Is this "Rocky XVII?" In this above-average one, former Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa reluctantly becomes a mentor and trainer for Adonis Johnson, who just happens to be the illegitimate son of his old arch rival and beloved friend, the late Apollo Creed.

Writer/Director Ryan Coogler ("Fruitvale Station") working with Aaron Covington and Sylvester Stallone, bring us another underdog story that seems familiar....just a tweak here and there to keep it interesting.

The cast:

• * Michael B. Jordan ("Fantastic Four") is Adonis Johnson, a would-be pugilist, trying to avoid being saddled with a legendary father's name. He wants to succeed on his own, even though the name "Creed" on the bill would guarantee phenomenal ticket sales.
• * Sylvester Stallone ("The Expendables") is Rocky Balboa, retired from the ring and running "Adrien's," an Italian restaurant. He hasn't been in a gym for years and it shows. He often visits Adrien's grave, lugs out a chair, reads a newspaper and chats with her.
• * Phylicia Rashad (Lots of TV) is Mary Anne Creed, Apollo's widow, who took in a hot-headed unhappy boy and gave him the education and advantages that his father's success made possible.
• * Tessa Thompson ("Selma") is Bianca, a hearing-impaired singer who lives upstairs from our hero. When he pounds on her locked apartment door, she takes out her hearing aids!

With a Stallone movie, predictability is a given. I think that contributes to his phenomenal success. People settle into their theater seats, knowing he will divert and entertain them while he crafts another unusual happy ending.

Personally, I look away during the boxing scenes, but find the generation gaps fun: Adonis takes a picture of something Rocky is holding. When he asks if his protégé wants it, Adonis pats his cell phone and says, "No thanks, it's in The Cloud," and Rocky looks up at the sky... Adonis won't fight unless Rocky fights, and it's NOT what you think! This is PG-13, so expect very little profanity, no gunfire, no vehicular mayhem or blowie uppie stuff, and no sweaty bodies (although a liaison is implied). On the other hand, expect LOTS of blood in the boxing ring. Ugh...