After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has been thriving in both his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian (Jonathan Majors), resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damian – a fighter who has nothing to lose.
What We Thought:
Creed III is perfectly fine and serviceable. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but by the end will be a crowd pleaser. Despite its flaws, it’s a nice directorial debut for Michael B. Jordan. You won’t confuse him for Ryan Coogler yet, but MBJ will definitely be directing more films in the future.
I’ll go over the negatives first which not everyone will consider negatives. I’m not a huge fan of slow-motion when it comes to action. There are some slow-motion boxing sequences that actually took me out of the film which is the exact opposite of their intent. The slow-motion is supposed to show the impact each punch is making, but for me I’d rather have a normal hit with the reaction from the other fighter. It’s more of a personal preference I guess because some people like it.
There are also some shots in the final fight that seem way too heavy handed visually. I understand what they are supposed to represent between the two fighters and each man’s past, but again for me, it takes me out of the moment. I love boxing/MMA so I just want the fights and action. I didn’t need the visual effects because I was into the movie and understood where each man was coming from and what that fight represented for them.
There are a couple of other errors and issues others won’t even know about. Early in the film when both leads are kids, one gives the other a ticket stub to a famous fight. That’s cool, but the ticket stub is professionally graded in a plastic protector by PSA. If you know collectibles, you know PSA or at least graded collectibles. Well the scene takes place in 2002 and it’s possible PSA could have graded it then (they were established in 1991), but the odds of that are slim. On top of that, the ticket stub is shown later in the movie as just a stub and not in plastic. If I lost you in this paragraph it won’t even phase you in the movie. I also won’t get into the weight differential between the boxers that much. I’ll just say that the first fight wouldn’t happen in real life because of the weight difference nor would it have been a sanctioned title fight. But like the ticket stub issue, the average person won’t know the difference.
It sounds like I’m killing Creed III, but I’m really not. Those are issues I have with it, but overall it’s very watchable. The first film is still the clear cut best, but just like the Rocky franchise, the sequels are at least good. MBJ and Jonathan Majors are two men in incredible shape who very much look their roles. Both do their characters justice and the young actress playing Jordan and Tessa Thompson’s daughter is adorable and a scene stealer. Regular movie going audiences will be cheering by the end and that’s the point of these films even if you know what the ending will be.
Recommended If You Like:
- The Creed Franchise
- The Rocky Franchise
- Boxing Movies
Directed by: Michael B. Jordan
Screenplay by: Keenan Coogler & Zach Baylin
Story by: Ryan Coogler and Keenan Coogler & Zach Baylin
Produced by: Irwin Winkler, p.g.a., Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, Ryan Coogler, p.g.a., Michael B. Jordan, p.g.a., Elizabeth Raposo, p.g.a., Jonathan Glickman, Sylvester Stallone
Executive Producers: Sev Ohanian, Zinzi Coogler, Nicolas Stern, Adam Rosenberg
Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors, Wood Harris, Mila Davis-Kent, Florian Munteanu, and Phylicia Rashad
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG-13 for intense sports action, violence and some strong language
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The Nerds Templar 