Image by mohamed_hassan from Pixabay Nearly ten years after the release of the sixth (and supposedly final) entry in Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky series, an up-and-coming director Ryan Coogler (of Black Panther fame) ushered in a new era of the “Italian Stallion” and his world by offering a fresh perspective on it through the eyes of the late Apollo Creed’s illegitimate son: Adonis “Donnie” Johnson (Michael B. Jordan). The result? Released in 2015, Creed received near-universal critical and audience praise and revitalized the Rocky franchise for a new generation.
Now, eight years after that, Donnie’s story continues with the highly-anticipated Creed III which officially brings the franchise into its sixth consecutive decade of entertaining moviegoers with stories about underdogs, boxers, and underdog boxers. What better time to dissect each movie in the Creed trilogy as a way to wrap up my overall thoughts on this sports drama series begun by Stallone nearly fifty years ago? So, without further ado…LET’S GET STARTED! Creed (2015) When I first watched through this series, I anticipated having mixed feelings about the Rocky movies while liking the Creed movies. However, I was cautiously optimistic due to my lack of love for Black Panther. When the credits rolled on my first viewing, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Creed. And I was even happier when I enjoyed it just as much on a rewatch. First and foremost, the story choice on the part of Coogler and his friend/co-writer Aaron Covington to make the son of Apollo Creed the protagonist is genuinely inspired. Not only does it give the audience a new underdog fighter to root for, but by shifting the franchise’s perspective to a new family name (and, therefore, legacy), the narrative feels fresh and new without ignoring or disrespecting the history of the Rocky movies that came before. And that protagonist is a pretty good character in his debut. Largely thanks to B. Jordan’s solid performance, Donnie carries on the tradition began by Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) back in the first film of proving himself in the ring in order to prove something to himself. To do so, he’s driven by his hunger for a shot in the professional boxing world without riding on his late father’s coattails by using his mother’s name rather than the well-respected name of “Creed.” However, once his truth of his parentage becomes public knowledge, Donnie is confronted with the complexities of his father’s legacy while also making sure that he earns the chances he’s been given to prove his worth facing off against the world light heavyweight champion “Pretty” Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew). Undeniably, there are several aspects of Donnie’s arc that echo Rocky’s arc from his first movie. While this is somewhat unavoidable given the storyteller’s constraints within the formula of a boxing movie, I appreciate that Coogler, Covington, and B. Jordan push those limits in how they tell Donnie’s inner struggle with his own identity that, ultimately, ends up in him embracing the Creed name. It is this angle of the narrative that helps to distinguish Creed from Rocky, helping it stand on its own while simultaneously feeling synchronous with the atmosphere of the franchise of six films preceding it. In my humble opinion, that seemingly effortless harmony largely goes to Coogler’s credit as a director. While I think his distinctive style comes off a little excessive in Black Panther, it feels like there is a certain level of restraint on display. In particular, I was impressed during my rewatch of Creed how well Coogler manages to balance more modern filmmaking sensibilities with seamless homages to the more over-the-top cinema presented in the mainline Rocky series. The mish-mashing hip-hop music with Bill Conti’s classic Rocky themes makes for some compelling training montages. In addition, the climactic fight between Donnie and Conlan embraces more kinetic camerawork from Emmy-nominated cinematographer Maryse Alberti (The Wrestler, Chappaquiddick) in order to invest more effectively immerse the audience in every single block and jab than the preceding films in this franchise. However, Coogler still knows when it’s just the right moment to invoke the classic Rocky theme song to bring forth the audience’s nostalgic love for the “Italian Stallion” and impose it upon their new favorite underdog boxer. Such a well-intentioned and superb balance of love for the past and hope for the future is all over Creed; what more could fans ask for? Well…Sylvester Stallone, of course! 