adonis as well as just a great character on her own. I haven’t seen many of her films, though, she did appear in last year’s Selma. 

In short, Creed was a great comeback for the Rocky franchise as well as just a great movie in general. The storyline was both emotional and interesting, the acting – wonderful and the boxing scenes were nostalgia-inducing but still fresh and exciting.

Rate: 4.5/5

Trailer: Creed trailer