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In Creed III, the sequel to the 2018 film, Michael B. Jordan returns to play Adonis Creed.
After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed has thrived in his career and family life. When childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian (Jonathan Majors), resurfaces after serving a long prison sentence, he is eager to prove he deserves his chance in the ring.
Damian asks Creed for help so he can help him return to the fighting championships. Regardless, eighteen years in prison changes a person, and Damian is none too pleased that Creed has “taken his place” in the boxing ring. Two old friends will struggle to face their past together and face the future that awaits them. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to fight Damian — a fighter with nothing to lose.
This is the starting point of the ninth episode of the “Rocky” saga.
Started by Sylvester Stallone in 1977, and sequel to “Creed” (directed by Ryan Coogler in 2015) and “Creed II” (Steven Caple Jr., 2018). In this new moment in Creed’s history, Michael B. Jordan returns to bring the protagonist to life and takes over, for the first time, directing duties, following a script written by Keenan Coogler (Ryan’s brother) and Zach Baylin. Although Stallone continues to be listed as a producer, “Creed III” is the first film in the series without the presence of the mythical character Rocky Balboa.
Sylvester Stallone had already signalled that he would not participate in the third film. He played Balboa, the former world heavyweight champion, who turned mentor to Adonis, son of the late former rival Apollo Creed.
Conclusion
This is another boxing movie. In my opinion, it could have been a more captivating story. It brings nothing new, a settling of scores between two friends, a lot of hate in the mix and the same ending seen so many times. Despite being a nice film to see, it didn’t excite me at all. What I see is another film that lives in Rocky’s shadow but will never be able to have its own identity.