MPAA Rating: PG-13/Genre: Sports Drama/Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Alex Henderson, Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors, Spence Moore II, Wood Harris, Florian Munteanu, Phylicia Rashad, Mila Davis-Kent, Tony Bellew, Selenis Leyva, Thaddeus J. Mixson, Canelo Álvarez/Runtime: 116 minutes
I think it can be safely said that for close to five solid decades, the iconic franchise that dealt with boxing legend Rocky Balboa was one that, surprise surprise, placed its focus on the titular character played phenomenally well to put it mildly (and Rocky V aside) by Sylvester Stallone. Heck even when the series decided to switch its focus from Rocky to Donnie Creed, the son of Rocky’s old foe turned dear friend Apollo Creed, in the phenomenal 2015 slice of cinema Creed we saw that Rocky still found a way to be a significant part of the proceedings. Yet whilst this definitely made sense in the overall plot of the movie, to say nothing of the fact that it gave Stallone the chance to remind people that he can be a genuinely powerful performer with the right material, it did also present a bit of a problem come the time Creed II came out in 2018. Not because Stallone was phoning it in, far from it actually, with his performance. Rather, it was because if this newly, at the time, christened franchise was one that was supposed to deal with the ideas of both legacy as well as coming forth from someone’s shadow in order to be your own person then it might be time for Rocky to *finally* go off into the sunset in order to let Donnie truly make his own distinct mark on this franchise. Thankfully we see that with the release of Creed III that is exactly what we have gotten. With that in mind though, I must confess that even though this slice of cinema’s narrative finally lets its titular hero shine all on his own it was a bit worrisome on the part of this reviewer when it was revealed that the narrative would revolve around how the past can come back in ways we might not be expecting. On top of that, it was also announced that Michael B. Jordan was deciding to make this film his directorial debut which can be quite the daunting task when coupled with acting in the lead role. However, although those might be ingredients which could see quite the significant red flag or alarm to be raised, I can now proudly tell you that there is nothing to fear here. To be sure, it might not veer too far from the well-worn path that this franchise has traversed for the longest time, but at the end of the day Creed III still packs quite a punch thanks to the work done by its fantastic cast and crew on both sides of the camera and as such is able to emerge as a truly intriguing and well-done entry in this genuinely legendary saga.
The plot is as follows: the story for Creed III gets underway in a way you might not be anticipating. That being in the form of a flashback to when our intrepid hero was a boy so we can witness a key moment that changed his life, as well as that of another young man by the name of Damian “Dame” Anderson’s, forever. From there though, the film moves ahead and shows us that, in the aftermath of a heavyweight championship fight in which he emerged triumphant, our hero Donnie has decided on a rather unique path for his life. Namely retirement. Indeed not only has he made the choice to leave the ring behind so he can concentrate his efforts on molding the next crop so to speak of genuinely great boxers out of his gym in L.A., but he also has found happiness and satisfaction in his personal life with loving wife Bianca and daughter Amara by his side. Suffice it to say therefore that, after all that he has been through, it looks like our hard-hitting hero has at long last found the peace he fought so hard to acquire in the previous two films. That is until a chance encounter brings the now-adult Damian crashlanding back into his life like a boxing glove straight to the face. It seems that growing up Damian and Donnie were inseparable to such an extent that Donnie actually helped Damian become a young boxing prodigy who seemed destined for genuine greatness in the sport. Unfortunately, for Damian fate had other plans which saw him get sent off to prison for about 18 years for…..reasons (you didn’t actually think I’d tell you that did you?). Thus we see that, in the aftermath of his release, he has tracked his “little brother” down in order to let him know he still very much would like to accomplish his lifelong goal of being the heavyweight champion of the world and could use some help. We soon see that our very much retired hero consents to his old friend train at his gym in order to do so with the caveat being that he makes Damian very much aware about how at his age the odds of accomplishing this aren’t entirely in his corner. Unfortunately, we see that Donnie has made one little mistake here. Namely that he has kind of overlooked the lengths Damian is willing to go to make this dream come true and it isn’t long before Damian starts to show another less pleasant side to himself. One that makes Donnie realize that if he wants to truly make peace with the past then he will have to put on the gloves one more time in order to square off against his former friend…..
Now I’m not going to lie to you dear reader: if any of you happen to be even a casual lover of the Rocky franchise as a whole then the above plot synopsis should be on the same level of familiarity as the song Eye of the Tiger or a boxer jogging the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Indeed, from a narrative structure, I can honestly say that this slice of cinema doesn’t exactly do a whole lot to distinguish itself from the other entries in this franchise. With that being said though, this is a film that doesn’t exactly require that in order to be a genuinely great movie. Indeed this is because Jordan’s deep comprehension for the blueprint that has managed to make this franchise the success story that it is actually winds up being one of the best positives that this slice of cinema has going for it. After all, in order to genuinely bring something novel to a franchise that is now a solid 9 movies in, as of this film and counting the original Rocky, you have to understand and know what has worked in the previous installments if you want to provide the audience with something new to go along with it. Thankfully for all of us, the character of Donnie Creed and the iconic franchise that he is a part of happen to be elements that Michael B. Jordan has a love and passion for and it definitely shows here. As a result, this (obviously) translates to showcasing for us some phenomenal training montages with a truly engaging soundtrack playing in the background. At the same time though, it also means we as movie goers are going to get to witness this franchise grow a bit in a variety of ways that are actually comprehensible rather than Rocky V levels of ludicrous. Indeed it’s an ingenious choice to make as a first-time director, but one that pays off wonderfully. With that in mind though, I think one of if not the most iconic part of the work behind the camera that fans of this series remember is the work done in terms of the fight choreography. To be sure how the camera works in tandem with the fisticuffs on screen has altered through the course of the franchise, but the one constant to the more iconic fights is that they prove to be visceral and riveting to say nothing of impactful on an emotional level to the characters and the narrative. Suffice it to say that is definitely the case here since this film lacks Rocky providing Donnie with strategy between rounds to say nothing of making the stakes of the fight clear to both him and us as movie goers, Jordan has to find a way to make the fights here his own which he does by showcasing these for us with some truly jaw-dropping visual work instead. Nowhere is this more present than in the riveting climatic bout between Donnie and Dame. A fight incidentally that is constructed on a ring made up of equal parts closed-off emotion, fury, regret, and the feeling that what needs to be dealt with is something only they can do. To be sure he may go a bit too far at points, but there is no denying that what Jordan doesn’t hold back with this bout. Indeed, it’s a very intriguing and novel energy for this franchise and one that definitely is on par with the cast of characters and the story being told in this. Suffice it to say then that, in terms of behind the camera work, I think it can be said that if Michael B. Jordan continues to bring this level of passion and enthusiasm to any future directorial efforts that he wishes to take on then I think we could be seeing the birth of a truly iconic helmer with this movie dear reader I really do.
