Rent Creed III (2023)

Creed III review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Creed first popped onto the scene in 2015 as a Rocky spin-off movie, aiming for Rocky Balboa to pass the torch of boxing onto Adonis Creed, son of the late Apollo Creed, who died in the ring for Rocky IV. Now, after two movies, Adonis feels like a fully realized character who can run on his terms and not be trapped by the nostalgic relations of the Rocky franchise. The torch is fully passed, and it's time for Michael B. Jordan to dominate this saga as the lead actor and director.

Much has changed since Creed II, last debuting way back in 2018. Adonis has hung up his gloves as he’s gotten too old for the ring. Taking a step back from boxing, he divides his team equally between managing boxers and enjoying his family. Life at home seems good with his loving wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson) and their deaf daughter Amara. However, life at Adonis’s boxing gym is not going as smoothly. He’s training a young spitfire of a boxer who is too tough and needs a worthy opponent to take him on.

Into Creed’s life walks Dame (Jonathan Majors), an old friend of the past. Dame once worked alongside Creed when they were younger but ended up in jail. Creed hasn’t forgotten those days and feels he needs to give his old pal another chance after he is released from prison. While Dame is grateful for another shot at being a fighter, he trains too hard for his big comeback and turns into an absolute monster in the ring. He wins a title and transforms into a bully, biting back at Creed for the success he enjoyed while his old friend stayed in the slammer. Determined to make amends and stand up to antagonizers, Adonis dons the boxing gloves and prepares for his most personal of grand showdowns.

Jordan directs this film with a lot of clear inspiration from shonen anime that always showcased the most brutal bouts and centered on the powerful pain that comes with every blow. Slo-mo shots reveal bruised ribs and knocked-out teeth. Close-ups showcase all the anguish in the eyes as Creed is slugged so hard in the gut you can practically see the boxing glove leave an imprint on his spine. And, in the film’s most creative flourish, the midway point of the final match features a sequence where the arena disappears, leaving Adonis and Dame to hash it out in the darkness and making their fight about more than just a prize.

Before the film gets to that big showcase, the first half of the film is a bit of a slog for establishing Creed’s current life and his connection to Dame. Characters will speak with this exposition-heavy air, where it almost feels like they’re trying to explicitly make the themes easier to read. At the heart of the story is Creed’s flaw of not being open about himself or his past. He shares a flaw with his mother and aims to conquer just as much as he dominates opponents in the ring. While I appreciate how the history behind Adonis and Creed is parsed out in a non-linear fashion, this framing also leads to Creed’s family kinda becoming lost in the woodwork, more present to be emotional milestones of support than pulling off any new arcs promised.

With no Sylvester Stallone in this picture, Creed III doesn’t showcase much nostalgia for the Rocky days, only briefly mentioning Apollo. That being said, this film isn’t devoid of the Rocky hallmarks. Those expecting another rousing training montage where Jordan and Majors build up their bodies with intense training to look as buff and prepared as possible won’t be disappointed. The big fight even has the obligatory moment where Adonis’s wife tells him to get up when he feels beaten down, and, sure enough, he gets up to win the fight.

Creed III doesn’t have the same solid flow as the first Creed film, but it does feel more like its own type of movie than Creed II. It draws more from Adonis’s past rather than that of Rocky or Apollo, letting the saga run on its own legs. And its in good hands with Jordan’s exceptional direction, making every boxing match a sight to behold.