BROKEN BROTHERS: a review of "Creed III"

 

"CREED III"
Based upon characters created by Sylvester Stallone
Story by Ryan Coogler and Keenan Coogler & Zach Baylin
Screenplay Written by Keenan Coogler & Zach Baylin
Directed by Michael B. Jordan
***1/2 (three and a half stars)
RATED PG 13

"It is easier to build strong children than fix broken men."
-Frederick Douglass. 1855

Last night, I watched the latest Chris Rock comedy standup special entitled "Selective Outrage," which aired as a global live streaming event upon Netflix. Rock's skills and artistry as a comic notwithstanding, the obvious draw of this event special was to see if he would, at long last, fully address the attack he withstood upon the global stage of the Academy Awards telecast one year ago, when a quip launched from him towards Jada Pinkett Smith therefore launched the fury of her husband Will Smith who roared expletives from his seat and then, launched himself on stage to physically assault Rock in retribution. 

In short, Rock did as desired. But, it was indeed cloaked within a fully uneven and strangely mercenary special, and one that felt to be more disingenuous than he consistently let on throughout with his prevalent statements of how he would never "play the victim" about the incident. Regardless, what struck me one year ago as well as last night, is how this one moment in time has done to illuminate the inner worlds and traumas of Black men, and globally famous Black men at that, and how those traumas reveal themselves in a world that is unacknowledging to the point of intolerance towards the cultivation of a Black male's emotional world.

Michael B. Jordan's directorial debut "Creed III," the third film in the ongoing saga of Adonis Creed speaks directly to this specific injustice in the world of Black men in America. It is an especially poignant document of the Black experience while also existing as a solid installment in this spin off of the "Rocky" series created by Sylvester Stallone nearly 50 years ago. 

"Creed III": again stars Michael B. Jordan as Adonis "Donnie" Creed, who at the start of this film, has remained victorious as the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion and has reached his period of well earned retirement. His marriage to musician/artist, now successful producer, Bianca Taylor (Tessa Thompson) remains strong as is their devotional bond to their young daughter Amara (Mila Davis-Kent), who is deaf and clearly wishes to follow n her boxing Dad's footsteps. Additionally, Adonis continues to care for and seek counsel from his aging Mother, Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad), who is now in ailing health due to a stroke.  

While Adonis, alongside his coach Tony "Little Duke" Evers Jr. (Wood Harris), operates the Delphi Boxing Academy, and promotes his protégé, world champion Felix Chavez (Jose Benavidez Jr.), his life hits a new obstacle with the unexpected return of childhood group home best friend/Golden Gloves champion/world champion hopeful Damien "Dame" Anderson (Jonathan Majors), new released from 18 years in prison. 

Dame craves a return to the ring, another chance to grab the title he was denied in the past, despite his current age and Adonis' retirement. The tension upon this reunion sparks conflict both internal and outwardly towards the friends as well as within Adonis' family and the comfort of his life which he has worked so diligently to cultivate.

Michael B. Jordan as leading man and director makes for a formidable presence in "Creed III," as he deftly continues to build the life story of this character. There is a certain poetry to the Creed series as it mirrors the thematic aesthetics Rocky series as well as the visual. Yes, we will receive the training montages and climactic boxing matches but it is more than interesting to witness how the character of Rocky was utilized during his life steps in comparison and contrast to Adonis Creed.

If the initial films in both cinematic arcs focused upon Rocky and Adonis as underdogs, and the second films found new strides within their love relationships and growing into their respective manhoods as domestic partners and parents as well as athletes and gradually aging warriors, "Creed III," very much like Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky III" (1982), finds Adonis Creed older, wiser and armed with an immense wealth, the culm nation of his efforts, hard work and dreams.

The differences between the two series is also just as startling as Stallone took hsi signature character from a human being into a pure box office cartoon and back to a  human being over the course of the series, while the story of Adonis Creed, initially brought to life in Writer/Director Ryan Coogler's "Creed" (2015), has paid strict attention to the overall humanity of the character, his environment, his struggles with his past, present and future and always without ever making him a caricature of himself. 

