Michael B. Jordan directed his first film “Creed III.” It opens with a flashback of Adonis and his childhood best friend helping him sneak out to a secret underground boxing club for a match. Damian, his best friend, is a well-known boxer in the club who easily defeats his opponent in the match. They then celebrate and stop at a local store for food. As Adonis walks into the store, he passes a man he recognized and asks,“Hey, Leon do you remember me?” He then punches the man knocking him to the ground. The first scenes already have you questioning the movie and how this will all add up.

The movie then cuts back to the modern day and where Adonis seems to be losing in his final match. He seems defensive in the fight but comes into the next round swinging, easily defeats his opponent, and retires as a champion. Which confuses the audience because he’s retiring. Makes you question the direction the movie is going in.

The next scene is Adonis taking a phone call in his gym and walking outside. He sees a man leaning up against his car and confronts him. When confronting the man he then realizes it’s his old friend Damian.

We see the two hanging out and catching up. But the whole time Damian seems jealous and as if he has something on his mind. He then asks Adonis to help him get back into the boxing world after being in prison for 18 years. Adonis tries to help him, but it doesn’t seem as if he actually can due to Damian being too aggressive during practice matches. The original fight that was going down between Adonis’s prodigy and Drago was canceled due to Drago being attacked and injured. Adonis then gives Damian the opportunity to fight his prodigy. The rest of the movie is a mystery until you go see it for yourself. 

Review

Though this was the first film in the series’ to not feature Rocky, Sylvester Stallone’s iconic character. The cinematography of the movie was amazing, and the pace was perfect. There wasn’t a time in the movie where it felt as if it was dragging or too long. 

The last fight was a favorite. The cinematography was on point, and the effects were perfect. You could really feel the tension between Adonis and Damian in the final fight. Another viewer at the theater, Jose Ramirez said, “I loved the dynamic between the two characters and how you can feel each other’s anger throughout the build up.” As an overall ranking, the film is a nine out of 10. Currently, on Rotten Tomatoes tomatometer the film holds a solid 88% and a 96% on the audience score.