CREED (Rated PG-13)

Rocky Balboa is back in the thick of boxing action almost 40 years after the original “Rocky” film lifted an essentially unknown Sylvester Stallone, who wrote the script for his starring role, from obscurity into a major player in Hollywood.

Aside from garnering box office gold, “Rocky” won the Academy Award for Best Picture, while John Avildsen took home the Oscar for Best Director.

The film became such a fixture in the culture that a statue of Rocky Balboa was erected long ago in the boxer’s hometown of Philadelphia.

Though the script was not written by Stallone this time, “Creed” could easily be considered the seventh “Rocky” film, not just because Rocky Balboa is still in the picture, but for the lively spirit of an upstart boxer making his mark.

In the film’s initial flashback, a young boy named Adonis Johnson is bounced around foster homes. He’s rescued from juvenile detention by Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad), the widow of heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, former rival and later best friend of Rocky Balboa.

Followers of the franchise should recall that Apollo died in the ring in a bout with Ivan Drago. Around this time in his life, Apollo was involved in an affair, the result of which was the birth of his son Adonis after his death.

Flash forward to the present, Adonis (Michael B. Jordan) has boxing DNA coursing through his veins, and despite his white collar job in Los Angeles, he spends weekends in gritty Tijuana venues fighting other boxers.

Even though his adoptive mother disapproves, Adonis, or Donnie as he’s known to friends, decides to leave the comfort of the Creed mansion for Philadelphia, where he hopes to get trained by the venerable Rocky Balboa.

Now a senior citizen facing medical issues, Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa runs the Italian restaurant named after his late wife Adrian, and though he was obviously close to Donnie’s father, he now has no desire or interest in returning to the boxing world.

Moving into an apartment building where his neighbor is the beautiful aspiring singer Bianca (Tessa Thompson), the self-trained Donnie doesn’t shy away from hard work, which says a lot to someone like Rocky, who decides to take him on despite his original misgivings.

Anxious to keep a low profile and to earn his stripes on his own merit, Donnie refuses to use his famous surname to get ahead, though soon enough his identity becomes known after some initial success impresses observers of the sport.

For his part, Rocky has gone full circle in his life. At one time, he was a lonely guy just trying to be a fighter. Then, he had success and formed a relationship with Adrian that blossomed into a lifelong love.

Now with family and old friends gone, Rocky is alone once again, but not looking to fight anymore, at least not in the ring. Donnie’s presence, which proves persuasive, forces the old boxer to rethink his priorities.

The nice thing about “Creed” is more than its crowd-pleasing reboot of a successful franchise in the hands of youthful writer-director Ryan Coogler, who has reinvented the underdog story in a way that excitingly connects with the legion of “Rocky” fans.

Without the benefit of any background knowledge of how the novice Ryan Coogler came to represent the new face of the franchise, it is readily apparent that the theme of a sentimental journey through the “Rocky” legacy has the Sylvester Stallone stamp of approval.

Where Donnie is brash, anxious and willing to take on all comers, the aging Rocky is all-too-aware that he is looking at the mirror image of his youthful self. Rocky needs his protégé to understand that boxing is as much a mental game as a physical one.

Donnie show early promise, and then things start to move very fast when agents for British light heavyweight champion “Pretty” Ricky Conlan (Anthony Bellew) seek to stage a big fight with Donnie in Liverpool for an HBO telecast.

Facing legal troubles in his homeland, the arrogant Conlan seeks to fight Donnie on the condition that the American boxer uses his given surname of Creed. Staging a fight with the offspring of a legend will only increase the return of a major payday.

Naturally, the big fight with Conlan is the climactic showdown, and without giving too much away, the match is brilliantly staged to maximize the emotional impact on the audience, reminiscent of earlier “Rocky” films.

Almost without question, Sylvester Stallone turns in one of the most impressive performances of his career, even if he appears to be called upon for little more than to be a mentor, much like Burgess Meredith in the first film, to a willing young charge. 

With Michael B. Jordan proving worthy for his titular role, “Creed” should be a major contender at the box office because this surprising film delivers a real knockout punch with action and nostalgic sentiment.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.