Adonis' plans change when a face from his past reappears, Dame Anderson (Jonathan Majors), hungry for a match with the champ…
SOME SPOILERS TO FOLLOW!
Following the slight slump of Creed II, Creed feels like a response to its predecessor. As the third part of a trilogy, it also feels like closing the loop, in how it circles back to the original Creed, and the origins of the central character.
In Creed II, Adonis seemed to be running in place. Arc complete, where could the character go? Intriguing subplots, like Donny learning to accept his newborn daughter's Deafness, and the near-silent relationship between the Dragos, makes Creed II watchable, but it lacks the beating heart of its predecessor.
We open a flashback that re-sets the table on Adonis's backstory - adding wrinkles and moral complications which play into the central conflicts he will have to contend with.
It also means that Creed III does not repeat the formula of its predecessor by having an antagonist who is the offspring of a Rocky opponent.
Dame Anderson (Jonathan Majors) was a close friend from the group home where Adonis lived until Mrs Creed (Phylicia Rashad) arrived.
He sees Adonis as a betrayer - abandoning him in his time of need - and as a figure of jealousy. He has taken the life that Dame imagined for himself when he was an up-and-coming amateur.
As with the previous Creed movies, there is not a clear binary in morality between the fighters. While there are some machinations involved, it is easy to see why Dame is driven to act how he does, and why Adonis gives him a shot at boxing.
The Rocky and Creed movies are essentially weepies for people who like six packs with their tissues - these are movies about men who cannot express themselves excerpt through physical combat.
Adonis and Dame cannot articulate themselves until after they have boxed each other to a pulp.
The climax of the movie is not the boxing match - it is the reconciliation in the locker room afterwards.
Because this is the third movie, I had Rocky III in mind. There are moments which feel like callbacks - a hungry opponent who wants the championship; a significant supporting character with a life-threatening condition.
Rocky’s opponent Clubber Lang was a hard-working fighter with a single-minded focus on winning.
Dame has a hunger to win that goes outside the ring - he cheats his way to a title bout, and skirts the rules to win the belt.
Stepping in as director, Jordan equates himself admirably - the fights are well-shot and edited, with a sense of character dynamics and geography.
There is a clarity to the storytelling which is effective.
Following the slightly obscure stakes of Creed II, this story feels small and intimate. Anderson has understandable motivations and it puts Adonis in a position of vulnerability that was not present in his fight with Drago Jr.
There are a couple of extravagances - the fight entrances for the first title match are terrific - but otherwise Jordan keeps the action grounded.
For the final fight, the film becomes more abstract - removing the audience and focusing on the two fighters in the ring. Characters see each other as their younger selves, locked in a conflict that has arrested them both.
The acting is great, across the board. Jordan is at his best when the character has a chip on his shoulder, or is out of his depth. His Adonis is older, wiser but still struggling to expose his emotions. It is a more introspective performance that contemplates that of his opponent.
Speaking of which, Jonathan Majors gives Dame a watchful, superficial ease - his body language and stumbling speech betray how alien he feels, not only outside of jail, but in the presence of someone he can no longer relate to in the same way.
While there is a coiled tension underlying all of his early scenes, the film never turns into a human battering ram. Majors avoids any histrionics, and keeps the performance consistent - even when he has shown his own deviousness, Dame still stumbles over his words as he challenges Adonis to a match.
Special mention has to go to Thaddeus James Mixson Jr and Spence Moore II as, respectively, the younger Adonis Creed and Damian Anderson. They equate themselves well, and credit to the filmmakers for avoiding the de-ageing fad, and casting young actors.
The film’s main subplot involves daughter Amara’s (Mila Davis-Kent) desire to box. The plotline feels a little shortchanged.
The central conflict is based around a question of when to use violence. The film is called Creed III so you can guess where the film goes, but whilst the main catharsis is between the boxers, I was missing what the final point was with regards to Amara. The movie ends with her dream being celebrated, so maybe I am just being too literal.
It might not pack the emotional punch of the original, but Creed III is a fine sequel and a solid sports drama on its own terms. And I am actually excited to see another chapter in the ongoing Creed saga.
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