6.5/10 大學第一個screening。第一次用英文寫分析，簡單練練手。
At the very beginning of the film, Coogler introduces us the background of Adonis within 2 minutes: he lives in a young detention center. This sets up a quick pace for the film, that the director wants to cut directly into the topic, which is “Creed,” the title but also the center of the film: how Adonis fights against the name of Creed? How the name Creed relates Adonis with other people without him knowing? More importantly, how Adonis accepts himself as a Creed?
...Soon after the background introduction, Adonis encounters the first change in his life: his mother comes to get him home. The shot above indicates the very fundamental logic of the Coogler’s logic of editing in this film: intensive use of eye-line matching. In other words, we track the main character’s movement, and we see what they see. In this sequence shot, we walk along with Mary Anne by two doors and finally stop at a door where, in contrast to the other two, nobody is standing behind the narrow window. This sequence shot in another film could be longer; Mary Anne could be walking by more than two doors, we’ll get a deeper curiosity and empathy for these kids in jail. However, again, Coogler does not focus on a broader social context: Adonis Creed is what he concerns.
...The first influential change in Adonis life is happening. The staging here is interesting, for it is analogical to the staging when Adonis asks Rocky to train him.
...Then, we see one of the great sequences in the film. Hand-held camera, tracking shot from the back, and no cut in between, these are how the director gets us closer to Adonis: we have the privilege to share his private space, and the camera persists in keeping us an intimate/personal distance from Adonis. However, we are not that close to Adonis yet, not as close to him as we do later. For the whole first game of Adonis we watch, we, the camera, are outside of the ring. In contrast, later in the film, we are allowed to get in the ring and fight along with Adonis. But this sequence shot immerses us in the atmosphere of boxing. We identifies with the camera, just like we are walking around the ring to find out a good position of watching the fight.
...Coogler also uses the same type of editing technique after the first win of Adonis, from “let’s go tear this city up” to Adonis’s sleeping on the couch. Therefore, straight cut between highly contrasted shots is how Coogler creates humor.
Speaking of determined decision to his career, and thinking about the other kids in the detention center, it is easy to understand why the films does not willingly to touch on the topic of African Americans. Adonis’s parents are wealthy, while the other kids in detention center might not have the privilege to do whatever they want to do if they exited the detention center. The film, after all, is focused more on the growth of Adonis himself.
This shot not only shows us Adonis’s passion for boxing, but also symbolizes his fight against his father, who gives Adonis his last name. Synchronizing Adonis and the young Rocky, it reminds me of the scene in Villeneuve’s 2049, where K’s virtual girlfriend “synch in” with the hooker. While in 2049, the synchronization mostly indicates the dichotomy of desire and body; in Creed, the synchronization is an embodiment of Creed’s struggle with his father’s name, which is the center of the whole film. Also, this scene, along with a rousing music, makes us feel the passion of Adonis and his eagerness to fight in the ring.
...The last interesting sequence appears right before the game between Adonis and Conlan. The Conlan team enters the arena in blue fog, which is definitely cool. With the dark but fiery music, the scene speaks for it self: big villain is coming. What’s more, the whole arena is under the envelop of blue light, which indicates the whole crowd stands for Conlan (not to mention the boo they grant Adonis).
...The mise-en-scene here shows the great discrepancy between Adonis’s and Conlan’s support. While Conlan has several people behind his back, some of which hanging Golden Belts in the air, Adonis only has Rocky with him, the latter even just standing at the edge of the frame.
Finally, even though Adonis loses the game, he earns the respect from the crowd and embraces the name Creed, by which the crowd calls him.
