Creed
Warner Bros. | Release Date: November 25, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
82
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 42 Critic Reviews
Positive:
35
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The New YorkerRichard BrodyJan 11, 2016
Ingeniously, Coogler has transformed “Rocky”—the modern cinematic myth that, perhaps more than any other, endures as a modern capitalist Horatio Alger story of personal determination and sheer will—into a vision of community and opportunity, connections and social capital, family and money. Read full review
100
TimeStephanie ZacharekNov 26, 2015
Creed mingles go-for-broke romance with bloody pugilist thrills—but instead of feeling like a rehash, it works like gangbusters. Coogler honors and builds upon the Rocky formula so that it feels both comfortingly old-fashioned and bracingly new. Read full review
100
SlateAisha HarrisNov 24, 2015
I feared signing on to Creed might derail Coogler’s and Jordan’s careers. Instead, this revitalizing crowd-pleaser solidifies my belief that these two have the potential to create really great art. Read full review
100
Slant MagazineJake ColeNov 24, 2015
One of the Ryan Coogler film's greatest traits is its reticence, its refusal to say 10 words when two will do, or to say one word when silence says it all. Read full review
100
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonNov 24, 2015
Often, extending a film franchise signifies a lack of imagination. But Creed is a knockout. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleNov 24, 2015
Rocky might not be the brightest guy, but he knows things. He has his limitations, but he is, in his own way, extraordinary, and when we look at his/Stallone’s face, we can have no doubt that Rocky has gone through life and learned things. He has been awake all these years, and growing. With no exaggeration, this is a beautiful and moving thing to see. Read full review
100
The New York TimesA.O. ScottNov 24, 2015
Creed is a dandy piece of entertainment, soothingly old-fashioned and bracingly up-to-date. Read full review
100
RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonNov 23, 2015
There are as many quietly effective moments as there are stand-up-and-cheer moments, and they’re all handled with skill and dexterity on both sides of the camera. Read full review
100
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaNov 21, 2015
Creed is corny like the old Rocky films, but riveting like the old Rocky films, too. Read full review
100
HitfixDrew McWeenyNov 18, 2015
By the time Coogler wraps things up, his film manages the difficult trick of looking back with earned nostalgia and standing alone as a genuinely strong dramatic piece. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyNov 18, 2015
In the end it’s a movie about legacy, and it more than preserves the Rocky franchise’s. It reminds you why it was great in the first place. Read full review
91
IndieWireEric KohnNov 18, 2015
Creed does justice to its roots while trying something new. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternNov 26, 2015
Many of the boxing genre’s conventions are observed in the screenplay by Mr. Coogler and Aaron Covington, and the fight sequences are brutally effective.... But the film is full of life and loose humor...and Creed often transcends the genre by playing with movie mythology. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranNov 24, 2015
Coogler and company do fine work convincing us against our better judgment that nothing we see is preordained, that anything can happen within the four corners of the ring. You can't ask a "Rocky" film to do more than that. Read full review
88
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanNov 24, 2015
The themes of love, loyalty, ambition, honor and legacy that lend sinew to the story are delivered with such a clean punch that they as feel as fresh as they did in 1976. Read full review
88
New York PostLou LumenickNov 24, 2015
One of the year’s warmest and most crowd-pleasing surprises. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTom RussoNov 24, 2015
After a long, long stretch in which the series’ attrition had come to feel like even more of a bummer than intended — no more Mickey, no Apollo, no Adrian — the franchise has welcome new life. But instead of going by Rocky, he goes by Creed. Read full review
88
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezNov 24, 2015
Director Ryan Coogler has pulled off a miracle: He taps into the beautiful simplicity and deep well of emotion of the 1976 original, capturing its essence and spirit while branching out into a new story. Read full review
88
USA TodayBrian TruittNov 24, 2015
Equally powerful and feel-good, Creed is an entertaining reminder that this franchise isn’t down for the count yet. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliNov 23, 2015
Coogler provides enough rousing moments to get the adrenaline pumping - there are times when the urge to jump up and cheer is almost too strong to resist. But there's more to Creed and it is elevated by the quiet, subtle elements. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperNov 22, 2015
