BY GEORGE ESCALANTE
Walking into any blockbuster movie these days is a challenge as certain expectations result in a yearning for it to deliver bang for your buck for those two hours.
Whether it be feeling every explosion, smirking at the one-liners, or seeing the world be saved for the hundredth time that year, people want value. A sequel or a follow-up is even more daunting of a task because you have to deliver for the people that loved the first but for it to compete on its own merit.
Creed III, as the title suggests, is the third movie of this boxing franchise and it is part of a world that existed before Adonis Creed --- the story of Rocky Balboa. But years have come and gone, and it's no longer about the Italian Stallion but about The Son of Creed.
Legacies like this are daunting for any director. For the previous two entries, each one was led by a different director, and this one is no different.
Unless you are accounting for the fact that this director is the main character, it's also his
directorial debut. For some, it makes sense that the person suited to direct should be the person playing the main character himself because who knows them better?
You would be exactly right because not only does Michael B. Jordan deliver for his first movie, but he adds so much flare and theatrics not previously seen. Jordan makes you want to get up and join the fight because of the excitement, thrill, and impact of this blockbuster. This continuation feels purposeful in the way some sequels don't, and it carries over the legacy theme.
Going into this third movie, I took it upon myself to rewatch the other entries of the Creed series.
Suppose the first one is about making your own legacy, the second is about embracing that
legacy, and this new entry is about defending your legacy. Throughout each film, there is talk
about Apollo Creed and what he did. So, like all great men, Adonis Creed made his own legacy and embraced it for himself and nobody else. In this one entry, he has to defend it against the past that haunts him.
This movie follows an older Adonis Creed coming face to face, not with a villain of another life or the problems that come with a name, but with a person from his past trying to take back what he thinks is owed.
Thus enters Damian Anderson, a friend from the past played by Jonathan Majors, who does a fantastic job portraying this character because you almost want to root for this villain. But everyone from Tessa Thompson to the little cameos from Florian Munteanu gives a heart-pumping and exhilarating performance.
When it comes to modern blockbusters, this new entry into the Creed franchise punches above its weight and goes for a knockout in Michael B. Jordan's filmography.
I give Creed 5 out of 5 stars.
Comments