REVIEW: "Creed III" (2023)

Coming up on fifty years, the Rocky film franchise continues to endure. And now, after two successful spinoff entries, the baton has officially been passed from Sylvester Stallone's "Italian Stallion" to Michael B. Jordan's determined Adonis Creed. And, in another parallel between both series, Jordan steps into the director's chair for the first time. To get right to the point, the first-time filmmaker pulls it off with flying colors. Although Creed III is the first installment to not feature Rocky himself (Stallone does remain a producer, alongside 2015 helmer Ryan Coogler), Adonis' story continues as he balances fame, family life, and the re-emergence of an old childhood friend. 

I've noticed that many filmmakers and actors in recent years have been reverting back to the practical element of physical transformations, made most popular in the 1970s (a.k.a. Arnold Schwarzenegger's bodybuilding days) and the 1980s (when Stallone's Rambo, Arnold's Terminator, and Jean Claude Van Damme's roundhouse kicks reigned supreme in the action genre). Everyone from Henry Cavill--or anybody in Zack Snyder's DC universe, for that matter--to Jordan and now Jonathan Majors have significantly remolded themselves while never sacrificing character or story. 

While more recent opponents have been forgettable to say the least, Majors more than holds his own as a former inmate with lost dreams and big ambitions. Having just pulled off the incredible role of Kang the Conquerer in the MCU (with two new Avengers movies in the pipeline), Majors conveys an enormous amount of quiet pain and sorrow, as well as rage, betrayal, and a little bit of sly humor. It's just one of the film's many examples of strong character building and relationships. With the possible exception of Tommy Gunn in 1990's Rocky V and Ivan Drago in 2018's Creed II, this is the first time where the protagonist has already has a personal connection to his opponent. 

Likewise, Adonis's relationships with his music-producing significant other, Bianca (Tessa Thompson), and deaf daughter Amara (an engrossing Mila Davis-Kent), are heartfelt and tender. Nearly half of their scenes together are in ASL, an inspiring showcase for onscreen representation. That goes just as well for the film's boxing scenes, filmed with IMAX cameras (the first for a sports movie) and featuring characters in primal, sometimes grueling, beast mode. Said moments are jarring, while select soundtrack titles are occasionally rough. 

Creed III does rush a bit during its third act, but it maintains a real character-driven battle between the past and the present. Other worthwhile themes include the challenges of parenting, dealing with handicaps or mental health, and being really open and honest with each other. This winning combination of sound and imagery, body and soul, is poetic, powerful, and already one of this year's standout achievements. "Let go of whatever was, and walk into what is."