"Creed III" - Film Review
Michael B. Jordan comes out swinging with his directorial debut of Creed III. Jordan returns as Adonis Creed (Thaddeus J. Mixson plays fifteen-year-old Adonis). This version of Adonis is different from the one audiences have seen in previous movies. He’s a family man now, retired from boxing, and has settled down with Bianca (Tessa Thompson) and their daughter, Amara (Mila Davis-Kent). Adonis spends his days working with an up-and-coming boxer, Felix Chavez (Jose Benavidez), and maintaining the boxing gym he’s inherited.
The seemingly picture-perfect life Adonis has built comes crashing down when someone from his past returns, someone he once considered a brother, but who he fell out of contact with nearly two decades ago. Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors, Spence Moore II plays eighteen-year-old Damian) was a Golden Glove champion before he spent eighteen years in prison. The “why” of his prison sentence and how it relates to Adonis is the film’s main conflict.
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The Creed franchise may be named after Jordan’s character, the lead of all three movies of the trilogy, but Creed III is Majors’ film. Even though it’s only February, calling 2023 the year of Majors doesn’t feel hyperbolic. His earnest performance in 2019’s The Last Black Man in San Francisco was his breakout role, and in Creed III he offers a show-stopping performance that rips the rug out from under Adonis Creed. Jordan, in his third outing as Adonis, is self-assured, moving about the world of Creed with ease, but it’s Majors who electrifies the film and adds a real bite to the dynamic of Adonis and Damian.
As is the case with any movie in the Rocky and Rocky-adjacent franchise, there’s a training montage, but it’s no longer set to “Eye of the Tiger.” Creed III is no stranger to a workout montage. The film features quite a few with varying levels of necessity. The final training sequence is the best, and will be memorable for the sheer feats of athleticism on display. We all remember Rocky running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to show his emotional growth, but audiences will also remember Jordan pulling a plane behind him to demonstrate his immense physical strength.
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Those familiar with Jordan’s personal life are likely aware of his love of anime. Those unaware could probably come to the same conclusion based on the way he shot the boxing matches. He revels in the slow motion and the huge punches. One particular (literal) gut punch is almost visceral, as Jordan slows time down so the audience sees the sweat spray off of the boxer’s back. Jordan’s style in the boxing matches is a combination of anime and Guy Ritchie. It comes across a little abrasively in the first showdown, but evens out as the film progresses.
Outside the ring, there’s a heartfelt story about family, regret, and the blinding rage that revenge can cause. The script is fairly lean and doesn’t delve too deeply into any of these themes. A bullying subplot with Adonis and Bianca’s daughter is quickly disregarded, even though it perfectly mirrors Adonis’ difficulty in vocalizing his emotions. Creed III briefly touches on the fact that Adonis is past his prime and must reckon with the fact that he’s not as young as he once was. It’s a theme that falls a little flat, because Adonis is still fairly young, and younger than Damian. Audiences have only known Adonis for three films, so it’s harder to portray the heftiness of the passage of time. The first Creed film came out in 2015. Compared to the way that theme was used in Top Gun: Maverick last year (where there were thirty-six years between the two films), Creed III works better without trying to convey the burden of time. It’s a theme that was addressed in the previous Creed films with the inclusion of Rocky (Sylvester Stallone).
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Creed III is not a complete knockout, but certain moments are. There are gut punches and there are swings and misses. Above all, though, Creed III is an exciting directorial debut for Jordan and a pure, powerhouse showcase for Majors.
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