While a very strong film, a more than worthy addition to its two predecessors, "Creed III" is not a perfect film by any means. I do wish that more was given to Tessa Thompson to actually do as I wanted to see more of her story as a hearing impaired musician alongside Adonis' story. 

Additionally, I loved seeing the Creed family as a loving, supportive Black family dedicated towards and for each other, especially when raising their daughter. The scenes between Adonis and Amara are lovely, speaking to the truth and credibility of present and nurturing Black Fathers, a visual sorely lacking within pop culture, while also serving as a counterpoint to the character of Adonis as he never knew his Father, Rocky's one time nemesis turned closest friend Apollo Creed. I just wanted more of this relationship and to see how Adonis would navigate Amara's journey as a deaf child in a hearing world combined with her own growing anger issues. 

I understand that my point are essentially creating two more movies inside this one movie but that being said, it is a testament to how invested I have become in this world and these figures, that I wished more of their story was  being told in order to make the proceedings feel to be more complete.  

All of that being said, just imagine how easy it would have been for Michael B. Jordan to have sacrificed any nuance and deeper themed material, and just made a crowd pleaser, much like the fun yet nearly cartoonish "Rocky III." By contrast, Jordan's "Creed III" is a story of two Black men, Adonis and Dame, once as close as brothers, then separated by circumstance and now struggling with their own respective traumas that have followed each of them from childhood to the present, and have no outlet for outside of the boxing ring. 

It is telling that in one sequence durian an argument, Bianca suggests strongly that Adonis find someone to talk to. Another sequence showcases  Bianca's concern about Adonis' anger and how it affects their daughter. Even the film's climactic fight sequence is visually in a striking degree placing the emphasis not upon winning and losing but on the shared psychological trauma both Adonis and Dame are shouldering but each have no social/emotional skills to navigate and entrust within themselves outside of violence...in their cases, played out upon a world's stage and for profit. 

Michael B. Jordan's "Creed III" is an exploration of Black masculinity both in its positivity and its toxicity. It explores Black male excellence, physicality and psychology while exploring Black male pain and how as Black men, we are not given the tools by society to nurture ourselves. Both Adonis and Dame are bearing the weight of shared grief, shame, and loss while Dame also carries the jealous anger towards Adonis of the life he felt was due to him but taken away and Adonis bears the survivor's guilt. While the fight sequence is extremely well staged and propulsive, the finest sequence occurs after the fight...a scene of astounding quiet and sheer possibility of what us as Black men can achieve if given the opportunity to get in touch with our emotions, to nurture ourselves and heal ourselves. Both Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors impress powerfully, as their imposing physiques completely belie their character's respective life long wounds. Watch Majors' eyes in particular, and I guarantee that you will see the childlike sadness at the core.

Where does Creed go from here? While I would love to see what happens next in the lives of Adonis Creed and his family, I am un sure what could necessitate a "Creed IV," as it does need to adhere to the certain tropes of the series as created originally by Sylvester Stallone. I don't know if Creed necessarily needs to go into the ring one more time but I am wondering if Michael B. Jordan could devise an ingenious way to still utilize this character and family to speak to the Black experience and allow the series to grow in surprising ways. I doubt it as the movie business is what it is, and certainly doesn't see box office value in Black healing and uplift at the expense of not showing Black pain and violence against each other. That is the way of the world in which we live, and one that did indeed have two Black men in Chris Rock and Will Smith, play out their respective traumas on open stages for all to view and judge.    

Just imagine if this was not the way, how much healthier we all would be.

TOO MUCH AND TOO LITTLE: a review of "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania"

 

"ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA"
Based upon Marvel Comics
Screenplay Written by Jeff Loveness
Directed by Peyton Reed
**1/2 (two and a half stars)
RATED PG 13

Well...there's good news and bad news regarding the third entry in the "Ant-Man" series and 31st Marvel Cinematic Universe feature overall. 

The good news is that this episode is a step above the recent, and very significant, Marvel misfires in Sam Raimi's "Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness" (2022) and Taika Waititi's " Thor: Love And Thunder" (2022). And in Jonathan Majors, who portrays Kang The Conqueror (and his myriad of variants), Marvel has struck solid gold and I am extremely excited to see him play out over the course of the next few years in the self described "Multiverse Saga." 

