Creed III, one of the year's best films, is about to hit shelves with its home media release. The threequel served as the series lead Michael B. Jordan's directorial debut and managed to make a compelling film sans Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone).
I recently went on a Rocky/Creed kick ahead of and after seeing Creed III, so the following list is my personal ranking of the nine films in this franchise.
Thank you to Warner Bros. Home Entertainment for sending an advance copy of the Creed III Blu-ray for this list!
All of the Rocky and Creed movies ranked
9. Rocky V
Well, that was easy. The best thing that can be said about the fifth Rocky movie is that it's under two hours long. While I applaud the effort of trying to make the film different by not having a climactic boxing match but opting for a street fight, Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison) was an awful protagonist, and the film's contrived rift between Rocky and his son is one of the series' worst plots ever.
8. Rocky II
For as great as Rocky was, Rocky II tried to literally replicate the previous film before leading to its climactic rematch between Rocky and Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). They really beat you over the head with the fact that Rocky can't do anything but fight, and it makes it a frustrating watch as you're just waiting on the inevitable.
7. Rocky III
Mickey's (Burgess Meredith) death will always choke me up upon rewatch, and Mr. T's Clubber Lang is an iconic villain. It's also easily forgotten (at least to me) that Rocky III was the film that used “Eye of the Tiger.” The fights in this threequel felt more visceral (something the next film further capitalized on) and it's the right blend of melodrama and camp — just take the final scene for instance.
6. Creed II
Steven Caple Jr. did an admirable job stepping in for Ryan Coogler after Creed. The biggest issue with Creed II is that the subplot with Rocky and Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) feels unfinished. Florian Munteanu is a great antagonist for the film, and the fight scenes are great, but more between Rocky and Ivan would have been appreciated (why did they cut out that one scene?).
5. Rocky Balboa
This is where the Rocky franchise went full Fast & Furious (as much as a franchise like this can) and asked you to suspend all disbelief. Rocky, a 60-year-old man in this film, comes out of retirement to fight a young buck. For as much as I love the broadcast deals with ESPN and getting Max Kellerman in there — a small detail that goes a long way for me with sports films — help set this Rocky film apart aesthetically. My biggest complaint is the handling of Adrian's (Talia Shire) death. It would've been nice to actually see Shire back in the role, even if for a few minutes.
4. Rocky IV
Okay, Rocky IV, narratively speaking, is not very good. It's unashamed of its political rhetoric and is as cheesy as it is blunt, but that's what makes it so charming. The use of “Hearts on Fire” is iconic, and Lundgren is iconic for this portrayal of Ivan Drago and the brutality he brought to his fight scenes. This film also features the best montage in the series save for the first one.
3. Creed
I hadn't rewatched Creed since I originally saw it seven or eight years ago until right before I watched the latest film. I had forgotten just how great Coogler's film was, from its pacing to its usage of a legacy character like Rocky and the performance from Sylvester Stallone himself, it works on every level.
2. Creed III
Sure, Michael B. Jordan surely had a lot of assistance given that his directorial debut is a blockbuster film, but he directed the heck out of Creed III. The anime influences make the fight scenes unique, and personal controversies aside, the antagonist of the film was great because it showed Adonis (Jordan) that actions do have consequences. Outside of one rushed plot point — that being the film's antagonist goading Adonis out of hiding — I think that Creed III is stellar and second only to the film that started it all.
1. Rocky
Sylvester Stallone's equivalent to Richard Linklater's Slacker is Rocky. This iconic film was made with nothing, and who would've imagined that this micro-budget film would spawn a nine-film franchise (and counting)? I always say it's the quintessential underdog story both in terms of how it was made and its story. Plus, Rocky is by far the best champion to come out of Philadelphia.
Creed III is available on digital platforms now and will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 23.
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