THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
When you try new things, it can be a gamble because you can’t guarantee success. That was the exact feeling for MGM to produce a Rocky film without the franchise’s original star & creator Sylvester Stallone. But if Creed III proved anything, it is that some things will always be in good hands.
PLOT
The threequel shows Adonis ‘Hollywood’ Creed retired from boxing and make a living as a promoter and runs Delphi Boxing Academy with Tony Evers Jr. aka Little Duke. He lives in California with his wife Bianca whose become a music producer/songwriter and their deaf daughter Amara. When she gets in trouble for fighting at school, it’s clear she wants to box like her father did. Although her mother doesn’t approve, Donnie gives a few tips to bond with her. One day, he gets an unexpected reunion with his childhood friend ‘Diamond’ Damian Anderson, whose just been released from an 18 year prison sentence. As they catch up, Dame shares that he aspires to box like he did for Golden Gloves. He invites him to train at the gym, but not only does Little Duke not trust him, Dame causes tension between the protege & current world champion Felix Chavez (José Benavidez Jr.), due to desiring to be champion. After he meets Donnie’s family, he does share his aspirations and hopes to get a championship opportunity. He gets what he wants after an assailant assaults Chavez’s arranged opponent Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu). Donnie is able to convince the champion to accept this replacement as he will promote the fight like an underdog challenge, similar to when his father Apollo fought Rocky Balboa. On the night of the event, Dame is able to win the championship after a few dirty tactics. In shock of what had happened, Donnie visits his adoptive mother Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashad) who shares letters Dame wrote to him in prison in which she kept from him as she believed he was a bad influence. This would upset him as he worries his friend feels abandoned. When he would look over the letters, he found a picture of Dame with the assailant that assaulted Drago, meaning that his friend manipulated his championship opportunity. When he confronts him about it, he confesses to his actions and plans to use to his newfound fame to publicly slander him for turning his back on him. Bianca tries to get her husband to talk about what happened to him before he went to jail, but he refuses to open up. He would change his mind as a result of heartbreak when Mary Anne would die from a stroke. After her funeral, Donnie would share exactly why Dame went to jail: In 2002 after Dame had won another Golden Gloves boxing match, Donnie would encounter an abusive caregiver named Leon (Aaron Alexander) outside a liquor store. Out of impulse, he attacked him and got into a fight with his group of friends that was with him. Dame intervened by pulling out a gun and just when police arrived, Donnie ran and got away. Out of guilt, he never contacted him during his sentence. Now encouraged by his wife, he decides to come out of retirement to challenge Dame for the championship. After publicly challenging him on live television, he would go through training with Little Duke and a recovered Drago. The fight would take place at Dodgers Stadium and after twelve brutal rounds, Donnie would defeat Dame via knockout to regain the championship. After the match, both would reconcile and agree no one was at fault between the two. The film would then end with Creed celebrating his victory with his family.
THOUGHTS
I wasn’t too worried with Stallone’s exit from the franchise because whatever the reason he did, I accepted good things don’t always last. After maintaining my expectations, I was blown away with what we got. Following in the Stallion’s footsteps, Michael B Jordan takes big responsibility in his directorial debut and delivers in making the most exhilarating entry of the series to date. The fight scenes were edited like intense anime fights, where you end up feeling every single punch from beginning to end. That feeling is also benefitted thanks to the sharp sound effects that were made. I’ve never said that before with past films, so that is a big deal for me to say. Apart from those said scenes being more distinguishable than predecessors, the strength of this film’s quality goes to another bold story that fits into the mold: The most important action that must be taken by everyone is forgiveness. There are a lot of things that happen in our lives past our control and after they happen, the best thing we can do is make peace with it. The more we choose not to only creates an unnecessary weight of regret that also creates anger and hatred. When those things pile up, it can only lead to more mistakes. This theme can be looked at as simple, but becomes extremely effective thanks to an impressive cast. As an actor, Jordan keeps the ball rolling in having us invested in Donnie, ensuring him as one who has much less pressure to do right by his dad's legacy due to retiring, but still goes through a mix of new and old obstacles to deal with within his personal life. Considering that he sparked out of his daughter, he was patient enough to teach her not to fight for wanting to. The biggest obstacle in his way is the past coming back to haunt him. Dame returning to his life wasn't a new opponent to square up with, but more of a brother he had settle differences with. He had all his regret for not reaching out because he felt guilty for letting his emotions get the best of him. He is somewhat excused because he ran like any other kid would and couldn't have predicted Dame would pull out the gun. He had to fight him because it was the only way to get him to listen at that point. Jonathan Majors doesn't really make Dame a villain here, but more of a guy who needed to let out his anger. Since he had no idea Mary Anne withheld his letters, it's no doubt he was feeling abandoned. And since he shared the passion of boxing during their childhood, it felt like his life was taken from him. His heart was broken