When Oscar Met Rocky – Could Creed Redeem the Original?

There is buzz about Creed that’s being kept on the downlow. If it really is as good as some people are saying there’s a tiny chance it could crack the Oscar race. Tiny chance because they’re not big on sequels unless you’re talking Lord of the Rings or The Godfather. They don’t even like sequels in the animated race where it’s tough to pull in a win unless you’re an original stand alone film.

Creed is based on a story by Fruitvale Station’s Ryan Coogler, who also co-wrote and directs the film. Rocky returns to coach the son of Apollo Creed, Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan). Coogler will enter the race as one of the few, if only, black filmmakers who was shut out of the Oscar race two years ago.

Creed has been floating around lists here or there but no one has really seen it. So how can the buzz on it already be so good? I don’t know, it just is. Here’s the latest TV spot for Creed.

Rocky takes a lot of heat for beating out some of the best films ever made: Taxi Driver, All the President’s Men, Network and Bound for Glory. Yes, they are all good films. But the power of Rocky is undeniable. It was undeniable back in 1976 and it’s undeniable now. A couple of teens set out to watch all of the Oscar Best Picture winners and nominees going back to the beginning. When asked which films stuck with them they named Rocky as one of those.

Rocky is actually better than many of the films nominated today. The reason being it isn’t about a winner in the traditional sense. It’s about a loser who is really a winner anyway.

Rocky beating out the heavy hitters in the Oscar race was fueled by the narrative of the film. Small time beats the big time. This same dynamic played out when Argo beat Lincoln and Chariots of Fire beat Reds, etc. Everybody loves an underdog. Still, Rocky’s shimmer has been slightly dulled by the many sequels that came after it. Every drop of blood was squeezed from the original so that the original seems less powerful now when you factor them all in.

Still, it just takes the one movie to redeem the original and Creed could be that movie. Hey, stranger things have happened.