Creed 3

One of the great Cinderella stories of cinema is the original Rocky, not only for the titular character, but also for the films writer/star Sylvester Stallone. A film that not only captured the hearts of audiences all over the world, but spawned five sequels and cemented Sylvester Stallone as a film icon. When the franchise was rejuvenated with Ryan Coogler’s 2015 continuation Creed, coming seemingly out of nowhere with a masterful sports drama that garnered rousing acclaim and earned Stallone a much-deserved Oscar nomination. Now on the third installment, and having moved past the need for Rocky Balboa to return, the story of Adonis Creed has naturally taken its course to build its own legacy and stand on its own shoulders. And while this installment has all the macho action and melodrama you come to expect, it lacks those emotional gut punches that typically elevate the franchise.

Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has recently retired from the boxing, focusing on family life with his wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson), whose progressive hearing loss has forced her to transition from music producing, and their daughter Amara (Mila Davis-Kent). When Adonis’ old childhood friend Damian “Dame” (Jonathan Majors) resurfaces  after serving 18 years in prison for an incident when they were kids, Dame coerces Adonis into letting him train at his gym. However, its clear Dame seeks to enact revenge on Adonis, looking to take him out of retirement to settle a long overdue score.

Following a similar path to Stallone, is star Michael B. Jordan, making his directorial debut. Actors-turned-directors are a dime a dozen these days. Typically, you can expect there to be strong performances to make up for the lack of unique shot compositions. So it’s all the more impressive how assured and confident Jordan’s direction is for a first-time director. In fact, it’s Jordan’s distinct visual language that is among Creed 3‘s most thrilling elements. What’s clear from the opening fight sequence is the abundance of anime influences Jordan has supplied at his arsenal. Jordan, alongside returning cinematographer Kramer Morganthau, crafts the boxing fights as larger-than-life anime style showdowns with arresting visuals, often highlighted in natural lighting. Historically, anime has been difficult to translate to live-action, which is why films such as The Matrix are more successful in how they utilize specific visual motifs from their inspirations. Director Jordan uses a similar approach, with the operatic final fight actually feeling more in line with The Matrix than any previous Rocky or Creed film. This showdown might even be the best fight in the franchise next to the infamous one-take sequence from Creed.

Jordan threads the similar narrative tropes of sports films and anime. The “1 in a million” odds stacked against the hero and witnessing them rise up to defeat more than they thought they were ever capable of. That’s certainly not new in this film series, but is highlighted more effectively, and uniquely, through the physicality of the characters. Jordan’s hyper focus on physicality extends from not just the typical Rocky formula, fit with training montages and attention to the demands of the body, but also the dichotomy of Adonis’ deaf daughter, and the use of ASL, of course communicating through the body.

As the new heel for our hero, Jonathan Majors continues to solidify his status as one of the most electrifying new actors to emerge in Hollywood. A far more interesting and compelling villain here than in last month’s Quantumania, Majors’ Dame is more of a reflection of Adonis than a typical Rocky baddie. Dame is unquestionably the best villain this series has seen since the days of Clubber Lang and, yes, initially Apollo Creed. Majors has a range that simply very few working actors have. From his intimidating style of fighting to the ocean of pain and trauma that lingers behind his eyes, this is a character that feels seeped in the same pervasive sense of melancholy as Rocky Balboa in that original film. I really am convinced there’s nothing this actor cannot do.

While Jordan, and screenwriters Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin retain Ryan Coogler’s sense of humanism and nuance, the melodrama just doesn’t have the same emotional pull. The characters do all keep their complexity and  depth, but the script simply doesn’t dig deep enough to any true emotional breakthroughs. Jordan and Majors scorch the screen together, but by the time the film reaches its conclusion, there’s an ever-present nagging feeling that the dynamic between both characters should be reaching an emotional high-point the film never quite does. If there’s an elephant in the room, it’s the omission of Stallone’s Rocky. Granted, after the previous film it was announced Stallone would be retiring from the character, not the mention his falling out with the producers, but it’s the films complete lack of acknowledgement of him that feels a bit awkward in some critical areas of the narrative.

Creed 3 is a thoroughly solid chapter to the Creed franchise. Jonathan Majors is a terrific new inclusion and while the script doesn’t reach any emotional highs that audiences have come to expect, this is still a thrilling and visually dynamic directorial debut from star Michael B. Jordan.