over this because their brotherly bond originated over their time in foster care and he gave nothing but love towards him especially when Donnie's half siblings never reciprocated those feelings. He had his back and couldn't believe he never tried to reach out. With the said feeling of abandonment, it only riled him up to be an aggressive man who can manipulate others without notice until it's too late. He definitely scared the crap out of me whenever he was in the ring because with each grunt, he sounded like a beast. However, he was deep down a guy who needed to be consoled over such an accident. The heart to heart both men have after their fight was the most heartwarming yet heartbreaking moment to witness because had this convo happened sooner, they wouldn't have to fight each other. There is no guaranteed if they'll get back on speaking terms, but if Donnie can maintain a business relationship with Drago, I would like to think anything is possible. While this rivalry is what makes the movie so memorable, you can't deny the supporting cast still pack their own punches. Tessa Thompson honestly is the new generation of Adrian at this point because she's a supportive wife who doesn't waste time to speak her mind. The difference is that from the beginning, nothing ever stopped her from saying what she had to say. This is the same Bianca, but shares the big responsibility of parenthood with her husband. She's grown to have the most positive mindset ever in comparison to Donnie because although her progressive hearing loss prevents her from performing the songs she writes, it doesn't stop her to keep working with what she is passionate about. Her emotional support towards her husband is at its strongest because she doesn't want him to bottle up his emotions anymore. If he kept that up, it would be a bad influence on their daughter. Even she felt the loss of Mary Anne because the latter loved her as if she's one of her own as well. She chose to support Donnie's decision to challenge Dame because at that point, there was no other way for their rivalry to be settled and her hearing the fallout gave her the chance to understand why it got more complex than it had to be. After seeing the love of her life achieve victory once again, I believe she is in relief he found peace with the past once and for all. With Stallone's Rocky out of the equation, it finally gave room for Little Duke to shine. I totally dug him more than before thanks to Wood Harris making clear how much he cares about Donnie. He's the one who teaches him to be cautious with every decision because you can never guarantee the results you're hoping for. He knew about Dame and was sure bringing him to the gym was gonna shake things up badly. He still chose to train Donnie again because he knew he couldn't help trying to be there for him. Win or lose, what mattered is that they were there for each other. Last but not least, I don't think an argument has to be made when saying Amara was the brightest part of this movie. This is the case because breakout Mila Davis-Kent leaves a big mark by just being as adorable as ever. She aspires to be strong like her dad, but she doesn't even realize she's stronger than ever because she doesn't let deafness be defined as a weakness. It doesn't bother her at all and for that, she is the strongest in her family. If she were to end up boxing in her adulthood, it's in the genes for her to kick ass in the ring as she does in a classroom. I don't even blame her for doing so because it's all she knows. With Donnie being a good father, you already know she'll be following valuable footsteps. This movie was definitely a crazy experience to get through but no matter how entertaining it was, there were some things that bothered me when re-watching. For instance, how come Mary Anne never put cameras outside Donnie’s room? I know you don’t want to make your kid feel like a prisoner, but there can be a benefit of being overprotective. Had he been prevented to sneak out that night, no incident would have happened and Dame would’ve not done time. I’m all about self defense when bullies act out, but how come Donnie never talked to Amara of avoiding to fight in school? If he wants Bianca to approve an eventual third generation career, this would’ve shown how concerned he is for her than he already is. Also, why didn’t he ever check the mail when he was a teen? If he wasn’t gonna write to Dame and Mary Anne would’ve prevented him from visiting, that could’ve been the one way for him to express the guilt he was feeling. I also think he should’ve told Dame to hold back on sparring with Felix. It would be obvious Dame would ignore this anyway, but I do think it would benefit Donnie as he would show concern for both men. And how did the assailant get in without being patted down? I feel like for a private event that includes celebrities, that should be a necessity. I even thought it was stupid for Donnie to be irritated for being called ‘Baby Creed’. I know this is supposed to be a callback to his first film but since he grew to be his own, this shouldn’t bother him at all. Also, where the hell were Mary Anne's biological kids she had with Apollo? This movie re-confirmed they're still around and I find it shocking we don't see them at their mother's funeral. I don't even understand why we don't see the conversation play out of Donnie talking to Bianca of Dame for the first time. It would've made great tension including the nervousness Mary Anne was feeling about the truth. And lastly, how the hell did Bianca approve of Amara going to the fight between Felix and Dame? It makes sense for her to attend Donnie’s fight because she’s supporting her dad, but if the point for her is to avoid the influence of wanting to fight, she should’ve not went. Other than that, this remains an electric experience. In short, Creed III is another knockout hit for this sports franchise due to containing a relatable story filled with refreshing action sequences. If the past two films have impressed you, I’m sure this one will do the same.
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