Creed III

                 When Rocky Balboa was released it looked like the champ delivered the final good bout and one which he could walk away feeling proud of. For almost ten years that seemed the case, but like any good boxer it is hard keeping them out of the ring when a title shot presents itself. That chance came with Creed, that had a story that got the Rocky franchise off the ropes and back into champion status. After delivering a knockout film, the characters returned for a second bout and barley delivered a decision, which makes you wonder what kind of fighting shape we will get for round three with the Creed franchise.

After a epic run, Adonis Creed ( Michael B. Jordan) has retired from boxing to go into the exciting world of promoting. Life is good you can say, he and Bianca (Tessa Thompson) are both doing their things and Adonis loves devoting time to their daughter Amera (Mila Davis-Kent), so fighting is for sure a thing of the past. But the past is also what has now come for Adonis Creed in the form of an old friend. There was a time when Adonis wasn’t the best boxer he knew, that title belonged to Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors), but a fight and a gun sends Damian to jail and Adonis gets his life. Now Damian is free and after an accident with Creed’s fighter, Anderson get a chance to fight for the championship, and to reclaim the life he thinks should have been his. Damian wins the championship and shows his true colors and starts to become more hostile towards Adonis, claiming that he stole the life he should had. Adonis knows you can’t reason with a man like Damian, and that the only way this will be settled is in the ring.

Written by Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin, from a story by Ryan Coogler, Creed III becomes the first film in the Rocky series, without Rocky. Of course there is a story behind the beloved characters absence, it’s just too bad there isn’t one on screen. Although Rocky is missing, the influence from the franchise is not, as Creed III seems to follow the path of Rocky III, with a few tweaks. Jordan is great again, but this time he not only is landing knockouts in the ring, but behind the camera as well, as he also directs Creed III . The film looks gorgeous, but where it aptly shines is in the boxing scenes, in which Jordan used anime as an influence.

Creed III delivers a knockout when it comes to it visual style, but seems to lack the big emotions of the past bouts. Even though that is the case, the film still has plenty of things working for it. Jordan delivers a one, two punch as its star and director and Majors gives the Rocky franchise one of its best adversaries. Jordan finds a way to make the boxing scenes feel fresh and even adds something new that only enhances the big fight. In other words there is a lot working in Creed III and overall I really dug this chapter. My biggest problem lies in the lack of acknowledgment for the person that got everyone to this point, the man, the legend himself, Rocky. It just feels weird he is never brought up, and with a film with so many themes of the past it’s unfortunate that none is paid to the decades long past that brought everyone to this point. Beyond that, Creed III is worth your time, as it is easy to go the distance with this one.