The bad news should not really be of any surprise, if we are going to be honest about the current trajectory of the MCU. Marvel is clearly spreading itself too thin. While the assembly line nature of the MCU has been a factor that I have been critical of during this entire series, even in its earliest years, the overall consistency of quality has generally remained steadfast. Now, as the MCU has branched out to television as well as feature films, with all manner of hitting those release dates ruling the day, quality has begun to suffer.  For me, the television series have proven to being exceptional overall while the films has stumbled more often than not with the likes of Destin Daniel Cretton's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" (2021), Jon Watts' "Spider-Man: No Way Home" (2021) and Ryan Coogler's mountainous "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" (2022) emerging unscathed.  

With Peyton Reed's "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," this third installment is a mixed bag. A film where I do appreciate the effort at stretching the canvas in a series that has essentially served as a Marvel palate cleanser in between the more cataclysmic episodes into something grander and darker, especially as it is teeing up a more than sizeable villain in Kang. And yet, for all that is included, it feels overstuffed in some ways and too miniscule in others, therefore making  this film another Marvel experience that just falls short of its goals. 

Peyton Reed's "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" opens with our hero Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) in an unusually more than stable stage in his life. After helping to save the universe from Thanos, he has become celebrated within his community, a successful memoirist, and ensconced in the warmth and security of his family, which includes girlfriend and crime fighting partner Hope van Dyne a.k.a. The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), her parents a.k.a. the original Ant-Man and Wasp, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), and most importantly, Scott's beloved (and now adult daughter) Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton).

Quantum Realm remans the elephant in the room for this collective as Janet still refuses to speak of her 30 years lost and trapped inside of this universe set underneath our own. Her darkest fears are re-ignited as Cassie has constructed a device that would allow exploration of the Quantum Realm via signals, and without ever having to physically transport oneself. Yet, when one sent signal is answered back, or heroes are all whisked away into the depths of the Quantum Realm and thrust into all of the characters and dangers of Janet's past life...

...including the full introduction of Kang The Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), a once exiled traveler and now ruler of the entire Quantum Realm who is plotting his escape...if only Ant-Man can stop him. 

Unlike the small scaled but hugely entertaining and superbly inventive "Ant-Man" (2015) and the undercooked p lace holder "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (2018), Peyton Reed's "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" boasts a bolder, broader and as previously stated, considerably darker tone than its predecessors. This quality does indeed serve the series and the character of Scott Lang well as it allows a greater pathos to enter the proceedings considering the nature of what is already appearing to being a magnetic villain in Kang and his threat to the variety of multiverses already in collective danger as witnessed "Spider-Man: No Way Home," "Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness" and both Creator Jac Schaeffer and Director Matt Shakman's "WandaVision" (2021) and Creator Michael Waldron and Director Kate Herron's "Loki" (2021), where we were first introduced to the character of He Who Remains (also played by Jonathan Majors), an alternate version of Kang who resided in the Citadel At The End of Time. 

In Kang the Conqueror, Marvel has struck solid gold with Jonathan Majors, clearly the very best element in this film. To that end, Peyton Reed introduces him in a slow and sinister fashion, allowing us to hear about him before he is really seen. Even after his full introduction, Kang is viewed sporadically, also allowing the shadowy nature of him to permeate strongly, making us anxious to view him again. Once he arrives in full, Majors surprises over and again with his portrayal, which is often quieter than expected, or better yet, than what we are used to with domineering villains. Majors' Kang is reticent, thoughtful, somewhat bemused and lonely, a man lost in time while having seen every angle of it.  

And therefore, he always ahead of the curve but clever enough to not show his cards immediately. He is a man of intense patience...until he is not. 

Physically imposing, psychologically complex and coiled like a python waiting for the precise moment to strike, Jonathan Majors makes for an exceedingly impressive foe tp go against a hero as unlikely as Ant-Man, and their dichotomy is one that I wished the film had invested more energy. To that end, I had wished that Peyton Reed and his screenwriter Jeff Loveness had not allowed the release date to dictate the contents of their film and rather pushed that release date completely aside and given the film another pass, in order to really determine what needed to stay and go in order to make the best film possible.

