
This film achieves being a great drama and a fitting continuation of the Rocky franchise. Creed follows a lot of similar beats to the original 1976 Rocky (Avildsen): they both start with the main character, Rocky/Donnie, living in obscurity and wanting to take on the undefeated boxing champion Rocky/Donnie seeks out the help of a reluctant former boxer to train to fight the champion, the champion seeks out the rising star, Rocky/Donnie, based on their name, and both films lead to a climactic match between the two boxers that ends with a moving speech from Rocky/Donnie. Creed makes itself a different film from Rocky, however, by continuing the story and legacy of Rocky Balboa. Longtime fans of the Rocky films will notice references to Adrian (Talia Shire), Rocky's wife who he met at a pet store, her brother and Rocky's best friend and roommate Paulie Pennino (Burt Young), and even a fun reference to a certain chicken-chasing scene from Rocky II (Stallone 1979). Most importantly though, Rocky doesn't serve only as a mentor to move Donnie forward in his career, as Rocky struggles with no longer living with the people he's loved for so long and deciding whether to fight Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma or die in peace.