Creed III
Creed III
Starring Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors, Wood Harris
Directed by Michael B. Jordan
Starring Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors, Wood Harris
Directed by Michael B. Jordan
Being a director can't be an easy job, and tackling your first directing gig has to be something truly terrifying for a person - but when you add the fact that your first feature film directorial debut is the continuation of a nearly 50-year beloved franchise, the pressure is exponentially added. Throw in the fact that it's a franchise that you're the main star of, and it only compounds the pressure. Yet for Michael B. Jordan, the result is a great continuation of the Rocky/Creed film franchise, even if it misses a few punches along the way.
Adonis "Donnie" Creed (Michael B. Jordan) is living his fairy tale life. He's just retired from the world of boxing after his final win, and he's living in the lap of luxury with his music producer wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson) and their adorable young daughter Amara (Mila Davis-Kent). He's training new boxing talent at his gym with trainer Little Duke Evers (Wood Harris), and it seems that he's settling into retirement - until his former childhood friend Damian "Dame" Anderson (Jonathan Majors) arrives in town after being incarcerated for the last eighteen years after an event occurred during both their childhoods where Dame was imprisoned and Donnie ran off. At first it seems like Dame wants to make up for lost time, and Donnie invites him to the gym and eventually Donnie gets him into the ring to fight for the heavyweight championship. After fighting dirty, Dame wins, but then he reveals that he's out to destroy Donnie's life because he got to live the life Dame always wanted. Relentless in his pursuit, Donnie finally agrees to one last fight with his former best friend to settle once and for all who is the better boxer.
The "Rocky" and spinoff "Creed" franchise has been highly successful and highly acclaimed, for the most part (the less said about "Rocky V" the better), and it was only a matter of time before the "Creed" franchise suffered its first disastrous film: fortunately, that has yet to occur. While it's not as great as the other two films, it more than holds it own in the ring of public opinion, serving up everything you'd expect from the young franchise that started much like how "Creed III" arrived - with the lead actor serving as director as well. Just as Sylvester Stallone dominated the "Rocky" franchise both in front of and behind the camera, it's now Michael B. Jordan's turn, and he proves he has what it takes to go the distance.
The "Roed" franchise ("Rocky" and "Creed" put together because I'm too lazy to type them both out) is unique in that some films feature no bad guys, others do, and still others find former bad guys become good guys and friends of the protagonist. The most obvious example of this is the relationship between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed, even though Creed wasn't necessarily a bad guy, he served as an adversary to Rocky in the original film. Then through the subsequent sequels, the two became allies and even best friends, and after Apollo is killed in the ring, Rocky went on to avenge him, eventually in the years to follow agreeing to train Apollo's son Adonis to follow in his father's footsteps. Adonis himself went through this cycle as the second film found Adonis squaring off against the son of the man who killed his father, and in the end the two became allies and friends themselves.
Here, the roles have been reversed. Adonis is now facing off against Damian, but before then they were the best of friends. Could it be that these two former friends turned enemies can find their way back to each others' good graces? Seems doubtful, as Damian has held an eighteen year grudge against Adonis for stealing his life, in his own mind. Before he was arrested he had dreams of being the world heavyweight champion, and seeing Adonis accomplish this while he stewed in a prison cell (for a crime he did commit, albeit a crime that had sincere motives), he grew to resent his former friend and "brother." This fight is a deeply personal one for both men, and we get to see the effects it has on Adonis's psyche.
For Adonis, his past comes back to haunt him when Damian arrives, threatening the safety and security he spent years to achieve. He remembers his rough childhood and how he ran when Damian tried to protect him, and how he basically abandoned his former best friend in prison while he went on to achieve superstardom. You sense the inner turmoil through Michael B. Jordan's exemplary performance, and you see the toxic masculinity that beats against his more compassionate side when he refuses to open up even to his wife, instead keeping all his emotions locked inside as he attempts to make up for his past mistakes by catering to Damian's needs. Yet no amount of good deeds can atone for his sins in Damian's eyes, and Adonis must let go of the past and face what's to be in order to save both himself, and ultimately Damian, from his red-hot rage.
