Creed III (2023)

Nathan March 3, 2023

★ 9/10

While Creed III may not be the best in the franchise, it brings enough creativity and passion to the table to keep the series fresh. The Rocky/Creed franchise is at its best when the villain is just as, if not more, interesting than our protagonist, and that is not more evident than in Creed III. Damien Anderson (expertly played by Jonathan Majors) is a very sympathetic antagonist that has a direct connection with Adonis Creed’s past. This connection is at the forefront of the conflict as Creed tries to reconcile with his past mistakes while also being true to his present self. This back and forth is excellently done and evolves Creed further as a boxer and a man. I really enjoyed this story overall, and while it may not be the most unique script to hit the silver screen, it does enough to differentiate itself from the rest of the Rocky universe, and I can respect that. The actin…

garethmb March 5, 2023

Life for Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan), is going well. He has a loving wife (Tessa Thompson), and daughter (Mile Davis-Kent), and has retired from boxing after defeating an old rival and ensuring his legacy. Creed spends his time with his family and developing young fighters at his gym and is prepping the current champion for his next big match against Viktor Drago. An unexpected figure from Creed’s past arrives in the form of Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors), a friend of Creed’s troubled youth has just completed eighteen years in prison. Damian was the current Golden Gloves champion when he was arrested and believes he is due his title shot and Creed is the one who can make it happen. Creed tries to teach his friend that a person without a single professional fight does not get a magical title shot and with his large the gap from the ring he would need to gr…

CinemaSerf March 25, 2023

★ 6/10

This reminded me quite a lot of "Rocky IV" (1985) only instead of a Russian auto-box doing the challenging, it's "Damian" (Jonathan Majors). Former champion "Adonis" (Michael B. Jordan) is living the life of a retired sportsman, wealthy and happy with his family whilst managing the gym with "Duke" (Wood Harris). Leaving, one afternoon, he discovers a guy sitting on his car and after a quick chat realises that it's his long-lost childhood pal who has been incarcerated for the last eighteen years. He ("Damian") is now determined to succeed in the ring and so his friend tries to sort it all out - only to discover that this lean, mean, fighting machine has an altogether different agenda and that is going to force the former champ to prove whether or not he still has what it takes. The story is an hybrid of too many others and plays out as predictably as the sun coming up. Add to the mix a de…

Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots April 23, 2023

★ 7/10

When it comes to boxing movies, it can sometimes feel like there are few stories left to be told. What works so well about “Creed III” is that instead of being a laser-focused sports story, co-writers Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin‘s script leans heavily into a sincere family drama. It’s also a solid directorial debut from actor Michael B. Jordan, who reprises his role as the title character. Adonis Creed (Jordan) has retired from sparring in the ring. After amassing dozens of titles, he’s now a devoted husband to Bianca (Tessa Thompson) and father to Amara (Mila Davis-Kent), a loving son to Mary-Ann (Phylicia Rashad), and runs a successful boxing gym where he works with the latest and greatest talent in the sport. Things are going well until his former childhood friend Damian (Jonathan Majors) resurfaces after nearly two decades in prison, and a long-buried incident (which …

Andre Gonzales June 14, 2023

★ 6/10

Alright movie but it got away from what made this movie great. No Stallone in this one either. Now he's retiring already. Kind of dumb. I want to see him box more maybe more fights. It's always just one fight. Idk he's to young to retire and I don't want to watch him become a trainer now just like rocky.

r96sk January 4, 2024

★ 8/10

Another entertaining entry from this franchise. I do enjoy these 'Rocky'/'Creed' flicks, they always tend to bring enjoyable performances and excellent fight scenes - and 'Creed III' delivers in those aspects, alongside others. It is a shame, though, that they couldn't get Sylvester Stallone involved here. In fairness, however, I wouldn't necessarily say the film is weaker or anything without Stallone - it just would've been nice to see him reprise his role, that's all. Cast-wise, it is as strong as you would expect. Michael B. Jordan is impressive, while Tessa Thompson is good (if somewhat underused). It's a shame that Jonathan Majors has ruined his own career off reel because that guy has quite the screen presence, hey-ho! I'm kinda interested in further installments, though at the same time it would be good if they kept this as a three-film thing. But, hey, the original titul…