Of course, as with the prior 2 entries, the other big element that helps this slice of cinema soar on the level that it is ultimately able to do would have to be the powerhouse work done by the cast of players in front of the camera as well. This starts once more with the returning Michael B. Jordan who in the role of Donnie this time around gives him both the usual things we have come to expect from the character especially during the fight scenes where Jordan shows he is still quite the physical force to be reckoned with. Having said that, we also see that in this installment Jordan also does a brilliant job of providing the character with significantly more of an emotional arc as well due to not only getting to see more of him just spending time with his family, but especially in his being forced to deal with this ghost from his past that has returned to both haunt him as well as also act as a glaring rebuttal to all that he has managed to build for himself in his life. Suffice it to say that, as the Creed movies have gone along, Jordan has managed to grow into this character so well that it has always been a genuine joy to see him play the part due to both his crystal-clear love for the character as well as the distinct set of nuances he brings to the table each time and that is definitely the case here too. We also get fantastic return work here from Tessa Thompson who continues to shine in the role of Bianca, Wood Harris whose charisma is on full display as “Little Duke” Evers, and Phylicia Rashad whose riveting reprisal of Donnie’s loving stepmom Mary Anne will most assuredly leave you holding back tears due to certain reveals that are better off not putting here. Without a doubt in my mind though, the work from a performer in front of the camera that is going to have everyone talking is the work done by none other than Jonathan Majors in the role of Damian. Indeed not only does Majors nail (and then some) the physicality that is required for the part, but in terms of acting ability this is a man who has been blessed with being easily the most intriguing person on screen no matter who he is surrounded by and that is definitely the case here too. Yes, much like Donnie, the character of Damian is also quite calm and composed on the outside. However, when you really look into this guy’s eyes you can easily see that there is a roaring fury and jealousy there just waiting for the right chance to come out and when it does it absolutely floors you and then some. Yet although Damian is not exactly a character you will find yourself able to respect 120% due to how he conducts himself as both a fighter and as a person in general, you nevertheless will also find yourself still giving him a fair bit of your collective empathy as the movie goes on and slowly but surely reveals his entire backstory with the main character. Suffice it to say that no how the story between Donnie and Damian chooses to wrap up might not work on the level that it could have, but Majors’ immense talent for switching being a genuinely good of heart old friend and a sinister new opponent not only makes this role a scene stealer, but easily one of the best antagonists that this franchise has ever had.
All in all when movie goers first got to meet the character of Donnie, we were being introduced to a bitter and angry young man who felt like his only purpose in life was to fight since growing up that’s all he had ever known. Now going on three years shy of a decade on from that moment, we are getting to spend time with a matured in many respects adult who knows in his heart that fighting is not all he has to give the world anymore and it really says something about the odyssey we have been on with Donnie, and the Rocky/Creed franchise in general, that there is now significantly more emotion and potency to a scene where a pair of guys speak to each other in a locker room than in a well shot fight between a Russian superhuman or worse yet Mr. T. Thus while I am aware of this franchise’s hidden talent for giving us sequels that we didn’t see coming from a mile away, there is good and bad news to be found with this slice of cinema. The good news is that, if the forces that be in the land of movie magic permitted it, this could prove to be quite the enjoyable resolution to Donnie’s narrative. The bad news is that those same forces could also decide to make this franchise overstay its welcome and as a result give us a Creed V where he gets in a street fight and is suffering from a form of brain damage (or something to that effect). However you choose to look at it though, there is no denying that Creed III truly is an unmitigated success. Indeed here is a slice of cinema that pays tribute to what came before through the act of looking ahead to what could be whilst also gifting its lead actor/helmer the chance to show what he can do in both roles. A quasi-sorta creative gamble that pays off wonderfully. Yes the character of Donnie might be doing everything in his power in this film to avoid what happened in the past, but there is no denying that the man bringing him to life has used the past in this to help set up a truly exciting possible future. Suffice it to say then that this film might have a few issues here and there, but through Jordan’s work in the lead role and in the director’s chair to say nothing of the phenomenal work done by the rest of the equally as talented cast and crew they have all managed to help take this series another step forward and help it grow more or less in the same way that the very first Creed did for the Rocky franchise 8 years ago. On a scale of 1-5 I give Creed III a solid 4 out of 5.
