Cleverly deducing that he wasn't really fit for the ring himself anymore, Sylvester Stallone engages the services of Ryan Coogler and the hunky Michael B. Jordan to develop this competent spin-off series from his "Rocky" franchise. The youngster (rather aptly named "Adonis") was born on the wrong side of the blanket, and is leading a life of petty crime when he is adopted by "Mary Anne" (Phylicia Rashad), the wife of his father, the late heavyweight champion "Apollo Creed". She gives him a home and a decent education and he ends up working in an office, bored out of his tiny mind. Frustrated, he heads to gym seeking training but nobody wants to touch him. Nobody that is, but "Rocky" (Stallone) who deicides to teach him the discipline necessary to become a winner. Meantime, the actual world champion - "Conlan" (Tony Bellew) is in a bit of a fix with the British prison authorities so an easy defence of his title against the son of a legend looks attractive to his venal manager "Holiday" (Graham McTavish). The fight is set - but can the young challenger upset the odds? What this does miss is the Bill Conte score, but otherwise it is a perfectly watchable story of grit and determination, again demonstrating effectively how boxing was a route from poverty and despair for so many across the world - and the fight scenes, especially at the end, look very convincing. I could have been doing with a little more of a backstory of "Conlan" - anyone who doesn't appreciate that it is just as tough growing up in Liverpool as in anywhere in the USA isn't really given much opportunity to realise that both boxers here are from the streets, as it were. To be honest, Jordan isn't actually a very good actor, but he is very easy on the eye and Stallone brings just enough class to the proceedings to make this a worthy cousin of the original.
