Creed III

Creed III (2023)
Directed by: Michael B. Jordan
Written by: Keenan Coogler, Ryan Coogler, Zach Baylin
Starring: Jonathan Majors, Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson

After a five-year hiatus “baby” Creed is back. Marking the directorial debut of its star, Michael B. Jordan, this sequel takes the series in a darker, more dramatic direction than before. At face value everything is swell for our hero Adonis “Donnie” Creed. Now the greatest of all time, he’s in his Rocky IV phase of living high with his family, thankfully minus the robot, in a big mansion on Hollywood Hills. However, like his previous trainer, he’s bored, looking for something to occupy him now he’s thrown in the towel. Enter Damien “Dame” Anderson: a former friend, and punching prodigy, sent to jail after he tried to save Donnie’s ass when they were kids. Now back on the street, Dame figures Adonis owes him a shot at the title. At first, he refuses, saying a nobody can’t go up against the champ (the irony is pointed out). But after the number one contender, Drago Jnr., breaks his hand, someone has to step in.

From this blurb, you can probably work out the remaining plot beats that eventually culminate in Adonis coming out of retirement, as his mentor did multiple times, to duke it out with Dame. This is hardly a spoiler. Heck, both the poster and the trailer show the moment Creed steps back into the ring. At this stage in the series, it’s as inevitable as a training montage (we got a great one here). Yet while the film is formulaic, which most others in this universe are too, it has by far the most satisfying human drama of the trilogy. Much of this is thanks to the chemistry between Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors. Both actors are playing parts that could feel archetypical, particularly when we have reached the ninth entry in a franchise (it is worth mentioning Ryan Coogler, who has a writing credit, arrived at this exact problem in Wakanda Forever). Thankfully they rise to the challenge and find something relatable in the material. In this case, a series that has always been about looking backward focuses on the hardships of moving on.

I didn’t find Adonis a particularly interesting character the first time around – a prototypical underdog who made me nostalgic for the original rather than invested in him. Nevertheless I warmed to him in the second when Jordan leaned more into his vulnerability. Rather than being there for the Italian Stallion to fight through him vicariously, he was a protagonist in his own right. This time around, he’s even better, with Jordan making it about his legacy rather than Rocky’s. You’d think the introduction of a new part in Adonis’ biography, that’d until now never been mentioned despite being vital to making him who he is, would be jarring. However, Jordan manages to work this slightly contrived conceit into the film’s themes. Creed Jnr. is more introverted than his showboating father, and his refusal to talk about his time in the group home makes character sense.

Then there’s the challenger. Dame is an excellent character and Adonis’ most compelling rival to date. Like an emotional timebomb waiting to go off, Majors conveys decades of resentment and bitterness building up in him. He has a fury simmering away beneath the surface – a fury you wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of. But there’s also a righteous sorrow, a recognition that this life of fame, luxury, and thumps to the head could be his. As we learn more about the night that put him behind bars for most of his life, I liked that he wasn’t depicted as a villain in the Drago or Land mold as much as a victim of circumstance. And while a couple of minor plot points risk changing this, it’s hard not to support him. It isn’t just him against Creed, but against the world.

The scenes where he had Adonis reflect on their teenage years and the different pathways they have taken have an unexpected emotional depth, and I was impressed by how much both convey without words. These are stoic men who aren’t used to dwelling on their feelings, let alone talking about them, and Jordan says a lot through their silences. Each strategically holds back their true thoughts, awkwardly playing along like everything is normal. There’s love there, that goes without saying, but arguably there is more tension between them than any other pairing we’ve had. I also liked that their boxing styles are so different. Adonis is a technician who is not afraid to hurt himself if it helps him find and hit the right target. In contrast, Dame is a brawler who makes many rookie mistakes, yet he’s tough enough that they don’t matter. Unfortunately, when they finally get their gloves on, it arguably loses something.

The transition from the second to the third act is slightly abrupt, with Dame’s rapid rise getting lost in a somewhat cluttered narrative (I haven’t even mentioned Adonis’ family issues). And perhaps seeing more of the callouts and trash-talking we’re told about could have helped. Still, in trying to use it as a vehicle to explore the emotional lives of his leads, much of its rawness and urgency is lost in Jordan’s visual trickery – apparently indpired by anime. I applaud him for plummeting new emotional depths in this entry, but we’re also here to see a boxing match. There have been perspective moments in the match-ups before, such as Rocky imagining Micky yelling “get up ya bum.” However, this time it is taken a step further in ways that didn’t land for me. On that point, I appreciate the actors aren’t really going toe to toe for twelve with each other, though more than past entries, we see the fake swings. The tactical angles don’t cover the gaps, and at points it looks more like pro-Wrestling than boxing. Still, it’s hard not to be impressed by how personal Jordan makes their conflict, and almost 50 years into a franchise, this is perhaps the boldest bout yet.

So much has been made of Stallone not returning – even for a cameo. The star himself has taken to the press to complain about the direction Jordan has gone in and naysayers have been hounding Twitter for months. Though as much as I’d have smiled if Rocky had shown up to say “you’ve done good, kid,” or tell a bad joke, I didn’t miss him. Decade-spanning franchises, such as Star Wars, Jurassic Park or Scream, must resolve the battle between honouring their past and looking to the future. In previous entries, I would argue Creed films have felt more like Rocky sequels than his stories. This time, Jordan shows he has what it takes to stand and fight on his own two feet. I don’t know if we’ll see another sequel concentrating on Adonis. Jordan is 23 years younger than Stallone was the last time he gave ‘em the ole’ one-two in the improbably good Rocky Balboa. However, it’s hard not to get the feeling he doesn’t want to see it lapse into the same self-aggrandising and sentimentality of his predecessor. But if we do I know I’ll be in his corner.

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