On the other side there's Jonathan Majors' Damian, and the film's fatal flaw is the fact that it doesn't really tell the story through Damian's eyes. While he is rightfully angry, we don't see the depth of the anger and we see him purely as an antagonist, a man who lies to Adonis at the start to get into his good graces before attempting to sweep the rug from under him. Damian's story seemed to be one ripe for a "Roed" movie - a man who is down on his luck coming out from prison doing his due sentence and wanting to make a name for himself and make up for lost time seems like something Rocky Balboa would've done, but here he's confined to the bad guy motif, and we don't see any depth of character from him. It's a shame that, once again in 2023, it seems that the full majesty of Jonathan Majors' performance is hindered by this fact. In February he debuted as Kang the Conqueror in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," and it seemed that then too there was more to Kang than what was being told, just as there's more to Damian's story than what we saw. Still, Majors commands the screen with his expressive facial expressions and imposing frame.
Of course it wouldn't be a "Roed" movie without boxing, and "Creed III" is no different. There's two epic boxing matches, one in the middle and one in the end, and once again they're shot with this personal feel that has you in the middle of the ring with the boxers, experiencing every punch, connection, and knockout with a very visceral feel. Yet even here Jordan ups the ante with the fight between Adonis and Damian in a way that has to be seen to be fully appreciated, but it's done in a way that showcases how deeply personal and emotional that fight is.
Apart from the theme of revenge, there's an underlying theme that affects all the characters, and that's the theme of dreams unfulfilled. While Adonis retired at the height of his career, you can sense there's an unease in his soul about turning in his boxing gloves, as he itches for the return to the ring, even though everyone else tells him he's too old (at only 36, it's a hard pill to swallow for someone like myself, at 42, which is pretty much an old relic in comparison). For Tessa Thompson's Bianca, it's struggling with her desire to be on stage performing her own songs, but due to her hearing loss she's unable to do so, instead living vicariously through younger singers who sing her songs. For Damian, it's attempting to achieve his dreams after them being denied for the last eighteen years, as well as he himself dealing with the issue of ageism (humorously, there's numerous comparisons to him being older than Adonis, yet Majors is only 33, compared to Jordan's 36). Even Adonis's mother Mary-Anne (played with pitch perfection by the amazing Phylicia Rashad) struggles with her health issues that threatens to force her to give up on her independence. It's a deep narrative that weaves itself through the film, and leaves a lasting impact on everyone involved.
The Score: A
Adonis "Donnie" Creed (Michael B. Jordan) is living his fairy tale life. He's just retired from the world of boxing after his final win, and he's living in the lap of luxury with his music producer wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson) and their adorable young daughter Amara (Mila Davis-Kent). He's training new boxing talent at his gym with trainer Little Duke Evers (Wood Harris), and it seems that he's settling into retirement - until his former childhood friend Damian "Dame" Anderson (Jonathan Majors) arrives in town after being incarcerated for the last eighteen years after an event occurred during both their childhoods where Dame was imprisoned and Donnie ran off. At first it seems like Dame wants to make up for lost time, and Donnie invites him to the gym and eventually Donnie gets him into the ring to fight for the heavyweight championship. After fighting dirty, Dame wins, but then he reveals that he's out to destroy Donnie's life because he got to live the life Dame always wanted. Relentless in his pursuit, Donnie finally agrees to one last fight with his former best friend to settle once and for all who is the better boxer.
The "Rocky" and spinoff "Creed" franchise has been highly successful and highly acclaimed, for the most part (the less said about "Rocky V" the better), and it was only a matter of time before the "Creed" franchise suffered its first disastrous film: fortunately, that has yet to occur. While it's not as great as the other two films, it more than holds it own in the ring of public opinion, serving up everything you'd expect from the young franchise that started much like how "Creed III" arrived - with the lead actor serving as director as well. Just as Sylvester Stallone dominated the "Rocky" franchise both in front of and behind the camera, it's now Michael B. Jordan's turn, and he proves he has what it takes to go the distance.
