This is it, folks. Six Rocky films and two Creeds later, we’re finally at the last movie. Feels like I should get a championship belt for getting here…
Like Creed II, I didn’t know much about III going into it. I remember hearing in some interviews forever ago that Michael B. Jordan loved shounen battle anime and wanted to incorporate some of those elements into the film, ala Hajime no Ippo. On paper, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea.
More importantly: this is the first film in the series without Sylvester Stalone. That’s right, Rocky Balboa’s story is well and truly over! Now it’s time to see if Creed can stand on his own, or if the series will crumble without its founding father.
Ring the bell, ref. It’s time for the final round!
Los Angeles, 2002. A teenage Adonis sneaks out of his house in the night with a friend. The pair head for a club for a match. Donnie’s friend, Dame, is in for a match, and Adonis is there to help coach him and set up some definitely above-board bets. Dame wins, the two make some bank, and they drive to a gas station to celebrate.
Right away, you can tell the anime influence is real. Kid’s got a Gundam figure and a poster for both Lupin the III and Naruto. It would be fun and harmless, if it weren’t nonsense! This flashback is set in 2002, yet that Naruto poster was for Shippuden, which wouldn’t air in the US until 2009! Even the original Naruto anime didn’t debut in the states until 2005!
Am I nitpicking too much over a poster that has all of five seconds of screen time? Absolutely. Is it important? Definitely not.
That’s the end of that paragraph.
Anyways, Donnie finds some dude named Leon outside the gas station and assaults him. I guess the two have some history; how mysterious. Before you can even wrap your head around what just happened, however, we cut back to the present, in which Creed, now fully grown, is having a rematch with Conlan before retiring.
Okay, so… a lot to unpack here. First: I thought Conlan was going to prison at the end of the first movie. I guess they let him out early. Second: this opening fight is alright. The blows have some strong impact and there’s some pretty good camera work. Even so, this whole opening to the movie just feels kinda rushed and messy. Strange, since it’s the longest opening out of any of the three Creed films.
One title card later, and we rejoin Donnie at home, taking a nap and getting messed with by his daughter. This is kinda cute; the two communicate through sign language, Adonis gets into a silly onsie, and the two play house together. As there’s very little spoken dialogue, it lets the movie’s excellent score do the work. It’s simple and wholesome. I like it.
After that, Donnie goes to flirt and distract Bianca as she works. Hope you enjoy several minutes of Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson flirting. It’s cute at first, but it gets real old real fast, and the scene lasts a tad too long.
Heading to the gym, we learn what Adonis is up to now that he’s retired: he’s promoting for the new champ, Felix. But he’s got an unexpected visitor: Damian! Yet it’s not the joyful reunion you’d expect, given their friendship from the opening. There’s some clear tension between the two. Still, they head off to get a bite to eat and catch up.
Despite years living behind bars, Dame still wants to become the heavyweight champion. So Donnie sets him up for some training time with Duke. Despite this favor, Adonis is still clearly uncomfortable with his old friend’s presence. Peeking back into the flashback, we see a young Donnie get ambushed for Dame to appear, gun in hand. The plot thickens…
Tension is high back home, as well. After Donnie’s mother apparently had a stroke, he’s extra paranoid over her health. When she learns of Damian’s arrival, she grows tense. Whatever happened in the past, Mama Creed doesn’t want Damian anywhere nearby.
The next day at the gym, it becomes pretty clear that Damian is unwelcome here as well. Surrounded by young chickens, he’s considered an old man past his prime. Even so, he gets set up to spar with Felix, as no one else wants a go at the champ. Before we can see what happened, however, we cut to Donnie’s daughter (Amara, played by Mila Davis-Kent) getting bullied and punching said bully’s lights out.
This causes a rift between Adonis and Bianca. Adonis, being a natural born fighter, wants to teach Amara how to fight and defend herself. Bianca, however, wants to teach her daughter how to properly assess and control her feelings. A classic debate amongst parents.
Not that I would know, my parents were only ever called into school because I said and drew things no nine-year-old should have drawn or said. But they thought it was funny, so I got off scot-free. Suck it, Mrs. Grant!
Getting back on track: Damian goes to Donnie’s place for dinner. While the two bros explore Donnie’s boxing man-cave, Dame makes his intentions perfectly clear: he wants a title shot. Adonis, of course, says that it can’t be done. But even he isn’t set on his decision. If his father could give Rocky a chance, why couldn’t he do the same for his friend?