😊 Unlike his turns in some of the Rocky movies (both in his writing & acting), Stallone does anything but phone it in here. Not dissimilar from the heart he brought to the “Italian Stallion” in the first Rocky movie, he fully embraces the supporting nature of his role in Creed to uplift Donnie’s journey while also stealing much of the movie thanks to an Oscar-nominated performance. In short, he builds off of Rocky’s confrontation with aging and mortality that begun in Rocky Balboa to make the audience suitably emotional over the threat of his character dying from cancer. But, deeper than that, he brings such a vulnerable and relatable beauty to Rocky’s initial reluctance to fight the disease by reminding us just how much he’s lost by now (both his best friends and his beloved wife). Together, Donnie and Rocky need each other. They feed off of each other’s fighting spirits to help the other get through some tough times in their lives. The result? An incredible teacher-student duo that continues the Rocky franchise into a new age with an amount of grace and skill that (in my humble opinion) supersedes all the films in the series that came before. Yet, Creed still honors its predecessor’s thematic roots by making the heart and soul of its story about finding family, love, and purpose. What more could Rocky fans ask for? 😊 Creed II (2018) Despite being committed to directing Black Panther, Coogler stayed on as executive producer for the sequel to Creed. Picking up the director’s hat, Steven Caple, Jr. who by then had only one feature film under his belt. Yet, the faith placed in him by Coogler and the studio was proven worthwhile. Joined by writer Juel Taylor, Stallone also picked up the pen once more to co-write the sequel’s screenplay (as he had done for every Rocky movie up to that point except Creed). Together with the incredible cast from the first movie and some new (or not-so-new) additions, this team managed to deliver another great movie in this series with Creed II. This time around, Donnie’s journey begins with him successfully defeating the world heavyweight champion Danny “Stuntman” Wheeler (Andre Ward) and winning back his Ford Mustang in the process. Now the reigning champ, Donnie possesses the confidence befitting such a sports celebrity. Which makes just the right time for a wrench to get thrown into his life in the form of a ghost from his father Apollo’s and Rocky’s past: Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), who brings his son Viktor (Florian Munteanu) stateside to challenge Donnie’s championship. Despite some pretty absurd storylines of Stallone’s in the previous Rocky flicks, none is perhaps more ridiculous than the “Italian Stallion” himself traveling to the Soviet Union and fighting Ivan Drago to avenge the death of his rival-turned-trainer/friend Apollo Creed who Drago killed in an exhibition match in Rocky IV. On top of that, Lundgren’s Drago is arguably the most memorable antagonist from the original Rocky series. Combined, these factors serve as a direct challenge to writers Taylor and Stallone and director Caple, Jr. to ask the question: “What if the sequel to Creed is centered on a vicarious rematch between Apollo and Drago through their sons?” Only the Rocky series is ballsy enough to make one of the craziest plotlines that spawned the Creed spin-offs the focal point of the eighth film in the franchise. And it shouldn’t work…but it does! 😊 To propel the narrative, Donnie is faced with some adult decisions. Should he just enjoy being champion and focus on his growing family with Bianca (Tessa Thompson), or should he allow pride to cloud his judgment by taking Drago’s needless challenge? While the answer may seem obvious to some, most of us never had the father we never met get murdered in a boxing match by the Soviet Union’s prime fighter. As such, Donnie feels he has no choice but to take the challenge and right the wrongs committed against his father and his name. However, his hubris and overconfidence (in addition to not having Rocky in his corner) cause him to get badly injured in the match with Viktor. Despite retaining his championship due to Viktor being disqualified for misconduct, Donnie’s faith in himself is shattered. Beyond the storytellers’ daring move to utilize the legacy of Rocky IV as the basis for their plot, what I most appreciate about Creed II is that Donnie can only overcome his failure in the fight with Viktor by re-focusing on what matters most: family. While I didn’t say much about it with regards to Creed, I really love the chemistry between Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson. Unlike the rocky (😊) start to Stallone’s dynamic with Talia Shire in the first movie, Donnie and Bianca’s blossoming romance and deep bond in both Creed movies helps ground them in genuine human relationships. Which gets to the subplot of Creed II centered on the Dragos. I don’t think it’s controversial to say that this