Thanks to a charismatic, natural performance from star-in-the-making Michael B. Jordan, a script from writer-director Ryan Coogler that expertly navigates paying tribute to the franchise while creating an effective stand-alone film and fine work from Stallone...Creed is a terrific addition to the “Rocky” canon. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsNov 19, 2015
Half the film, written by Coogler and Aaron Covington, revels in cliches, skillfully. The other half sidesteps them and concentrates on scenes and relationships that breathe easily and draw us in the hard way: not by narrative fiat or bald calculation, but through well-written and shrewdly acted encounters. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianJeff BakerNov 24, 2015
Creed is no "Raging Bull" -- it's a little too long and throws in an unnecessary disease to gin up the emotional content of the third act -- but it's surprising proof that iconic franchises that started in the 1970s can be revived in all the right ways. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerNov 23, 2015
Creed works far better than it should, and does so twice: as the unexpected payoff to a nearly 40-year-old series, and as the confirmation of a major talent in its director. Read full review
83
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallNov 23, 2015
Creed proceeds to hit the same beats as six Rocky movies preceding it, all the way to the Big Fight. But there's a difference here. This is the first Rocky movie Stallone didn't write, enabling Coogler and co-writer Aaron Covington to bring new perspective and respect. Read full review
80
EmpireChris Hewitt (1)Jan 11, 2016
The best Rocky film since the original, honouring the Stallone legacy while setting it in a different direction. Feel the need. The need for Creed. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNov 26, 2015
Movies don’t always have to be “how things are.” When they’re as warm and rousing as Creed, they can be “how we want to make things.” Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsJoe DziemianowiczNov 25, 2015
Creed packs a mighty punch. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzNov 24, 2015
Once you’ve seen the work Stallone and Jordan do in Creed, the idea of a “Rocky 8” doesn’t sound so bad. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfNov 24, 2015
Of Stallone’s surprisingly tender performance — a definitive late-career triumph — enough can’t be said Read full review
80
VarietyAndrew BarkerNov 18, 2015
With his “Rocky” spinoff, Creed, writer-director Ryan Coogler confirms every bit of promise he displayed in his 2013 debut, “Fruitvale Station,” offering a smart, kinetic, exhilaratingly well-crafted piece of mainstream filmmaking, and providing actor Michael B. Jordan with yet another substantial stepping stone on his climb to stardom. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovNov 26, 2015
Creed isn’t a complete TKO, but it goes all 12 rounds with vitality and flourish. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversNov 25, 2015
The good news is that Coogler puts his own stamp on it. You can feel this fine indie talent stretching his wings in the mainstream. Read full review
75
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezNov 18, 2015
Rousing in spirit, surprisingly emotional and visually dynamic, filmmaker Ryan Coogler’s first studio movie, Creed, is a worthy successor to the best of the “Rocky” movies and proves the young director is the real deal. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyNov 18, 2015
Sylvester Stallone doesn't get back in the ring in Creed, but he still comes away as a big winner in this far-fetched but likeable offshoot of the geriatric Rocky series. Read full review
60
The TelegraphTim RobeyNov 19, 2015
Like the 69-year-old Stallone hoisting his frame gingerly into play, Creed takes a while to move. But by the end, it’s genuinely moving. Read full review
60
Screen DailyTim GriersonNov 18, 2015
Since so much of Creed’s emotional oomph comes from audience familiarity with the past films, the movie mostly shadowboxes with its past. Read full review
60
The GuardianJordan HoffmanNov 18, 2015
The script may feature numerous wobbly passages in which everyone eerily states precisely what they are thinking (an unfortunate tradition that runs throughout the series) but if anyone can sell it, it’s Stallone and Jordan. Read full review
55
TheWrapRobert AbeleNov 18, 2015
Instead of playing like the first of a series of Adonis Creed movies, Creed never rises above being one more by-the-numbers “Rocky” retread. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreNov 25, 2015
At this stage of this saga, you kind of know where it’s going and which emotional buttons will be punched, the ones I predicted way back in 1984 with my little "IV-I.V.” crack. Another two hours and 13 minutes of it, even with decent “Rocky” style (roundhouse punch after roundhouse punch) is hardly merited. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorNov 24, 2015
For the first time in the series, Stallone did not write the script, yet director Ryan Coogler and his co-writer Aaron Covington aren’t exactly brimming over with fresh ideas: Worn thin with repetition, the sentimental old premise muffles suspense and dampens emotion. Read full review
50
Village VoiceAmy NicholsonNov 24, 2015
Creed wants all of the Rocky drama but invests in none of the smarts. Read full review
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