Every genre has its own cache of story beats that are mixed and matched to create interesting combinations. While we are often familiar with these beats, the trick often lies in the masterful handling of these familiar moments. In a competent film, by the time we do notice where the story is headed, we are far too invested in its drama to care.
Boxing dramas are interesting on that front because there are just two outcomes from such films; the protagonist either wins or loses. However, from the days of Rocky and Jake LaMotta, the narrow possibilities never stopped boxing films from having heart and drama. Of course, the crown jewel of this charming sub-genre is undoubtedly the Rocky franchise, and to an arguable extent, its spinoff: the Creed films.
Creed III is made with so much earnestness and love for its genre that it is a fitting addition to the long-standing legacy of the franchise. However, maintaining a legacy and adding to its glory are two different things. Creed III is a laudable cinematic achievement that gets a lot right, and some wrong.
Michael B Jordan makes a solid directorial debut with the film, which offers a fresh, exuberant visual language to the fight scenes of the series. Seeing the stunts, it is clear that the filmmaker was not exaggerating when he credited Japanese anime (Naruto, Hajime no Ippo, Dragon Ball z) for inspiration. Armed with the creative use of Robo Cam and balancing technology with subtlety, Jordan tastefully adapts anime-esque fight moments to live-action boxing. Every punch, grunt, and jab leaps off the screen. But the film is not just eye-popping visuals, and between Creed and Damian trading punches, Creed III manages to pack a punch with its emotional moments too.
Even as we are gleefully carried away by a succession of visually enthralling moments, the film cracks open, ever so briefly, to reveal its beating heart, in one fleeting moment. This scene, which appears at the training montage towards the end, is where you see Creed broken down, struggling to regain his strength, and flashes of memories wash over him. That moment, where we see Creed fighting against the shame and guilt from his past, is ultimately what the film is all about
On the other hand, we see Damian (an undeniably powerful performance by Jonathan Majors) seething with rage. It is unclear if it’s Damian’s frustration to catch up on life or his jealousy towards Creed that fuels his fire. The nebulousness of it all is what makes his character all the more interesting and leaves us wanting to learn more about him. We’re never truly in his corner but we never truly hate Damian, and that’s how the film makes us empathise with Creed’s predicament.
The film makes an interesting choice in the middle by making Damian interact with Creed’s wife Bianca, who has relegated herself to producing music instead of performing onstage due to the hearing loss mentioned in previous films. Damian, who just got out of jail after 18 years to see his friend become a world champion, asks Bianca, “So how does it feels like to let someone else sing your song.” She is the only one who could understand him, ergo equipped with the insight to make him see the error of his ways but the moment is quickly cut short for the sake of story progression. The film makes such interesting choices with its character explorations but these are never incisive enough.
While the choices made by the characters propel the story towards desirable trajectories, they feel hollow and hurried. This point is exemplified in moments like when Damian shows his true colours to Creed, and Bianca motivates Creed to get back in the ring to fight Damian. Characters arrive at their choices impulsively, motivated solely by basal emotion.
The emotions are heavy and authentic, and yet feel plastic at the same time. This might be because the emotional choices made by the characters as well as character ascensions feel unearned. Where it falters in the script, the film more than makes up for, it with its technical adeptness and captivating performances, brought together by Michael B Jordan’s stellar direction. Creed III has as many misses as it has punches, but sometimes all you need is one good punch for a knockout and this film has it in the form of a director with a distinct creative vision.
Film: Creed-III
Director: Michael B Jordan
Cast: Michael B Jordan, Jonathan Majors, Tessa Thompson
Rating: 3/5