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| Images courtesy United Artists |
Michael B. Jordan takes over directorial duties on the latest entry in the Creed series. Coming five years after Steven Caple Jr.'s Creed II, it seems that this Rocky spin-off franchise has run its course.
With freshman film director Jordan struggling to ignite any type of spark on screen, the story of Adonis Creed and his boxing career should probably be put to bed. And the absolute absence of Sylvester Stallone, who barely gets mentioned in this new sequel is a hard sell that will take most long running fans right out of the experience.
At the core, Adonis' story is Rocky's story and his presence is totally missed. The interplay between the two characters carried the first two films to greatness. In Creed III, Adonis is lost without his mentor. Unfortunately enough, Tessa Thompson (as strong of an actor as she is) cannot fill that void and is under-used in this story. This was a missed opportunity to bring Rocky and Adonis together for a third and final championship fight that should have been the series capper.
All of the fault does not just lie with Jordan's inexperience in the director's seat, but definitely rests on a middling script that bears no emotional resonance and never takes any risks with these characters. Adonis Creed has retired from the ring but is sucked back in when he's forced to fight his former childhood best friend for the championship. There are few stakes and the story plays like another Rocky rehash with zero heart or deeper meaning. Adonis struggles with his new life and some new familial losses should be tearing him apart. Yet, Jordan never brings the dramatics and is lost without Ryan Coogler or Caple to steer him right.
Creed III relies too heavily on series tropes, never bringing anything fresh to the screen other than one highly stylized edit during the final fight. However, this movie will fill a void that is missing in theaters right now. This is a more adult oriented drama that comes at a time when the only successful movies are high budgeted action or comic book movies.
Creed does go to great lengths to establish the Adonis back story through flashbacks and visual cues. But any time it seems to get somewhere, Jordan falters in his directorial choices, which ultimately harms the final product. He's a great actor and is a highly skilled and dynamic performer. Jordan just doesn't understand how to direct himself, painting Adonis Creed into a creative corner.
Where Creed III scores points is in its representation of deaf characters and women. Instead of making his daughter's hearing loss a handicap, she's shown as a strong and capable young lady that doesn't let it keep her down. Tessa carries herself with power and gives some extra female balance to a film that would typically be all about sweaty masculinity and men beating the living daylights out of each other.
This is nowhere near the best of the entire Rocky/Creed saga. And it's nowhere near being a Rocky V debacle either.There are some highlights including Jonathan Majors amazing performance as Damian Anderson. He outshines and out performs Michael B. Jordan at every turn. The man is a force of nature on screen and will be the one to watch in coming years. If you're a fan of Rocky Balboa, understand he's totally glossed over here which kinda stings.
-CG