is the weaker aspect of this film’s narrative when compared to Donnie’s “fall-and-rise” journey. That being said, I appreciate the filmmakers’ ambitions to humanize the Dragos by exploring the effects of generational trauma committed by Ivan against Viktor. Furthermore, this decision produces one of the more emotional moments in the final fight when Ivan, seeing Viktor getting beat up by Donnie, does what Rocky should’ve done for Apollo all those years ago: he throws in the towel to protect his son. Realizing his mistake in putting so much pressure on Viktor to redeem their family name, Ivan reassures him that losing is okay. I don’t think any antagonist in the entire Rocky franchise has ever gotten as much solid writing as Ivan and Viktor did in Creed II. Overall, I think this movie does some things better than the first Creed and some things not as well. One advantage it has, in my humble opinion, over its predecessor is its pacing. While there were a few slower moments in Creed for me, I think Creed II made a slightly more effective use of its runtime with the first act highlighting Donnie’s fall, the second act focused on him rekindling his friendship with Rocky and supporting Bianca through the birth of their daughter Amara, and the third act seeing him train and redeem himself in the rematch with Viktor. Honestly, I think this is somewhat due to Stallone’s involvement in writing the screenplay. Unquestionably, he knows the formula for a good boxing movie (perhaps better than anyone else). As such, his experience telling these kinds of stories shines through in the pacing. On that note, since this is (possibly) Stallone’s final outing as the character, I think it’s fitting that he co-wrote the movie and gave Rocky a pretty good send-off reconnecting with his son Robert (Milo Ventimiglia) and meeting his grandson Logan (Robbie Johns) for the first time. At the end of the day, these are the Creed movies and Rocky doesn’t necessarily need to be in them (at least, I don’t think he does; let’s hope Creed III proves me right 😊). Simply put, I think Creed and Creed II are equally great movies and if I rewatched them both again I could find myself flipping them in my final ranking. However, I personally vibe with Creed II a little more because of Michael B. Jordan’s performance and Donnie’s arc. By the time the credits rolled, it felt like the character found his stride and would be able to carry a third entry in the franchise all on his own. I have yet to see Creed III at the time of writing this, but I hope that it will continue the streak of great moviemaking that these first two Creed movies offered. And with Michael B. Jordan following in Stallone’s footsteps by making his directorial debut in the series starring himself, the sky is the limit! Creed III (2023) [NOTE: This blog contains spoilers for “Creed III.” You have been warned.] The third time around, Creed finally feels like a film franchise standing on its own two feet without relying on the events of any of the Rocky movies to flesh out its narrative. To do so, director (and star) Michael B. Jordan and screenwriters Keenan Coogler (brother of Ryan Coogler) and Zack Baylin (King Richard) go all in about making Creed III the most personal story for Adonis. And, for the most part, this pays off tremendously. The core of the film’s story has Donnie facing the haunting specter of guilt from his past for (in his mind) abandoning his best friend Damian “Dame” Anderson (Jonathan Majors) when the latter was arrested while saving Donnie from a vicious beatdown when they were teenagers. Without question, this setup allows the filmmakers to offer plausibility for Rocky Balboa’s absence (that and, of course, his heartfelt reunion with his son Robert, Jr. in Toronto at the end of Creed II). Which is greatly needed to tell this particular story about Donnie dealing with events from his past—not Rocky’s. As such, I greatly respect this overarching creative decision for Creed III because it helps the movie stand out from every other in the franchise in a meaningful way. Of course, this is not the only way that Creed III differentiates itself from previous entries. Making his directorial debut here, Michael B. Jordan not only turns in another stellar performance as the titular protagonist. He also carves out a niche for himself as a stylistic director with unique sensibilities (especially when compared to every other Rocky and Creed flick). In particular, the way he shoots the fight choreography for the boxing in this movie is both more dynamic and immersive (perhaps with the exception of Coogler’s work in the first Creed movie). No offense Stallone, but B. Jordan’s approach to directing here felt much more inspired than any of the Rocky flicks that were directed by their titular