Alright everyone, I am working my way through watching every movie that Mr. Jonathan Majors touches and this film was definitely on my most anticipated list. Creed III starring Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, and Jonathan Majors is the third installment in the Creed franchise. Although Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky is absent from this film due to issues with the production team, Creed III does not pull any punches.
To start, I would not say I am a huge anime fan compared to the masses out there but I definitely do dabble in my fair share. Michael B. Jordan is a widely known anime fan and learning that he was directing this film, there were definitely going to be some references that I did not want to miss. The cinematography of the boxing scenes are filled with references from Megalo Box, Hajime no Ippo, and Dragon Ball Z. There is literally a scene in the movie that Michael B. Jordan’s character Adonis takes a gut punch that is eerily similar to a certain scene with Frieza from DBZ. I will leave it at that and let you watch it and find out.
Another concept of anime transitioning over to Creed III was the relationship between Jonathan Major’s Dame and Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis. This is a lot more subtle but their relationship reminded me of Kakashi (Adonis) and Obito (Damian) in Naruto. Although the movie was a little under 2 hours, there was so much groundwork built within a couple of scenes between Adonis and Dame that made the third act so satisfying.
Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson’s chemistry has been culminating since the beginning of this franchise which has now resulted with a daughter (played by Mila Davis-Kent) and Adonis facing his internal struggles of being vulnerable. Although the acting from both of them was superb, they set up a subplot of the daughter fighting at her school that ultimately didn’t tie up loose ends. This movie could have lasted a bit longer to explore more on that.
Creed III, being Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut, had a lot of heart and passion put into its development. Although it could have used a little more presence of Rocky, it was a spectacular movie that solidified Creed as a franchise and opened doors for possible spin-offs that would be just as entertaining.
Catch the latest Creed film out in theaters now!
