Rocky Balboa, possibly the most famous film sportsman ever, his story of will, earning your place, and being the underdog has never failed to amuse the world (maybe not Rocky V, but you get the point). After three decades of films, the franchise went cold after Rocky Balboa. Until the sequel franchise in 2015, a spin-off of the original story. Creed, a sequel series about Apollo Creed’s youngest child, and only one out of wedlock, a stain on the legacy of a great man, a mistake trying to prove himself without the name of his dad, and yet claiming it as his own. Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) was in this follow up series for the first two films, where he played the trainer and mentor of title character, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan), but due to some creative differences following the tone of this new installment, Stallone bowed out of film production early, and it was left in the hands of Michael B. Jordan, who took it upon himself to direct this new installment of the franchise.
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Jonathan Majors is Jordan’s opponent in this film, playing Dame, Adonis’ friend from back in the day who went to jail just before breaking out into the boxing world. Jordan promised this movie would take itself more seriously, the fights would be fresher, and, based heavily around the creativity of fights in Anime like Naruto, Dragon Ball, My Hero Academia, etc. And the film delivered. Other than the original Rocky, there may not be a better Rocky Franchise film then this.
The story is straightforward yet strong. Adonis has built his life forgetting what happened before Mama Creed took him in and created a legacy for himself as a great alongside his father. Yet this film reveals that his sordid past comes off of Dame’s downfall. Dame wins the Golden Gloves Amateur title, and the same night is arrested protecting Adonis after Adonis attacks their old foster dad. The film revolves around Adonis after he retires a great, and accidentally allows his friend to play him to create his own legacy. The highs and lows of their relationship are what move the film forward, how they interact is everything to what makes this film pop, and it works splendidly. Michael B. Jordan retains excellence in his performance, while adding the amazing Jonathan Majors as one of the series best characters, a truly well-crafted performance on both sides.
The action and direction are incredible, especially coming from first-time director Michael B. Jordan. The cinematography is top notch, with lighting that works just right when it needs to, and camerawork that creates cruel tension in so many hard scenes. The final fight alone is a contender for the best fight in Rocky history, alongside the Rocky II rematch between Apollo and Rocky. The action in this scene, the direction of the emotion charged within it, and the creativity taken to make such hard hitting shots is so masterful for a movie from a first-time director. Michael B. Jordan proves that if nothing else, he knows exactly what he wants to be seen in this film, and everything works almost perfectly. Like most Rocky films, there is that middle part that has the tendency to drag a little, and while it does do that, the stellar performances make up for it.
I would love to see a Creed IV with a potential final appearance by Rocky. I started watching through these movies the past few weeks and won’t have that final bell soundtrack out of my head for months; these films are something special and Creed III shows that even after almost half a century after the first film, there are still stories to be told, and fights to be had.
4/5 Stars