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Galvanizing 'Creed' is the happiest surprise of the season (A-)

A hungry young man shadow boxes in a cinder block basement in Tijuana, preparing for a fight. In the next scene, the same man wears a suit and tie behind a shiny desk in Los Angeles. Who is this guy? Is this really another Rocky movie?

Yes it is, and it remains unpredictable and alive even as it trades in the pugilistic clichés that saturate just about every boxing drama. Creed is the happiest surprise of the movie season, a mix of old and new that taps our reservoir of nostalgia and forges a path of its own. It serves comfort food with fresh ingredients.

That young man is Adonis Johnson, born after his father, Apollo Creed, was killed in the ring (see Rocky IV, a far inferior movie, for all the gory details). Adonis grew up using his fists in group homes before Apollo's widow (Phylicia Rashad) took him in and raised him for a white collar life. As played by Michael B. Jordan, washing off the stench of Fantastic Four with an alert and impassioned performance, Adonis lives caught between two worlds. But only one of them gets his blood pumping.

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When Adonis watches video of his dad fighting Rocky, he stands in front of the screen and whales away in unison -- on his dad. Anger and abandonment fuel his fire. He could use a father figure. He could also use a trainer. You can see where this is going, but you can't predict how much intelligence and redemption go into the execution.

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This would be a good time for a few words on Sylvester Stallone. I always felt he had the pathos to become a strong character actor if he hadn't gone the gilded path of action heroics. He's shown those chops before, most notably in the undervalued Cop Land, and he quietly embraces them here. Also outstanding: Tessa Thompson as Adonis' multi-layered love interest. (A Hollywood movie with complex black and female characters? Stop the presses and ring the bell.)

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Rocky is now an aging, conflicted restaurateur, not necessarily full of regrets but certainly plagued by them. We see him visit the cemetery where his loved ones are buried -- he leaves a pint of whiskey for Paulie -- and sit to read the paper with some contentment in his eyes. But there's also an itch there. Rocky needs a renewed purpose, and this peripheral figure from his past, his old friend and combatant's son, is the one to provide it.

The director/co-writer is Ryan Coogler, who worked with Jordan on the excellent but modestly sized Fruitvale Station. Creed offers the pleasure of showing what he can do with a big canvas and a few bucks. The movie's peaks, in the ring and out, reach operatic heights. Coogler even breathes new life into the training montage and street scenes, which enlist the city of Philadelphia as a character to an extent not seen in this series since the very first Rocky movie, back in 1976.

Among the many musical highlights is the song accompanying the aforementioned training montage, "Bridging the Gap." It's a bluesy rap performed by Nas and his father, Olu Dara. The title, the sound (featuring a killer Muddy Waters sample) and the sentiment make for a perfect emblem of the film. Coogler, Jordan and Stallone are bridging a gap here, between then and now and between generations and cultures; young hip-hop heads and old-school Rocky  fans should delight in Creed. It will strike a cross-demographic gold mine and make a lot of money. Of course, it doesn't hurt that it's a really good movie.

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Creed (A-)

Directed by Ryan Coogler. PG-13 (violence, language and some sensuality). 132 mins. In wide release.