Creed III Review: Solid Punches Lacking a Knockout

By: Bryane Escobar

Creed 3, the 9th film in the Rocky/Creed franchise, has revealed itself to be a huge success both critically and commercially. Here’s a review of the film.

Michael Jordan plays the titular character, Adonis Creed and Jonathan Majors plays the film’s antagonist, Damian Anderson. Their rivalry in the film stems from Damian’s perceived sense of abandonment by Adonis. Creating a compelling narrative of interpersonal competition between the two. If you have even a passing interest in the film, I would definitely recommend giving this one a watch.

Here we head into spoiler territory, those worried of spoilers you have been warned.

It’s clear to see that within the performances of essentially all characters in the film they all are well settled into their characters. One notable exception from the cast is Sylvester Stallone, and his character of Rocky Balboa.

Due to controversy between Sylvester Stallone and his producer, Irwin Winkler, Stallone is not present in the film, and his absence is strongly felt. When dealing with such a kind-hearted character like Rocky Balboa, with the events of the film, he shouldn’t be absent.

In an event like this, Rocky would show up and support Adonis, but the character isn’t even name-dropped in the film. To an avid fan of the franchise, it simply feels off. However, that’s not to say the film can’t stand alone on its own.

In regards to the cinematography, this film stepped up its game. It’s obvious that with new technology the film would look crisp, but it was still unexpected how vibrant the movie was. Color was implemented very well, the camera moved smoothly, and fantastic transitions brought the fight sequences to life.

Speaking of fight sequences, it’s apparent that Damian takes inspiration from Mike Tyson after his release from jail in 1995. Therefore, Damian is a heavy hitter. The only issue is everybody in the film is like that, a heavy hitter. Jabs were rarely used in the choreography for the film.

It feels like every punch within this current film gives the same importance as a harsher punch in previous films. To be frank, when every punch is a haymaker, none of them feel significant. Simply, the fight feels tone-deaf.

The only issues in the story are nitpicks.

For example, Damian spends 18 years in jail for brandishing a firearm with priors, but in the state of California brandishing a firearm with priors would realistically only lead to a maximum sentencing of three to five years. Even if Damian had issues in jail, it was not made clear to the audience. Examples like this happen on occasion in the film, however, if you’re in the moment you don’t notice it much.

Besides all these flaws, the film is still pretty good.

As I mentioned previously, I would definitely recommend giving this film a watch. In regards to the entire franchise, I would likely put this film in the middle. It had solid punches, yet failed to knock me out of my seat.

I worry that future films in the franchise will begin to flanderize themselves, meaning that they begin to hyperfocus on interpersonal character relationships. In a film about boxing, the focus on a complicated web of personal relationships feels unrealistic and unearned. I hope that future films take a step back and look at their predecessors and learn from its humble roots.