Again at the gym, Damian gets in trouble for going too far in a sparring match. It’s becoming clearer and clearer that Adonis is his only friend in the gym. So he goes home to vent his rage.
Later in the evening, Adonis gives his daughter some boxing lessons. It’s another cute scene. Their silent father-daughter moments are quickly proving to be the best parts of the movie.
After a party goes wrong, Viktor Drago is left injured and unable to fight. With no other opponents to pit against Felix, Adonis gives Damian what he wants. Like his father gave Rocky a chance, so too will Adonis give Dame his.
At Crypto.com Arena. You telling me Adonis Creed is pushing bitcoin now? Fuck me, I’d take regular old product placement over that any day!
Oh… the Hennesy logo is on the ring… Worst of both worlds, I guess.
There is a fairly cool shot during this sequence. Adonis goes to check up on Damian before the fight starts. When he goes to leave, the two stop in their subsequent doorways. They both stop and turn as if to look at each other, but there’s a wall standing between them. Adonis shakes his head, then leaves. A clever bit of visual storytelling.
One WWE entrance later, and it’s time for the first fight. Felix VS Damian. Is it any good?
Yeah, it’s alright. Definitely one of the more interesting fights in the series. Damian fights dirtier than any boxer we’ve seen up to now, swinging for Felix’s arms to weaken him and striking like a wrecking ball. It gets bloody real quick, with Dame even loosing a tooth. It’s brutal, bloody, and grim.
Winner: Damian. But it’s hardly the Cinderella story we saw in Rocky 1. Felix is hospitalized, and Donnie is all but banished from the gym. Worse yet, Dame shows his true colors at last: he’s only been using Donnie, manipulating him to get a shortcut to success. Now he’s going after Adonis’ reputation to complete his revenge.
As a villain, I think Damian is… fine. He’s clearly meant to fill the Sasuke role in the story here, and he does a decent job of it. Jonathan Majors is certainly a good actor and he’s doing great stuff with the material. But for me, his story wasn’t as engaging or interesting as what we’ve seen from the likes of the Dragos. Still, he works well in the story being told.
We’ve officially hit the low point in the film. Adonis and Bianca get into a massive fight right in front of Amara. Memories of his childhood haunt him. And the final nail in the coffin: Adonis’ mother has another stroke and passes away. Rock, meet bottom.
In a heart-to-heart with Bianca, Adonis finally reveals the truth of the flashback. The man he assaulted was his former foster father, an abusive piece of shit, hence why Adonis attacked him. When the cops arrived, Donnie ran and left Dame behind. Revealed not via a completed flashback, but by… exposition.
Close, but no cigar.
One talk show disaster later, and the gauntlet is thrown. Adonis and Damian are to have a titleship bout. You know what that means: training montage time!
It’s alright. I like how Drago returns to help Donnie train; it’s very shounen anime, and I do love me a bad guy made ally. Beyond that, it’s just okay. Nowhere near as exhilarating as montages past, including the ones in the previous two Creed films.
But how about the actual fight? Adonis VS Damian. The climactic final battle of the Creed trilogy. Is it a bang, or a whimper?
Yeah, it’s pretty good. The hits have weight, the camera work is solid, and the music is intense as all hell! There are a few strange cuts and awkward close-ups, but aside from them, it’s a rock solid finale.
There’s a really cool bit of visual storytelling here. The fight takes on a more dream-like quality to it, with the ropes becoming bars to a cell and the crowd disappearing. It’s just Adonis and Damian, throwing hands in a cage. They even do the Naruto thing of showing their child selves sitting in the corner, as well as, of course, the classic simultaneous punch. You can really feel the Hajime no Ippo influence here, and I for one am not complaining!
Surprising no one, Creed wins the fight. With the battle over, the two sit down and talk it out. Despite all the mistakes the two made to hurt one another, they finally put it behind them and make up.
To cap off the film, we get one last bit of family fun with Adonis, Bianca, and Amara. A bit of silent play boxing in the ring. It’s a cute and satisfying note to end the movie on.
Overall, I thought Creed III was a mixed bag. I thought everything with Adonis and Amara was adorable and the fights were solid. But the story was a bit messy, with plenty of telling rather than showing.
When all is said and done, however, I do think it was a good movie. Not an exceptional one, but enjoyable. Not the worst note we could have ended on.
And with that, we’re finally done. That’s all the Rocky and Creed movies. What a rollercoaster this series turned out to be!
Now only one thing remains to do. But not today.
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