When it comes to the Rocky franchise, the one name synonymous with the series of films is Sylvester Stallone. This is the fist film in the franchise that doesn’t feature him as the titular character. Since the Creed series has begun, he has served as the mentor (or the shadow) over Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed. With the third installment featuring Adonis, Michael B. Jordan steps behind the camera as director taking over for Ryan Coogler (who directed the first film and has made such films as Fruitvale Station, Black Panther) and Steven Caple Jr. (an up and coming director who has Transformers: Rise of the Beasts coming out soon). With his directorial debut, Michael B. Jordan removes any necessity for Stallone and allows Creed to stand on his own against his past sins, represented by the tenacious and fearless Jonathan Majors’ character Dame.
Giving away too much about movies that have just came out isn’t what interests the purpose of this review; it’s simply to confirm that this film is solid all the way around. There are a few gripes I had with the ending and how that was handled, but the fighting in the movie and the shot choices are incredible. It’s an action sports movie with all the necessities and builds on the character development of Adonis, his wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson, Thor: Ragnarok), and their young daughter (who honestly steals scenes with how adorable she is). It’s a family story that keeps you invested into the characters of this series. Everyone gets a chance to shine and I always love seeing Wood Harris in anything, but the real meat of the story comes with the arrival of Dame.
Jonathan Majors is popping off right now with multiple movies dropping: Devoution (which I thought was incredibly boring), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (which was horrible writing and a dull attempt to regain the prestige the MCU once had), and now Creed III. This is by far his best performance out of the three films. When it comes to his previous projects: The Harder They Fall, Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, and Lovecraft Country, he brought solid performances out with each one. Seeing him get the opportunity to be the “Heavy” in back to back movies is a dope experience and exciting to see him, as an actor, develop and grow. In regards to this performance specifically, he kills it. A subtle nuance to his portrayal of Dame makes him seem like he isn’t going to be that great of a “bad guy” until he speaks with Creed at a certain point in the movie and he says, “I don’t think you heard me…” that’s the moment you realize he’s bigger and badder than what he lets on. Dame is a character I would love to see in further installments, if they can find use for his character. He is definitely a standout which makes Michael B. Jordan work that much harder to standout with his performance, which he does as actor and director.
A fascinating directorial debut with great shots, writing, and performances top to bottom. The end and the training montage are the only two issues that popped up in the movie, but it’s so subjective that one person could hate it and another could love it. Overall the movie stands strong on its own and as a new starting point for the franchise. This film even solidifies Michael B. Jordan as a director and gives the impression that the franchise is in great hands if he continues to direct them (which he should takeover for the next 2 films following this one and complete a trilogy). There are plenty of fights and returning characters such as Drago’s son and Pretty Ricky Conlan. This is definitely a must see in a jam-packed month of movies coming out.
I will re-review this film once it’s available online along with reviews on the first two Creed films and the Rocky franchise. First impression: 8/10 and a great time at the cinema; see it in IMAX if at all possible because it was shot specifically with IMAX cameras. The experience is just that much better.