Dragon Ball Z nod in 'Creed III' climactic fight scene is nothing short of sweet surprise for anime fans
Mild spoilers ahead for 'Creed III'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Creed III' is finally out and fans are celebrating the new instalment of the iconic franchise. A direct sequel to 'Creed II', 'Creed III' sets up an unexpected brutal battle between Adonis Creed and his childhood friend and former boxing prodigy Damian Anderson. And the premise itself sets up for some of the most intense bouts and the movie does not disappoint. 'Creed III' is already knocking out huge box office collections. Although the bigshot of the franchise 'Rocky', Sylvester Stallone, was absent from the film, 'Creed III' had another iconic surprise moment in store for the fans.
'Creed III' sees the directorial debut of Michael B Jordan and it has a stellar cast, with most reprising their roles. It is well known by now that Jonathan Majors has joined the 'Creed' franchise as Damian Anderson. Apart from Majors, the cast of 'Creed III' includes Michael B Jordan as Adonis Creed, Tessa Thompson as Bianca Creed, Phylicia Rashad as Mary-Anne Creed and Wood Harris as Tony 'Little Duke' Burton. The movie also stars Mila Davis-Kent as Amara Creed, Jose Benavidez as Felix Chavez, Selenis Leyva as Laura Chavez, Florian Munteanu as Viktor Drago, Jacob 'Stitch' Duran as Stitch, Terence Crawford as Lorenzo 'Nightmare' Jones, Bobby Hernandez as Conlan's trainer and Yahya McClain as Damian's trainer.
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Dragon Ball Z inspired fight scenes in 'Creed III'
It has already been confirmed by director Michael B Jordan that the fight sequences from the film have been inspired by the fight scenes of anime. And these minute references are seen throughout the film. But the real iconic moment comes during the capstone fight at the climax of the film between Adonis and Dame. As the biggest showdown of the movie comes, fans of Dragon Ball Z are given a sweet nod to their iconic anime. When Adonis and Dame face off, the intensity builds as the voices behind them fade, giving the sounds of the punches as the only available noise. The past and present of both the boxers are shown simultaneously in a way that increases curiosity. The iconic shots in this scene including the extreme close-ups of the eyes, and the speed shift of the scene are more than similar to the fight sequence between Goku and Frieza while Namek explodes around them in the Dragon Ball Z. When Adonis and Dame both land punches on one another simultaneously, it is hard not to look at it and see the inspiration from Dragon Ball Z, though Jordan has confirmed that the particular shot was inspired from another iconic anime, Naruto. However, these unexpected nostalgic shots have nothing but elevated the climactic showdown of the movie.
Heartbeat of 'Creed III'
The plot of 'Creed III' is fairly predictable. The movie has all the essential elements needed for a boxing movie. From fighting montages to family emotions, measured in careful amounts. The only X-factor that makes the 'Creed' movies stand out is the way the fight scenes are choreographed and presented. As there are several movies that come out each year with fight scenes, only a few movies stand the test of time, due to their novel approaches to the making. Tom Cruise's 'Mission Impossible' franchise is one of the best examples of this instance. Although the fight sequence from 'Creed III' has purposely taken inspiration from popular animes, the movie has managed to present the finest echoing of the battle between two of the strongest contenders in a perfect way. The fight scenes along with the unmatchable performances from the lead actors of the movie and the perfect direction make the movie a perfect winner.
'Creed III' is currently running in theatres near you.