star. Simply put, I’m not always impressed when actors put on the directing hat for one of their movies. However, B. Jordan earns it with his work in Creed III by exciting me for whatever he directs next (whether it be another Creed movie or something outside of this franchise). If not for a new addition to the cast of Creed, B. Jordan’s directing would be what most people leaving the theater are talking about. Alas, it is Jonathan Majors’ turn as “Dame” Anderson that not only steals the show from the other actors in this movie but also outshines every other antagonist in all the Rocky and Creed movies. Sitting in the theater on opening weekend, I was engrossed with every second of Majors’ performance from the way his smile would disappear to the light-footed, dance-like way he moved in the ring. Even the crook of his brow or flicker of his eyes is so captivating that it’s clear from the get-go how every ounce of his mind, body and soul are wholly committed to making the audience love and hate Damian simultaneously. As much as I liked Majors’ character, however, he also expertly pulled off the heel turn in the second half of the film. As a result, I was (perhaps for the first time in the entire franchise) more invested in how Donnie and Dame would resolve their beef outside of the ring than how the fight inside the ring would end. In my humble opinion, this just goes to show how good of an idea it was to make the story of this movie so deeply personal. With a lesser performance from Donnie’s opponent, Creed III would not work as well as it does. Thankfully, Majors proves how important it is for the audience to be emotionally invested in Donnie’s opponents in order to make these kinds of movies (and particularly this story) work. If I have any notable criticisms of this movie, it’s with the writing. While the three-act structure of its overall narrative works for me, there are some particular choices made by Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin that hold back Creed III from completely surpassing its two immediate predecessors. First off, I appreciated the time jump between the second and third Creed movies for no other reason than aging up Donnie and Bianca’s daughter Amara (Mila Davis-Kent). Her and B. Jordan have very good chemistry together. That being said, I feel like Amara’s subplot involving her being bullied should’ve either added several more minutes to the final cut or been cut completely. The way it turned out felt both convoluted and underdeveloped, which only adds to the idea that it was a cheap way to force a sequel involving Donnie training Amara to box. Simply put, I think the actress did a good job but her character’s role in the screenplay was a bit awkward. Furthermore, one of the hidden gems of the Creed trilogy is Donnie’s adoptive mom and Apollo’s widow Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad) who has some of the more emotional scenes in all three movies outside of the ring. However, the way her character’s end is handled in Creed III came off as pretty forced and lacked the emotional impact that I think was intended by the storytellers. In the same vein of Mickey’s death in Rocky III, I just think the way Mary Anne was killed off did not justify the act of doing it. And the fact that her funeral is the one time in the film where Rocky’s absence actually took away from the scene doesn’t help this particular narrative decision. Ultimately, though, these are some minor critiques for what I think is still a solid sports drama. On top of that, the fact that this movie—a second sequel to an eight-year-old film that itself should not have worked—is as good as it is an impressive feat all the same. While I do think that it falls just short of the first two Creed movies, it certainly avoids tainting the increasingly enduring legacy of this subset of a franchise started by Ryan Coogler back in 2015. And, more important than anything, it’s a damn entertaining movie with great acting and directing and some good (but flawed) writing that shockingly makes me excited for a potential fourth Creed flick (and tenth entry in the Rocky franchise). With all that said, here is my official ranking of all nine films in the Rocky/Creed franchise:
What is your favorite Creed film? Would you prefer Sylvester Stallone to appear in a fourth Creed movie, a seventh Rocky movie, both, or neither? What opinions of mine do you find absolutely ridiculous? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, this has been… Yours Truly, Amateur Analyst
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Austin McManusI have no academic or professional background in film production or criticism; I simply love watching and talking about movies. Archives
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