Film Review: CREED III (2023): Michael B. Jordan Stars In and Directs an Energetic and Highly Watchable Sequel

Creed III Review

Creed III (2023) Film Review, a movie directed by Michael B. Jordan, written by Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin and starring Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors, Tessa Thompson, Wood Harris, Phylicia Rashad, Mila Davis-Kent, Selenis Leyva, Florian Munteanu, Thaddeus J. Mixson, Spence Moore II, Tony Bellew, Jacob ‘Stitch’ Duran, Bobby Hernandez and Yahya McClain.

Although the character of Rocky Balboa is mentioned briefly in Creed III, Michael B. Jordan’s character, Adonis Creed, has become the new official star of the Creed series. Jordan even directed the new film. It is to Jordan’s credit that the new movie is tremendously forceful and will command the audience’s attention from beginning to end despite some minor technicalities along the way. There is some genuine substance to the plot but this picture is hardly groundbreaking cinema. Creed III is still, nevertheless, an interesting continuation of a franchise that could have been running out of steam if not for Jordan’s accomplished hand at breathing some new life into the series with this picture.

Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors star in the new movie as Adonis Creed and his old partner in crime, Damian Anderson. Thaddeus J. Mixson plays Adonis in some of the opening stages of the movie. We learn that Adonis got into some trouble with Damian which ended up leading to Damian going to jail for a bit of time. Damian is released and wants to get back into the world of boxing but Adonis has retired from fighting and isn’t seemingly interested in helping Damian out with his grand ambitions. Adonis, instead, tries to help Damian out with some money but that’s not what Damian wants when he shows up standing against Adonis’s car.

The character, Adonis, has moved forward with his life. His wife, Bianca (Tessa Thompson) has enough of a hard time dealing with her music producing career and the couple’s deaf daughter, Amara (Mila Davis-Kent) who is getting into some trouble at her school fighting off a bully. When Damian enters their life, it seems to bring some excitement into the Creed family’s mundane day-to-day activities. Amara takes a liking to Damian at first and everything seems to be on the right track except that Damian wants to fight in the ring which is easier said than done.

Damian is played as a young man by Spence Moore II. This younger character had a future ahead of him as a fighter but his actions led him to an 18-year prison sentence which squandered his dreams. The movie doesn’t see him as a hero initially but more as a villain who is disrupting Adonis and his family’s lives. But, as played by Majors, the character of Damian feels raw, ambitious and authentic. It’s hard to sympathize with him at first, though. Jordan, as a director, doesn’t really expect us to.

Jordan’s Adonis Creed will end up fighting again as one would predict and through a series of events, the big fight scene in the picture at the end is properly built up to. There is great excitement at the end of the film when the two big stars of the film end up facing off. There are lessons learned and victories accomplished for both characters at hand by the time the credits roll at the end.

Phylicia Rashad is also in the film as Mary-Anne Creed who is the character “Apollo” Creed’s wife. Rashad delivers her lines very effectively. It is a tribute to the character of Apollo Creed to see Rashad do so well in this role. She emerges with the best performance from the supporting cast while Mila Davis-Kent is also rather effective as the deaf daughter of Adonis and Bianca. Davis-Kent has tremendous likability which makes us understand what her character is going through during the course of the movie.

Michael B. Jordan’s performance is fierce and top-notch. Under his own direction, Jordan creates the type of hero movie audiences love to root for. Jonathan Majors is a character the film uses to drive home the message of lost opportunities, second chances and the importance of friendship. Majors is effective in his role and keeps the movie interesting since we aren’t really sure which way his character will turn next. Thompson is also credible as the wife who has stood by her husband and weathered storms before but is tested immensely through the events that transpire throughout the picture.

The success of Creed III all boils down to the last fight scene which is really good. There’s expert editing here and genuine tension throughout the entire conclusion of the movie whether you think you know who’s going to win or not. The movie also has its flaws. Some things that happen are too convenient and seem just to fall into place a bit too perfectly to help make Adonis come back into the ring. These problems, though, don’t lessen the entertainment factor of Creed III which is a stand-up-and-cheer movie with a lesson that is actually pretty important. This film could make you re-evaluate your friendships and some of your major priorities in life even if just for two hours. It’s a solid movie.

Rating: 7.5/10

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