It’s difficult to be surprised by a movie trailer anymore. Certainly, you have an idea of what’s coming when previews circulate quickly online or are readily available to be watched. The days of seeing a trailer for the first time in the theater is increasingly rare.
But trailers that try to hold something back until midway through the clip — or even until the very end — are exciting. (A particular favorite of mine is the original teaser for Batman Begins. You’re given no indication it’s a Batman movie until the final seconds.)
That seems to be what Warner Brothers was going for with the trailer for Creed, the spinoff from the Rocky series featuring Michael B. Jordan as the son of Rocky Balboa’s greatest rival and friend, Apollo Creed. Have a look for yourself.
What begins as a trailer previewing a film about a young boxer — one who presumably has a privileged background and famous boxer as a father, judging by various remarks — looks compelling enough as it is. Michael B. Jordan is already one of the best young actors working today, coming off 2013’s Fruitvale Station. He’s poised for stardom with his upcoming roles in Fantastic Four and Creed. And Jordan looks pumped up here, fully committed to playing a up-and-coming boxer.
But then, midway through, the trailer makes its big revelation: We see Sylvester Stallone as Rocky, and the young boxer we’ve been watching reveals himself as his friend’s son. For those who didn’t know about Creed, I envy the surprise they must have felt when that moment occurs. And even if you already know the premise, it’s still pretty cool to see on screen.
At the very least, Creed looks like a callback to the original Rocky, a seemingly blue collar fighter (though Jordan’s Adonis Johnson may have willingly put himself in those circumstances to establish his boxing bona fides) trying to work his way up to the big time. Rocky Balboa had to deal with financial struggles and the lack of upward mobility that presented. Adonis Johnson clashes with the doubt others perceive, that he’s never really had to work for what he has and is trying to capitalize on his lineage.
The same promise Jordan holds in his career also applies to director Ryan Coogler, whose feature-film debut was with Jordan on Fruitvale Station. Recounting the tragic shooting of Oscar Grant and his final days before his wrongful murder, the film was one of the best of 2013 and probably should have gotten some love from the Academy Awards.
Coogler parlayed that into a dream project, also writing the screenplay for Creed and teaming up again with Jordan. The pair could be one of filmmaking’s next best tandems. This project could certainly push the two to greater heights, if it turns out to be as good as this trailer promises.
Creed opens in theaters on Nov. 25, 2015.
