‘Creed III’ Review
via Warner Bros.
Michael B. Jordan makes his directorial debut with this week's Creed III, and I'm gonna make a bold claim and say it is easily the second-best entry in the entire Rocky franchise behind 1976's Rocky. If you didn't know, Rocky took home the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1977 nominated alongside some serious competition beating out the likes of Taxi Driver, All The President's Men, and Network (all three are some old-school bangers btw). Without further ado, let's get into the spoiler-free review of Creed III.
via Warner Bros. Pictures
The film picks up about 7 years after Creed II, and we see both Adonis “Donnie” Creed (Michael B. Jordan) & wife Bianca Taylor (Tessa Thompson) reaping the fruits of their labor. The house in the hills is absolutely insane, Bianca has multiple platinum-selling records under her belt, Donnie announces his retirement from boxing with a record of 27-1 & the couple share a beautiful daughter by the name of Amina (Mila Davis-Kent) who we saw was born deaf in Creed II. Davis-Kent is a deaf actress, which led to some cool integration of ASL in the movie when called for and overall great representation for the community.
Donnie is running Delphi Boxing Academy with Little Duke (Wood Harris) and the two are readying a fight between their student Felix "El Guerrero" Chavez (José Benavidez Jr.) and Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu). Things get shaky when Donnie reunites with his childhood friend, Damian “Dame” Anderson (Jonathan Majors). After serving 18 years in prison, Dame schemes his way into the boxing world and challenges Donnie to a fight neither of them will forget.
via Warner Bros. Pictures
The movie opens with a flashback of young Donnie (Thaddeus J. Mixon) and young Dame (Spencer Moore II), establishing their relationship and why Dame feels entitled to what Donnie has attained in his career. Throughout the movie we continue to get some dope flashback scenes further establishing the parallels between the two characters taking us down Donnie's darker history that he so desperately has been running from; this was a great use of the two young actors and they make a final appearance in a crucial scene during the 3rd act which was well done.
Creed III is the first sports movie to be shot on IMAX cameras, and it pays off tremendously. If you can, be sure to watch this in theaters and on IMAX. Michael B. Jordan raves about his excitement about using this technology and how he hopes it'll impact the viewers when they see the movie. Another first in the Rocky franchise, this is the only installment that doesn't feature Sylvester Stallone's, Rocky Balboa. In an interview with THR, Stallone said he didn't like the "darker" tone the film adapted & noted that he prefers his movies to have more of a sentimental feel to them. Stallone said it's just a little too n*ggery for me, idk. I'm kidding, I’m kidding! But in all seriousness, you can see what he means and to be frank the movie wouldn't have worked as well as it did with the feel-good direction he wanted it to go in. Additionally, with Rocky in his corner, we kept getting subtle reminders that the titular character is still somewhat of an amateur; Stallone's absence allows Donnie to really flex his experience as a fighter which is an important part of the movie's story.
via Variety
Conversations have been had about Jordan's acting not being the best and I'm here to tell you, he heard yall talking about him and brought his A-game in this movie. My boy said not only is he an established actor, but he ain't corny either hahaha. I don't know if it was him being in the director's seat this time, or rivaling one of today's greatest actors on-screen, but this is by far the best performance I've seen from MBJ to date. Jonathan Majors, as we all know, comes to work every day, and it showed in this role as expected. I found myself waiting for Majors's big villain reveal and then suddenly I began to see the seeds that were planted in the first act come to fruition. Majors will go down as one of, if not the best villain in the Rocky franchise.
Again, I highly recommend you see this movie in IMAX to get the full effect of it. Every scene shows precise attention to detail which is a credit to Jordan's directing and the work of cinematographer, Kramer Morgenthau (Creed II, Thor: Dark World). Jordan has said many times how big of an anime fan he is and how much his love for the genre has influenced Creed III. To help prep Majors's portrayal MBJ showed him a few scenes to help drive home the complexity of the characters' relationship and rivalry. There are a couple of moments during the big fight at the end that I can tell were inspired by some iconic Dragon Ball Z & Naruto moments and it is one of the best fight sequences I've seen on the big screen.
“We really wanted to make it feel like you’re in the ring with these guys — to see every bead of sweat and every impact. To hear the sounds of the footsteps and punches. It’s an incredible way to really immerse yourself into Adonis’ world.”
Michael B. Jordan with MovieMaker Magazine
via MGM
I have very few issues with this movie, but there are some to note. Tessa Thompson's character doesn't serve too much of a purpose in this installment and unfortunately, her acting was not on par with Jordan's. A tragic subplot that could've added more depth to this film felt rushed & underplayed, and the movie makes it painfully obvious that they're planning for future movies. I prefer a story to work as a stand-alone without overplaying the potential of a sequel. This brings about a rare occurrence where a 2-hour movie could've benefited from an extra 20 minutes of run-time. However, recurring themes of settling into your own manhood, running from your past, and suffering from success balance the story out.
Extraordinary cinematography, an impressive script penned by Zach Baylin (King Richard) and Ryan Coogler's brother, Keenan Coogler (Space Jam: A New Legacy) paired with some outstanding choices by way of Michael B. Jordan's direction give this movie a much-needed edge after the lukewarm Creed II; Michael B. Jordan was deep in his bag on-screen and behind the camera. Creed III breathed fresh life into the franchise, set its sights on something new and exciting while sticking true to its roots, and delivered on all fronts. Adonis Creed is no longer fighting the shadow of Rocky & his father’s legacy, he’s boxing the demons within himself & he’s winning. I’m giving it an 8/10.
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