Movie Review: ‘Creed’ gives the ‘Rocky’ saga extra punch

What a clever repurposing of a famous character.

A movie icon, still played by the same actor, usually doesn’t get the freshening Sylvester Stallone gives Rocky Balboa in “Creed” — a smart, entertaining extension of one of screen history’s most famous franchises. The 2015 drama that started its own series will be presented Sunday, June 23, on MGM+.

The title “Creed” suggests the main relationship that involves another boxer: Adonis Johnson, the illegitimate son of Rocky’s old rival and eventual comrade, Apollo Creed (who was portrayed, unforgettably, by the late Carl Weathers). The younger man, well-played by Michael B. Jordan (reunited with “Fruitvale Station” filmmaker Ryan Coogler), also wants to be in the fight game ... despite the upper-class life his family is trying to shoehorn him into.

He bolts and heads for Philadelphia, and you can guess who he wants to train him. Like Rocky did, the young Creed eventually gets a one-in-a-million shot, his being against a British champ ... and the cinematography in the fight sequences (by Maryse Alberti) is really energetic and thrilling.

So is watching Stallone embrace his inner Rocky fully again. After “Rocky III,” he seemed to be on auto-pilot with the role. However, having handed it over to a different director and writers (which couldn’t have been an easy decision for him at the time, since the Oscar-earning Rocky character was completely his brainchild), he seems eager for the challenge, and it’s a pleasure to watch.