Creed III

I have always been a big fan of boxing and back in the early 90´s i used to watch a lot of boxing fights with my grandfather Ingvar. We had a TV channel called TV 1000 and very late nights they were showing live boxing fights from America ( adult films were playing first at midnight, so we had to watch something else between.....i promise ). Sometimes we would sit up very late to watch some of the fights while other times i recorded the fight on VHS. The important thing was to watch the fight no matter what, and i especially remember one time when we watched a live fight that would shock the whole world. It was June 28, 1997, when Mike Tyson was fighting Evander Hollyfield at the MGM Granden Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It was in the third round when something completely unexpected happened when Mike Tyson bit Evander Hollyfield on the right of his ear. I can still remember the chaos this caused, not only in the ring but by the audience and the commentators. Both me and my grandfather was of course completely shocke as well, what the hell did Mike Tyson just do? The fight was not ended right away even though they took away 2 points from Mike Tyson. As the fight continued Mike bite Hollyfield again and they ended the fight. A massive fight in the ring between Mike and police officers was insane, i have never seen anything like it in a boxing match before. This is one of the most unforgettable fights ever since no one could have ever imagined that this could happen. For me personally i lost all respect for Mike Tyson as a fighter at that point. I used to be a big fan but that really changed my opinion about him. Not only did me and my grandfather enjoyed boxing matches but we did enjoy the Rocky films with Sylvester Stallone. We used to watch the classics over and over again and we always agreed that the original film was the best. In 2015 the Rocky Balboa legacy continued with a new character called Adonis Creed ( son of legendary boxer Apollo Creed, played by legendary actor Carl Weathers ). Michael B. Jordan proved that he was perfect in the role as Adonis Creed, getting trained by his father´s good friend Rocky Balboa ( Sylvester Stallone ). The first film turned out to be really good, and a sequel came along that brought back Dolph Lundgren as the iconic Russian boxer Ivan Drago. So, here we are in 2023 with a third film in the Creed franchise and this time without Rocky Balboa. Considering what a great chemistry Adonis Creed had with Rocky Balboa in the previous Creed films, does this third film manage to work better than expected or should this film have been cancelled from the very beginning?

In 2002 Los Angeles, a young Adonis "Donnie" Creed sneaks out with his best friend, Golden Gloves champion Damian "Diamond Dame" Anderson to watch him compete in an underground boxing match. After Dame´s victory, he tells Donnie about his dreams to become a professional boxer and also become a world champion. But all of those dreams are crushed for Donnie when he is arrested after attacking a man named Leon. In present day, Adonis ( Michael B. Jordan ) has retired from boxing to focus on his family life with his wife Bianca Creed ( Tessa Thompson ) and their deaf daughter Amara Creed ( Mila Davis-Kent ). Adonis runs Delphy Boxing Academy with Tony "Little Duke" Evers Jr. ( Wood Harris ). One day outside the boxing gym, Adonis meet his childhood friend Damian ( Jonathan Majors ) who was recently released from prison. Adonis offers to help him get a fresh new start, especially by working out at the gym so he can start boxing again. Tony doesn´t like the idea but let Adonis handle him. Damian is becoming better as a fighter until he gets a chance to prove himself. What Adonis does not know is that Damian have already planned to destroy his legacy.

It is always difficult making a sequel to a really good first film. The second Creed film managed to work thanks to the connection between Rocky Balboa and Ivan Drago, where the legacy of these fighters continued through a new generation of fighters. This third film almost feels like it might have been inspired by Rocky 3 from 1982. Not in the sense that they have tried to copy the film and just tell a different version of Rocky 3. But the character Damian ( played really well by actor Jonathan Majors ) definetely turns into a modern James "Clubber" Lang ( Mr T ) version with the same kind of bad attitude. That was actually the best choice that they did for this sequel because we needed a strong bad guy. So what about the boxing scenes, are they any good in this film? I would say that they are more effective than i expected and i really enjoy seeing that it actually feels like they are fighting for real ( except for the slow motion scenes of course ). If you are making a boxing film make sure you make it pleases the fans of the sport. The camera angles during the fights works well and the atmosphere surrounding each fight feels effective. There are some very dramatic moments in this film that affects Adonis Creed very personally, and no matter how famous you are we all have to face reality. You can not always escape sadness and have to find a way to deal with it. Lead actor Michal B. Jordan deliver once more a strong performance as Adonis Creed and i find it interesting that he also directed this film. He clearly have worked hard to make this boxing film feel worthy to this franchise and not repeat himself too much. Actress Tessa Thompson as Bianca Taylor is such a perfect match for this role that i enjoy every scene that she does. Is there anything missing in this sequel that we could have had? I do think we could have had a connection with Rocky Balboa instead of not having him included at all. After all, he did help Adonis become the fighter he is. Otherwise i can´t really complain since Creed III have a lot to offer fans of this franchise. Director Michael B. Jordan proves that not only is he a great director but he also know how to act powerful, especially when he struggle against his inner demons. Creed III may not be the best boxing film i have seen but it is definetely one of the better ones in the last 7 years. If you already own the following films you should pick up a physical copy of this film as well, Creed III will definetely fit in your boxing film collection.

Rating: DDD