Directed by Michael B. Jordan
Starring Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors, Jose Benavidez, Mila Davis-Kent, and Phylicia Rashad

By now it is probably old news and covered in every second review of Creed III, yet the fact that this ninth instalment in the Rocky film series is the first without Rocky himself was certainly new news to me. Creed has indeed well-and-truly forged his own path now and judging by this third outing in the Creed series, it remains a path that devoted viewers will effortlessly and happily continue to follow.

In my review of Creed II, I mentioned the fight in the boxing ring for Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) was more personal than any he had faced before. The one that awaits him here is equally if not more personal. But there’s one other conundrum facing Creed in this forthcoming fight – the time has come for him to hang up the gloves and call it a day on his stellar career. 

Wait, so no Rocky and now Adonis Creed has decided to retire from boxing!? What kind of boxing movie is this then? Well, to be honest, one that hones in on all the cliches and is therefore entirely predictable. To be fair though, one that is very effective and entertaining at doing so.

During the early stages of the film, Adonis is embracing the domesticated lifestyle in his stunning home (I want that bathroom and those views please!) with his wife and young daughter, Bianca and Amara, and having moved his professional career towards training. One day, a friend and fellow boxing participant from Adonis’ past whom he hasn’t seen in several years re-appears out of the blue and with a striking sense of urgency to get back into the ring. Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors) has lofty expectations of winning the World Title and knows his old mate is just the man who has the connections and the experience to turn him into an overnight star. Momma Creed (Phylicia Rashad) has her concerns though and is sure that Damian is harbouring his true motivations from a past incident to studiously draw Adonis Creed out of retirement and back into the ring.

There are only a small handful of points I feel are worth mentioning to fulfil this review and leave devoted fans of the film series with to look forward to experiencing for themselves. Above all else, Creed III is just the right fit and the perfect first film directing opportunity for high-calibre actor Michael B. Jordan. He seamlessly adopts the same winning formula applied to Creed and Creed II and succeeds at bringing Creed III’s human drama to the fore in its boxing sequences. Speaking of which, it is perhaps those boxing sequences I identified an opportunity for improvement in any future Creed endeavours. A couple of these fights, and in particular the final stoush, are needlessly heavily sensationalised. Thankfully, those added effects don’t overshadow what is another solid starring performance from the director and an equally strong one from his co-star Jonathan Majors. I’ve seen Majors in a few antagonistic type roles now and something about his form of expression really disconcerts me in the best way possible. 

Creed III is showing in cinemas nationally across Australia from March 2nd.

Moviedoc thanks Universal Pictures for the invite to the screening of this film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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