[Rating: Minor Rock Fist Up]
Boxing movies are so great. Even bad boxing movies are usually good movies. Creed III is the perfect example. While the final(?)installment in this new trilogy doesn’t live up to the greatness that’s come before it, it is able to stand alone with strong performances from the stellar cast. This is the Rocky V of the Creed franchise. And not in a bad way really. Obviously, this movie is a lot better than that dud, but it’s still probably the weakest of this new trilogy.
When the movie begins with our new hero, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) retiring from the boxing world as King of the World. We jump three years later and he’s promoting the next up-and-coming champion, while his wife, Bianca (Tessa Thompson), is also transitioning in her career to a producer, and together they are raising their deaf daughter, Amara (Mila Davis-Kent), who has her own sights set on getting into the ring someday and following in her family’s legacy and tradition. Mila delivers her touching performance all in sign language.
Everything is good until he runs into an old childhood buddy, Damian (Jonathan Majors), just recently released from prison, who wants to get back on track to being a heavyweight champion, an opportunity for a life he feels was stolen from him. And he expects Adonis to make it happen. It’s kind of like Rocky V. There Rock was retired, trained a white boy (Tommy Morrison was from KC by the way, respect) to become the new champ only for success to go to that new champ’s head, leading Rocky to beat Tommy’s ass in the streets of Philly to put him in his place.
Jonathan Majors can do no wrong right now, ladies and gentlemen. For the second time in less than a month, Majors shows up as a villain in the third act of a popular franchise trilogy and absolutely kills it. Once again the sum of Majors is better than the movie itself. Here he is a beast, but also brings a level of quiet, disarming but still charming intensity and is probably the best antagonist with the most character depth since Apollo Creed himself, even if some of his character development and arc don’t always connect at the dots.
Jordan delivers in his directorial debut, clearly taking good notes on past shoots with Ryan Coogler (director of the first Creed and acting as producer on II and III), as well as Stallone (absent here) — but as godfather of the Rocky franchise, he directed all of those movies — except Rocky V. Jordan gives a very disciplined performance as an actor. He and Majors are solid on screen together.
The fight scenes are tricky and unlike anything we’ve seen before in the Rocky/Creed saga. This is good and bad. Good because Jordan uses a lot of anime influence in the way he shoots the boxing matches, especially the very personal final fling in the ring between Creed and Dame. His use of zooms and slow-motion and isolation is refreshing. It’s the fighting styles that I had an issues with. As badass as Majors is, he comes off more like a street brawler than a boxer in the way he punches and holds his stance. It almost would have been better to have these two battle it out in the streets of Compton, ala Rocky vs. Tommy Gunn in, yes, Rocky V.
Okay, I’m done with Rocky V mentions.
Unfortunately, there is one missing ingredient that may have helped to deliver the emotional punch needed to push this one over the top. Sylvester Stallone is absent. Yeah, I know, it’s crazy. Stallone was relieved of participation duties early on in production due to some sort of combination of personal decision on Stallone’s part or creative differences with Jordan and Coogler about where the franchise is heading and the studio maybe telling Sly his services were no longer required. But, Rocky is missing. He didn’t need to be training Adonis, but there are a few plot developments where you think….”wouldn’t Balboa show up?”
As Rocky movies go, Creed III doesn’t quite live up to the expectations of its predecessors, but thanks to a stoic performance from Jordan, along with some very capable direction and another knockout performance from Majors, it slugs out enough of that winning formula to deliver a solid movie, one that fans of the Rocky/Creed franchises will enjoy, even if it’s not a TKO.
Lover of movies and tacos. Ad man. Author. Member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle and the Broadcast Film Critics Association. Founder of the Terror on the Plains Horror Festival. Creator and voice of the Reel Hooligans podcast.
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