In my mind, and in order to continue the more grounded aesthetic of the Ant-Man series, "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" needed to pay stricter attention to the film's core relationships in order to attain a greater emotional outcome, in essence, to remain intimate within the epic grandeur. Keep our focus upon the imbalance of Scott and Kang. Keep us focused upon the past history of Janet and Kang during their conjoined Quantum Realm exiles. Keep us focused the most upon Scott and his daughter Cassie, as the pathos of their missing five years deserves more than a few jokes and wistful looks between them. If Reed clearly wanted to take Ant-Man to a greater canvas, these are ways I feel could ensure that growth rather than what was delivered, a sub "Star Wars" feature length cantina character filled adventure that results in yet another CGI drenched war sequence between the oppressed against the oppressor, in this case, Kang. 

Paul Rudd remains as charming as ever and I enjoyed his chemistry with Kathryn Newton. I was thrilled to see Michelle Pfeiffer  in more of the forefront of the action, and I wished the film explored that aspect even more. To that end, Michael Douglass was completely wasted and as for Evangeline Lilly...I was absolutely confounded as to her essentially complete sidelining, especially as she is one half of the heroes in the film's title! 

To me, what has made the MCU endure as much as it has, and in true spirit to what the late, great Stan Lee created, was how the humanity always arrived first with the pyrotechnics placed second. If we don't care about these characters as human being, then what is the purpose? Peyton Reed's "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" is drowning in superfluous characters, sidelines and locations and it is all a morass for so many of the film's characters and the audience to find themselves lost within. And frankly, not much of it is very interesting, thrilling, or awe inspiring. 

I have written many times upon this site about how we are living in a period where special effects are simply not special anymore due to their ubiquity in film, television, and commercials. Because of this reality, I feel it creates a greater hurdle for special effects houses and teams to invent new ways to fully surprise and dazzle audiences again. With regards to this film, I remember feeling that sense of razzle dazzle when we saw the Quantum Realm for the first time. Rescuing Janet from that realm also gave our imaginations a spark for what could this world actually be like? And now, once we have the chance to essentially spend two hours in the Quantum Realm, it is a big bore and one where the characters themselves are unfazed by the experience--just as we witnessed in the recent adventures with Doctor  Strange in the multiverse and to a different degree, the overall glibness of the previous Thor adventure.

Visually speaking, the sub atomic Quantum Realm doesn't look terribly different than anything we've seen in the intergalactic landscapes of James Gunn's "Guardians Of The Galaxy" series and it is that Marvel sameness plus the lack of awe, excitement, terror, or any reactions to the variety of unreal locations from the characters that threatens to upend everything the MCU has spent years building upwards. I understand that for the ultimate world building of the MCU, there needs to be some visual consistency. But, I also feel there is a problem because every landscape runs the risk of becoming indistinguishable from each other, thus seriously diminishing that sense of wonder. Look, when the ending credit sequence of the film, one that featured a gorgeous array of psychedelic geometric patterns, made me think to myself, "Now, that's what the Quantum Realm could have looked like!," then you do detect a problem that occurred in the conception.       

If an advice form me were to be heard and taken into consideration, I would offer this to Marvel: SLOW DOWN! I feel that MCU overlord Kevin Feige, his writing team and directors need to stop the release dates, sit in a room and truly hammer down what the multiverse is, all of its rules and the overall trajectory of this saga through the already announced two Avengers films arriving two years from now.  Just lock the films in place conceptually and thematically so that everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing when conceiving the screenplays and setting the building blocks in place to this still interlocking narrative, to ensure rigid consistency and emotional triumph. 

Peyton Reed's "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" is by no means a failure. But it is a deeply flawed experience that is threatening to undo a journey that has some excellent potential...as well as a serous skilled and magnetic presence in the formidable Jonathan Majors, who is more than ready to deliver the goods. 

Marvel...don't let him...or us down.