From the first time I watched “Rocky IV” as a 5-year-old in the late 1980s, I was hooked on the famed “Rocky” series.

I preceded to watch all four films countless times on what would now be considered an archaic four-head VCR in my parents living room in my hometown of Belfair during my elementary school years.

Much to my delight, “Rocky V” was released in 1990 while I was in the third grade. I couldn’t wait to make the trip to Regal South Sound Cinemas in Port Orchard with my dad to see it.

A mind-boggling 16 years later, the sixth installment of the series, “Rocky Balboa,” appeared in theaters. My best friend Nolan Soete and I planned our entire weekend around it.

After walking out of the theater in December 2006, we were thrilled with the movie and figured the “Rocky” series had officially come to a conclusion.

We were wrong.

The night before Thanksgiving, my friend DJ Jackson and I caught the seventh movie of the “Rocky” series, titled “Creed.” As I made my way to my seat I was excited but had no expectations. The film that unfolded blew me away.

Without giving away too much of the plot, the movie focuses on Apollo Creed’s son Adonis and his quest to become a champion boxer. Adonis, born after his father Apollo died at the hands of Russia’s Ivan Drago in “Rocky IV,” travels from Los Angeles to Philadelphia to pursue his dream. He quickly persuades Rocky to train him and his journey as an athlete develops from there.

The movie includes all of the usual components of a “Rocky” film, including training scenes, bloody fight scenes, a love story and unbridled adversity.

The centerpiece of the movie is the friendship cultivated between Adonis and Rocky.

On the surface they have a typical trainer/boxer partnership. But as the film progresses it evolves to the relationship experienced between Rocky and his trainer Mickey Goldmill in the first three “Rocky” films.

The thing I absolutely love about Creed is the undeniable fact that it is more than just a sports movie. It is a story about love, friendship, hard work, overcoming adversity, self actualization and pushing oneself to the limits in the face of a gaggle of challenges.

You don’t have to be a sports fan to enjoy this flick. I wouldn’t be surprised if “Creed II” happens sometime in the next few years. “Creed” was that darn good!

Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045; sscott@soundpublishing.com