Beauty vs Beast: Boxing Buddies
Monday, February 12, 2018 at 2:12PM Jason from MNPP here - while we're all sitting patiently on our hands waiting for Black Panther to hit theaters this weekend let us use the occasion of today's "Beauty vs Beast" to gaze backwards in Ryan Cooglar's filmography to the flick that no doubt gauranteed him this Marvel gig, 2015's great big crowdpleaser Creed. Coming nine years after Rocky Balboa, Sylvester Stallone's original "goodbye" to the character that gave him his career, Cooglar's Creed opened the franchise up and breathed new life into the Philadelphian boxing saga via Michael B Jordan's Adonis, son of Rocky's deceased opponant and friend Apollo, and with Adonis' attempt to find selfhood in the shadow of his legendary father. The relationship between Rocky & Adonis formed the core of the film, it was one fraught with tension, which brings us to...
PREVIOUSLY Nobody was going to beat The Lovely Laura Linney on her birthday, not even Mark Ruffalo's probable finest performance opposite her in You Can Count On Me - she scored a sizeable 70% of your vote in the end, proving you can indeed count on her. Said RV:
"One of the all time great screen pairs -- both so flawed, both so connected to each other. Lonergan's uncomfortable (for me, maybe not for him) commitment to Casey Affleck aside, he deserves enormous credit for providing such rich writing and understated directing to two amazingly talented performers. "
Reader Comments (9)
I like Linney but Roberts is to big to not award in 2000,Ruffalo to me has been better since this esp Foxatcher.
They're both great characters, delivering great performances. Stallone's is particularly wonderful but I'm sorry, I just cannot my thirst over Michael B. Jordan.
Stallone doesn't stand a chance - look at that arm!
Adonis ftw!
I cried like a baby in the final act of CREED. My crying was so audible that someone in front of me turned around and said to my friend, 'let's hope she never sees SCHINDLER'S LIST!'.
Oh, and Michael B. Jordan's guns, obviously.
The second poll in a row where you make me choose between one of my favorite screen duos in one of my favorite movies of the millennium. That's just #rude.
Of the two.. Michael B. Jordan.
But honestly, Tessa Thompson was my favourite part of that movie.
Putting aside his history of starring in tons of crappy movies ... c'mon. This is Stallone's all the way. It was such a vulnerable, heartfelt, lived-in performance. I like Jordan and thought he was wonderful, but his performance didn't have anywhere near the same level of impact or emotional gravity for me.
Jason, it's very hard to focus on your question while I'm staring at Michael's biceps.