Creed III (2023)

Smith’s Verdict: ****
Reviewed by Tanner Smith

I’m a big fan of the “Rocky” franchise and I really liked the first two films in the spinoff (“Creed”) franchise–hell, I’ll even say Creed II is now my second-favorite in the overall franchise (behind Rocky). So I was really looking forward to seeing “Creed III,” especially since Adonis Creed himself, Michael B. Jordan, was directing this time!

It didn’t disappoint at all. I loved this film.

“Creed III” continues going for the emotional depth of the previous films. Creed was about going your own way and managing your temper. “Creed II” was about maintaining and defending a legacy. And “Creed III” is about battling demons you thought would be kept in the closet forever.

In this case, Adonis Creed (played again by Michael B. Jordan), who is now retired from boxing and oversees the careers of up-and-coming fighters, reunites with an old friend, Damian “Dame” Anderson (Jonathan Majors). Damian and Adonis grew up together in the group home from where Adonis was rescued by Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad), and Damian, who would become a Golden Gloves champion with a solid career ahead of him, was still a big-brother figure to Adonis, who would often accompany him to matches. That all changed when a violent incident in 2002 caused Damian to be arrested (while Adonis escaped) and the two to break away.

(Side-note: the opening prologue, which shows only PART of the violent backstory, is very gripping. The actors playing the younger versions of the characters are great, and Jordan’s direction is reminiscent of a Scorsese flick.)

Well, now, Damian makes his way back into Adonis’ life and tells him he wants a shot at the title–even though, as Adonis tries to tell him, Damian has been out of the ring for two decades and has no professional boxing experience. But Damian has a lot of unbridled rage and isn’t afraid of any challenges, and he feels he deserves everything that Adonis has, since everything he was promised was taken away from him when he went to prison. Soon enough, an opportunity strikes when Adonis needs to assure a rival for an upcoming match with his new client, Felix Chavez (Jose Benavidez). Remembering how his old mentor Rocky Balboa got his big break, he decides to give Damian a shot…

I won’t go into how this proves to be a big mistake or how the events lead to what the advertising promises (a match between Adonis and Damian)–but I will remind you that Rocky was remembered for giving it all he had and taking it from the heavyweight champion, whereas Damian just wants attention and doesn’t give a damn about how to get it.

There’s a lot of gripping drama in the tense dynamic between the two friends turned rivals, but there’s also room for emotional love and affection in the scenes with Adonis and his mother, Adonis and his deaf daughter (who wants to fight), and Adonis and his wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson). It reminds us that Adonis still has more anger to overcome and most importantly a loving force to fight for.

And even the boxing scenes, which I’m normally tired of by now, had me invested–though, that might be because the final fight has some stylistic touches added to it. (That’s all I’ll say about that.)

I’m not sure where Rocky Balboa is during all this, but I’m sure he’s out there somewhere (maybe with his son, who “lives in some place called Vancouver with his girlfriend”) and rooting for Adonis to know when to say when and join him in retirement–if for no other reason than to just look back on the good times they shared together, just as Rocky did with Adonis’ father Apollo Creed way back when.

And honestly, I’d like to see that in “Creed IV.” But we’ll see…