A ChucksConnection Film Review

 

Sylvester Stallone wears black high top Converse “Chuck Taylor” All Stars in the film.

 

Creed

by Marcus Angulo

 

Training never stops.

Sylvester Stallone on set with director Ryan Coogler and co-star Michael B. Jordan.

Adonis “Donnie” Johnson (Jordan) is the son of an extramarital lover of former heavyweight champion Apollo Creed. When the film opens in 1988, we see him serving time in a Los Angeles youth detention center where Creed’s widow, Mary Anne Creed, visits and offers to take him in. In the present, Donnie quits his day job to pursue his dream of becoming a professional boxer. Mary Anne vehemently disapproves, remembering how her husband died in the ring against Ivan Drago thirty years ago. Donnie tries to enroll at the elite Delphi Boxing Academy, managed by family friend Tony “Little Duke” Burton, who is the son of Apollo and Rocky’s trainer Tony “Duke” Evers. However, he is turned down because of his mom’s influence. Donnie’s last hope is to travel to Philadelphia in hopes of getting in touch with his father’s old friend and rival, former heavyweight champion, Rocky Balboa (Stallone). Donnie finds Rocky at Rocky’s Italian restaurant, Adrian’s, and asks him to become his trainer. Rocky is reluctant to return to boxing, however, he eventually agrees after learning who Adonis’ dad is. Donnie trains at the Front Street Gym, with several of Rocky’s longtime friends as cornermen, and Rocky puts him through some old training methods that are very reminiscent of his own training. Donnie also finds a love interest in Bianca (Thompson), an up-and-coming singer and songwriter who shows him around Philly and quickly connects with him because of their mutual drive to follow their dreams.

Rocky Balboa wears black chucks throughout Creed.

Donnie, now known as “Hollywood”, defeats a local Philly fighter in his first bout with Rocky as his trainer, after which word gets out that he is Creed’s illegitimate son. Soon after, Rocky receives a call from the manager of WBC light heavyweight champion “Pretty” Ricky Conlan. Conlan’s being forced into retirement by an impending prison term, and he wants one last payday before then. They see Donnie as a big draw—provided that he change his name to Adonis Creed. Donnie balks at first, wanting to forge his own legacy and not rely on his dad’s name. However, he eventually agrees after a talk with Mary Anne and Rocky. However, the journey to fight Conlan takes a sharp turn when Rocky learns he has non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He is unwilling to undergo chemotherapy, as he remembers that it didn’t save Adrian when she had ovarian cancer, only making her suffer in her final months. This diagnosis, coupled with the fact that his best friend and brother-in-law Paulie Pennino has now died in addition to Adrian, Apollo, and his old trainer, Mickey, further makes Rocky believe that now is his time, and it’s better to just go quietly and alone. However, Donnie is not going to give up on Rocky. He urges him to seek treatment saying that they are family and he needs him, now more than ever. “If I fight, you fight,” Donnie says, creating the mantra of both men for the rest of the movie. They’re in their respect fights together till the end.

Rocky begins to feel the effects of his cancer.

Donnie ends up fighting Conlan in his hometown of Liverpool in a fight that very closely parallels the first fight between Rocky and Apollo forty years earlier. However before all that, Donnie receives a present from Mary Anne that makes this incredible journey come full circle. She sent a new pair of American flag trunks that are very similar to the ones that both Apollo and Rocky wore. The name on the back says “Creed” because as her note says, Donnie has “earned” the name. What follows is one of the most epic and cinematic boxing matches you’ll ever see, with an outcome that is quintessential Rocky.

Best Chucks Scene

As Rocky fights the fight of his life, he does so in black high top chucks.

The best chucks scene in the film is a scene that is a staple in Rocky movies: the training montage. However, the training montage in Creed is different from every other training montage from any previous Rocky movie. In this scene, Rocky has made the promise to Donnie that he’s going to fight this cancer, as long as Donnie fights Conlan with everything he’s got. “I fight, you fight”. So as Rocky sits in a hospital chair wearing black chucks, he has Donnie train right there in the hospital with him. We see Rocky go through the whole process of chemotherapy, along with all it’s horrific side effects, as Donnie trains his butt off to face the world champ. Seeing one of the greatest cinematic fighters of all time physically fall apart as his young protege both cares for him and trains with him is a powerful piece of imagery, bolstered by Rocky wearing the same black chucks he used to train in with Donnie’s dad.

Purchase chucks, shoelaces, and books about chucks.
High Tops	Low Tops	Shoelaces Page	Books