'Creed III' Review: Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors pack a punch in this wildly entertaining threequel
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: It was the end of an era when Sylvester Stallone’s ‘Rocky’ franchise ended in 2006 with ‘Rocky Balboa’ and everyone thought that they will never be able to see a franchise like that ever again. However, almost nine years later, Stallone brought the franchise back with a spin-off movie titled ‘Creed’ where an amateur boxer is trained and mentored by Rocky Balboa (Stallone). The movie turned out to be a massive success and Stallone was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actor category. The franchise continued with a sequel, ‘Creed II’, in 2018 and assured the fans that this universe has the potential to move forward. It’s 2023 now and the time has come for us to return to Adonis Creed’s world as he fights someone who was very close to his heart in ‘Creed III’.
When it was announced that Michael B. Jordan will be directing the third movie, people felt that it would be interesting to see if he is able to replicate the success of the previous two. However, some believed that the movie might not work. But ‘Creed III’ is a befitting reply to those who thought Jordan won’t be able to handle the pressure of doing two things at a time.
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So, the movie starts with a flashback sequence where we see a young version of Adonis Creed meeting his friend Dame Anderson and going to a club that organizes amateur boxing matches. While preparing, Adonis sees that Dame has a gun in his bag, but says nothing. The fight takes place and Dame defeats his opponent effortlessly. After winning the bout, they both go to the store and find something to eat. However, Adonis sees a man named Leon and starts beating him after asking if he remembers him or not. Things get really serious when two of Leon’s boys jump on Creed and Dame had to interfere. We never see what exactly happened at the time and we are taken back to Creed’s final fight in 2015 in which he won the heavyweight title. Creed has now become a father to a beautiful little girl who is deaf. Everything is running smoothly. Creed is mentoring the new champion Felix Chavez and is gearing up for an epic fight between Chavez and Drago. However, his childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Dame (Jonathan Majors), resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison and wants to prove his worth inside the boxing ring.
Brilliant writing elevates the movie to a new level
Now, we won’t explore the remaining storyline here because it will ruin the viewing experience, but whatever happens next will completely blow your mind. The best part of the movie is its writing and how Ryan Coogler and Keenan Coogler have made things a lot of personal this time around. It is an emotional tale of a person who has everything in his life, but there’s still unfinished business, and finds himself guilty of doing something that has been troubling him for many years. It’s not about a championship anymore and Creed has never found himself in such a situation. It’s all about redemption and people in the ring this time around are not fighting to satisfy their egos. They are fighting to bury a moment of their lives that changed everything. Kudos to the writing team for giving us a story that primarily focuses on a man who is now aging and being the father that he is expected to be. The relationship dynamics are brilliantly explored and viewers will be to connect with them.
Rivalry between Jordan and Majors is mind-boggling
When it comes to performances, Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors are just mind-blowing. It felt like they were meant to do these roles and there was nothing bad about them. Jordan is torn between his professional commitments and how he should help his friend to get what he wants. His character is written really well and Jordan is able to portray those emotions effortlessly. He is irreplaceable as Adonis Creed. Meanwhile, Majors seems to be the ‘next big guy’ of Hollywood. You can give him any role and he will give you a performance that will create a long-lasting impact on viewers. He seems to have taken some kind of training of being a bad guy in movies because he never misses his mark.
On the other hand, Tessa Thompson is just amazing as always. She owns every scene that she is in and conveys her emotions in the best way possible.
Jordan has made his directorial debut with ‘Creed III’ and has done a wonderful job. He understood the project and delivers a movie that doesn’t compromise at any level.
All in all, ‘Creed III’ packs a punch and is a solid entry in a franchise that just keeps on getting better with each installment. No Rocky? No problem.
**** stars for ‘Creed III’.