The "Roed" franchise ("Rocky" and "Creed" put together because I'm too lazy to type them both out) is unique in that some films feature no bad guys, others do, and still others find former bad guys become good guys and friends of the protagonist. The most obvious example of this is the relationship between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed, even though Creed wasn't necessarily a bad guy, he served as an adversary to Rocky in the original film. Then through the subsequent sequels, the two became allies and even best friends, and after Apollo is killed in the ring, Rocky went on to avenge him, eventually in the years to follow agreeing to train Apollo's son Adonis to follow in his father's footsteps. Adonis himself went through this cycle as the second film found Adonis squaring off against the son of the man who killed his father, and in the end the two became allies and friends themselves.
Here, the roles have been reversed. Adonis is now facing off against Damian, but before then they were the best of friends. Could it be that these two former friends turned enemies can find their way back to each others' good graces? Seems doubtful, as Damian has held an eighteen year grudge against Adonis for stealing his life, in his own mind. Before he was arrested he had dreams of being the world heavyweight champion, and seeing Adonis accomplish this while he stewed in a prison cell (for a crime he did commit, albeit a crime that had sincere motives), he grew to resent his former friend and "brother." This fight is a deeply personal one for both men, and we get to see the effects it has on Adonis's psyche.
For Adonis, his past comes back to haunt him when Damian arrives, threatening the safety and security he spent years to achieve. He remembers his rough childhood and how he ran when Damian tried to protect him, and how he basically abandoned his former best friend in prison while he went on to achieve superstardom. You sense the inner turmoil through Michael B. Jordan's exemplary performance, and you see the toxic masculinity that beats against his more compassionate side when he refuses to open up even to his wife, instead keeping all his emotions locked inside as he attempts to make up for his past mistakes by catering to Damian's needs. Yet no amount of good deeds can atone for his sins in Damian's eyes, and Adonis must let go of the past and face what's to be in order to save both himself, and ultimately Damian, from his red-hot rage.
On the other side there's Jonathan Majors' Damian, and the film's fatal flaw is the fact that it doesn't really tell the story through Damian's eyes. While he is rightfully angry, we don't see the depth of the anger and we see him purely as an antagonist, a man who lies to Adonis at the start to get into his good graces before attempting to sweep the rug from under him. Damian's story seemed to be one ripe for a "Roed" movie - a man who is down on his luck coming out from prison doing his due sentence and wanting to make a name for himself and make up for lost time seems like something Rocky Balboa would've done, but here he's confined to the bad guy motif, and we don't see any depth of character from him. It's a shame that, once again in 2023, it seems that the full majesty of Jonathan Majors' performance is hindered by this fact. In February he debuted as Kang the Conqueror in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," and it seemed that then too there was more to Kang than what was being told, just as there's more to Damian's story than what we saw. Still, Majors commands the screen with his expressive facial expressions and imposing frame.
Of course it wouldn't be a "Roed" movie without boxing, and "Creed III" is no different. There's two epic boxing matches, one in the middle and one in the end, and once again they're shot with this personal feel that has you in the middle of the ring with the boxers, experiencing every punch, connection, and knockout with a very visceral feel. Yet even here Jordan ups the ante with the fight between Adonis and Damian in a way that has to be seen to be fully appreciated, but it's done in a way that showcases how deeply personal and emotional that fight is.
Apart from the theme of revenge, there's an underlying theme that affects all the characters, and that's the theme of dreams unfulfilled. While Adonis retired at the height of his career, you can sense there's an unease in his soul about turning in his boxing gloves, as he itches for the return to the ring, even though everyone else tells him he's too old (at only 36, it's a hard pill to swallow for someone like myself, at 42, which is pretty much an old relic in comparison). For Tessa Thompson's Bianca, it's struggling with her desire to be on stage performing her own songs, but due to her hearing loss she's unable to do so, instead living vicariously through younger singers who sing her songs. For Damian, it's attempting to achieve his dreams after them being denied for the last eighteen years, as well as he himself dealing with the issue of ageism (humorously, there's numerous comparisons to him being older than Adonis, yet Majors is only 33, compared to Jordan's 36). Even Adonis's mother Mary-Anne (played with pitch perfection by the amazing Phylicia Rashad) struggles with her health issues that threatens to force her to give up on her independence. It's a deep narrative that weaves itself through the film, and leaves a lasting impact on everyone involved.
The Score: A
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