Creed III

In cinemas now

Creed III marks the third instalment of Michael B. Jordan’s lucrative Rocky spin-off and sees the chiselled actor on directorial duties for the first time in his career. That’s a bold step for any thespian to take, and Jordan does a commendable job for the most part.

Crucially, the fight sequences of Creed III pack a punch, with the cited influence of anime series making for a compelling final stand-off between Jordan’s titular protagonist and Jonathan Majors’ physically imposing big bad. Indeed, Majors is the undisputed MVP of this picture, providing a foe that is far more complex than any we’ve seen in this franchise before now.

Sadly, Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin’s screenplay doesn’t really match the efforts of the film’s leading men, as it lurches from one improbable event to the next. Granted, that is a staple of the Rocky series (and sport films in general), but Coogler and Baylin ask the audience to suspend their disbelief more than most. Take, for example, the improbable rise of Majors’ antagonist, which sees him literally go from convict to world champion within one fight. Or the film’s imploration of us to believe that the ripped Creed is somehow over-the-hill and the underdog of this story. Despite their best intentions, Coogler, Baylin, and Jordan do little to develop the arcs of Creed’s female characters either, with Tessa Thompson once again on cheerleader duties for the most part.

The absence of Sylvester Stallone is also felt, not so much physically but due to the fact that the screenplay makes no mention of him. While it’s refreshing to see Creed step out from Rocky’s shadow, this felt like a misstep for me and left the former’s character feeling underdeveloped.

That being said, this is a perfectly functional sequel that has done stellar business at the box office, and underlines the magnetism of both Jordan and Majors as leading men.