* * * *

(Rocky saga continues)

It’s been 39 years since Sylvester Stallone played one of the most memorable movie characters in the history of great movies.

Well, Rocky Balboa is back, and you can forget all of the other Rocky movies in between that were a bit rocky, and go see “Creed.”

Michael B. Jordan plays Adonis Johnson, aka Creed, the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed, enemy then friend of Rocky. We learn a little about Creed’s past, picking up the story when he leaves L.A. and moves to Philadelphia to hook up with Rocky and benefit from his training.

At first Rocky wants no part of him, having retired from the boxing world and running his own restaurant, named after his deceased wife. When Adonis reveals who his father is, Rocky relents and the training begins.

There are only two major fight scenes in the movie: Creed’s first bloodbath in Mexico, and after a couple of hours, the BIG fight in front of a biased British crowd.

The majority of the story deals with the relationship between the old fighter and the up-and-coming one. It is a sensitive tale with a few funny quips from the mentor thrown in along the way.

Creed falls for a young singer in his apartment building who is going deaf (Tessa Thompson), making for an interesting sub-plot that will make this a date night movie.

No question that “Creed” is another in a long line of boxing movies. What separates it from the pack is that it has heart and good messages. When a medical condition slows Rocky down, the two men bond and their lives change.

Stallone acts his age, and he is very good at it.

This should be the last of the Rocky series, leaving us with a great ending, but may be the first in a line of Creed movies.

Rated PG-13, with boxing violence and profanity.