“Creed III” Review
Old friends Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) and Dame Anderson (Jonathan Majors) prepare to face off in “Creed III” in the ultimate grudge match.
When Michael B. Jordan was announced as the director for “Creed III,” it didn’t surprise me one bit. Not only does he, alongside Ryan Coogler, have the best understanding of the character, but the overall “Rocky” series has seen the leading actor also serve as the chief creative voice. Sylvester Stallone didn’t just star as Rocky Balboa for all these years. He was the screenwriter for all six of the original “Rocky” films, as well as the cowriter for “Creed II,” and directed “Rocky II,” “Rocky III,” “Rocky IV” and “Rocky Balboa.” As the director for “Creed III,” Michael B. Jordan amazed me with a film that was wildly entertaining and can be ranked alongside the first two “Rocky” films and “Creed.”
After ending his boxing career on top, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has become a stellar boxing coach while taking extensive time to be a family man with his wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson) and their daughter Amara (Mila Davis-Kent). However, everything changes when childhood friend Damian “Dame” Anderson (Jonathan Majors) gets released from prison and reconnects with Adonis. Wanting to help, Adonis helps Dame get immersed in the world of boxing, even giving him a shot at becoming a professional fighter. But when Dame shows that his intentions are more sinister and ruthless, Adonis must come out of retirement to fight his old friend in the only place that counts: the ring.
While I’m not much of a boxing fan, what I love about this series is that the motivations of these characters are more important than the fight. Why do these people box? Why do they subject themselves to this brutality? Michael B. Jordan understands that completely and crafts a story centered on a narrative as old as time: the conflict between brothers.
Despite being surrounded with so much wealth and opportunity, Adonis is still relatable with Michael B. Jordan giving a stunning performance. In this film, Adonis has everything he could want: a comfortable lifestyle, a meaningful profession as a trainer following a successful boxing career and a loving wife and daughter. But this also means that he has a lot more to defend and protect than he did in the first two films. When he’s challenged by Dame, Adonis is no longer fighting for himself, he’s fighting for the people around him.
“Creed III” also introduces something new to this series: a compelling villain. While the first two films has good antagonists for Adonis to fight, the first “Creed” was more about Adonis proving himself while “Creed II’s” conflict was tied into Rocky’s conflict with Ivan Drago from “Rocky IV.” Dame is directly connected to Adonis’ past and Jonathan Majors delivers a layered, passionate performance that is understandable in motivation.
After serving years in prison and feeling wronged by Adonis, Dame feels that he is deserving of a shot at professional boxing. After all, didn’t Rocky and Adonis both get those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities? But in Dame’s heart is a raw, untempered darkness that can cause harm. The climactic fight isn’t just about settling a score, it’s about stopping Dame before he does any more damage.
As a director, Michael B. Jordan makes a stellar debut with a unique vision for the series.
As for the fight sequences, they are some of the best I’ve ever seen in any “Rocky” or “Creed” film. With a mix of punchy quick-cutting and sweeping long-takes, Michael B. Jordan and cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau were able to craft intense battles in the ring while also not being afraid to experiment. “Creed III” does things with boxing that no other film in this series or even in this genre has tried before. Along with stellar editing by Tyler Nelson and Jessica Baclesse and adrenaline-pumping music by Joseph Shirley, these fight sequences will have you completely invested and on edge.
With the director’s clear love for anime on display, Jordan takes the ultimate fight, which occurs at the end of every boxing film, and breathes new life into it by implementing symbolic imagery and using visual effects to make the audience watching Adonis and Dame’s fight disappear. By doing this, “Creed III’s” final battle feels less like a spectacle and more like an intimate grudge match. Yet, it fits brilliantly alongside the franchise’s other iconic fights.
But it’s not just the action that is important to the story, it’s the drama that fuels it. When Dame arrives, it stirs a variety of emotions within Adonis including guilt over past events. But Adonis eventually talks about this with Bianca in one of the most vulnerable scenes in the film. When you care about the characters' relationships as much as you do about the outcome of a boxing match, that’s a good sign about the film’s quality and I’m glad action films have been going this direction for the past ten years or so.
If “Creed III” is any indication of this series’ future, I can’t wait for the next film in the series. It builds upon the first two films while also moving the series beyond the shadow of the six “Rocky” films. If it’s any measure of Michael B. Jordan as a director, I look forward to seeing what else this man has to offer.
