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.
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