Michael B. Jordan deals a knockout ‘Creed III’
“Creed III” is something of a creative gamble.
Though the first two installments in this “Rocky” spinoff franchise featuring the struggles of Apollo Creed’s son, Adonis, were successful — together, they raked in nearly $400 million at the U.S. box-office — this is the first not to feature the reliable face of Sylvester Stallone. It’s also the first to be directed by Michael B. Jordan, who stars as Adonis, and it is first directing project, ever. Along with the laws of diminishing returns that affect so many sequels, there are so many ways in which this thing could have gone sideways, like a first-time boxer going up against the iron fists of Tyson in his prime. But the gamble paid off. “Creed III” is an intensely enjoyable continuation of the Creed story, one that doesn’t pack a lot of surprises in its punch but nonetheless goes the distance.
The film begins in early 2000s L.A. where a young Adonis (Thaddeus J. Mixson) and older friend Damian (Spence Moore II) are trying to make it on the local boxing circuit. Damian takes care of business in the ring while Adonis is his helper and Damian, a Golden Gloves champ, seems to be on the verge of bigger things.
But a confrontation outside of a convenience store turns violent, sending Adonis running away and Damian to jail. Fast forward to the present day and life’s been good for Adonis (Jordan). He’s retired as a heavyweight champ, runs a successful gym for up-and-coming boxers, is married to a hit singer (Tessa Thompson), has an adorable young daughter (Mila Davis-kent) and lives in the hills above L.A. Not too shabby.
Life’s been rougher for Damian (wonderfully played by Jonathan Majors as an adult) who spent his years in jail pumping lots of iron — Majors turned himself into a beast for the role — and brooding about what he felt was taken from him. Upon his release, he shows up out of the blue at Creed’s gym wanting to get back in the game. Needless to say, the two
former friends turn quickly to enemies and then to grudgematch warriors.
Jordan, who has said in interviews that he was influenced by anime in terms of how he staged the fights, actually plays things pretty straight in how he
handles the action, until the final bout when the sound and the sight of the crowd fall away and it’s just the two of them locked in an intense battle. It’s an effective moment that underscores the action without overwhelming it.
As usual, Jordan is capable as Creed but it’s Majors — a rising star from the indie world who also currently plays the bad guy Kang the Conqueror in “Antman versus The Wasp: Quantumania” — who’s the most compelling. His edgy, combustible energy plays well off Jordan’s straight-arrow stability and gives what could have been a
cartoon character a sense of depth and real menace.
Oddly, the film’s real-life link to the boxing world also strikes its most false note. Champion welterweight and light middleweight fighter Jose Benavidez Jr. plays Felix Chavez, the boxer Damian is first paired with to fight. Outside of a barroom brawl, there’s no way the much slighter Chavez would be matched with the raging bull that is Damian. (Majors is sixfeet-tall and weighs 202 pounds, Benavidez is also six feet but weighs 160.)
But this is a small glitch in what is an otherwise solid directorial debut for Jordan. Bring on “Creed IV.”
Running time: 1 hour 56 minutes Rating: PG-13 (some strong language, intense sports action, violence) cary.darling @houstonchronicle.com