The series of films “Rocky” with Sylvester Stallone in the main role became a kind of unparalleled milestone in the genre of sports dramas. There are simply no other such stories about boxing that successfully combine naivety, tension and pathos. So it’s also no surprise that Rocky spawned its own subseries, Creed, starring Michael B. Jordan. Which also turned out to be successful enough to survive at least until the third part. “Creed III: Legacy of Rocky Balboa” was also the directorial debut of Jordan himself. How it turned out – read in the review below.
“Creed III: Legacy of Rocky Balboa” / Creed III
Genre sports drama
Directed by Michael B. Jordan
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors, Phylicia Rashad, Wood Harris
Premiere cinemas
Release year 2023
IMDb site
A bright streak has come in the life of boxer Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan). He secured his championship title and left his sports career to focus on his family and teaching the new generation. But then his childhood friend Damian “Dame” Anderson (Jonathan Majors), who spent 18 years in prison, appears in Adonis’s life. As a child, Damian was considered a future star of the world of boxing – and now he is ready to do anything to justify the former hopes. Even for the dirtiest and meanest acts.
The Rocky series was never meant to be taken entirely seriously. Although they tried to make the drama in each part as down-to-earth and understandable as possible to everyone, the plots still had enough light naivety and even a good sense of simple banality. “Creed III” adopted all these features – and the perception of the story depends entirely on how well you are able to immerse yourself in the otherworld of cinema.
If you watch the movie impartially, it will seem like a newcomer from completely different, as simple as possible times. In it, even simpler answers are given to simple questions, but everything is presented as if the main truths of the universe are being revealed to the audience. Almost every dramatic scene seems to have been spied on in more successful and better works.
In “Creed III” there is no room for self-irony or any attempt to make the presentation of the story softer and more accessible. The script always hits the forehead and says several times what was obvious between the lines at the very beginning. Because of this, sometimes you can’t get rid of the impression that the audience is taken for fools.
But, probably, the main reason for this attitude is that “Creed III” is aimed at an audience completely inexperienced in the art of cinema, for whom the Marvel comics are a masterpiece of creativity. And this is not bad at all, because cinema exists for everyone and everyone. In addition, there are enough pleasant moments in “Creed III”.
At the very least, this is a rather stylish movie that manages to show both the luxurious life of the elite of Los Angeles, and local sports realities, and the slums of “ordinary” people. The picture in “Creed III” is, in principle, extremely pleasant. Although it is clear that Jordan still lacks the ingenuity to really demonstrate his directorial talents.
The main conflict between Adonis and Damian was also successful. Again, no supernatural revelations, but at its core are themes of guilt, running away from oneself, and suppressing one’s desires. And let them be told through the lens of boxing, the local truths will surely be able to find a response in many people.
The most important thing is that the boxing in “Creed III” looks beautiful – and it is precisely because of it that many people will go to the theaters. Although there are not so many fights here, each of them causes sincere delight.
The tension is felt in every blow, and in general, watching “Creed III” can be compared to a real boxing match. And where can we go without a pathetic montage with the training of the main character to the arrangement of the same melody from “Rocky”.
However, there was also an element of the magic of cinematography – or to be precise, animation. After all, Michael B. Jordan loves anime and does not hide it at all. And in one of the interviews he admitted that his love for Japanese animation was reflected in the actor’s directorial debut.
This is best seen in the final match, which turned out to be the most stylized and in some ways fantastic. On the other hand, there is a possibility that it was Jordan’s passion for anime that influenced the general naivety and the plot of the story. After all, what works in animation is not always suitable for films with live actors.
Pros: pleasant picture from the point of view of style and technical performance; simple and understandable truths, competently wrapped in the format of a sports drama; high-quality and intense boxing battles Cons: maximum naivety and simplicity of the scenario; lack of any original or innovative ideas in the film; too serious tone of the stories, which sometimes only spoils the impression Conclusion:
Creed III: The Legacy of Rocky Balboa is a boxing movie, so it does a great job of that. But there are problems with everything else. Maybe it’s not that important to boxing fans. But lovers of good cinema should think twice before watching
