Creed III 4K 2023 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

Creed's childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian "Lady" Anderson, is released after a long prison sentence and is burning to prove he deserves his chance in the ring. To settle the score, Donnie must put his future on the line, because Damian has nothing to lose.

Review 4K Movie

When in 2015, after the logically completed Rocky Balboa boxing saga, the main creator of the franchise - screenwriter, director and lead actor Sylvester Stallone - suddenly took on a new part, shifting the focus to a completely different hero, this decision to move towards a spin-off was risky in any case. In a time of soulless sequels and remakes riding out nostalgia and exploitation of famous movies, the new installment could have been in big trouble. Fortunately, Ryan Coogler's Creed was well received by audiences and critics alike (which eventually led to a sequel in 2018). However, at the end of the shooting of the second part, Stallone announced that he was finally saying goodbye to Rocky, and that this film would be his last. And here it should be noted that there is a stalemate situation for the studio, because on the one hand, "Creed-2" also showed itself well, like the first part (and this gave a chance to shoot another sequel). Especially since Stallone originally talked about a new trilogy about Appolo Creed's son, and his Rocky already gave Adonis Creed a chance to come out from under his own shadow to sail on his own. And on the other hand, filming without Sylvester (even as a screenwriter) was somehow... unethical, or something. One way or another, but against the wishes of Sly (whose vision of the third part was contrary to the opinion of the studio), the threequel nevertheless received the "green light" and was released in March 2023. Moreover, the film is also notable for the fact that Michael B. Jordan himself sat in the director's chair, one of the producers and performer of the title role (like Stallone himself, who once directed Rocky II). Well, let's try to evaluate the directorial debut of Jordan, who continued Stallone's work without Sylvester himself.

First of all, I would like to note the plot, though predictable, but still quite original for the 9th film of the franchise. It will have more to do with Adonis' "dark" past than with his present. It is the reappearance of a childhood friend, who has served a long time in prison, but who still dreams of becoming a world champion boxer, that will make Donny, who has left the sport, take up the gloves again to finally close the gestalt. In fact, Damian "The Lady" Anderson, played by the now-popular Kang in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jonathan Majors, will prove to be the very reason to see this movie. His character, woven of contradictions, is so impressive in his charisma that the "proper" Adonis played by the film's director pales in comparison. Since the previous film literally plagiarized the storyline moves from "Rocky" 3 and 4, here I was initially skeptical of what would be shown. And I perceived the main antagonist of the film as the son/grandson of Clabber Lang from Rocky 3. Fortunately, I was wrong, and Majors' character had a completely different biography. Although there was one moment in the movie (it was even shown in the trailer) where his character acted like Tommy Gun from Part 5 during sparring. But that's where the resemblance ends.

I was also struck by the fights themselves in the ring, which showed some pretty successful director's tricks taken directly from the anime (which the director didn't hide in the interview). There's the emphasis on the weaknesses of the opponent by showing on-screen close-ups of body parts unprotected during the fight + slo-mo. And the final duel of Creed and "Lady", where in a moment the lights in the hall went out, the audience disappeared, and instead of the ropes behind the fighters appeared prison cells, also makes you think that we are not just two men fighting in the ring, but a mental confrontation between two former friends.

I can't help mentioning also the young Myla Davis-Kent, who played Amara Creed (because here happened to be that rare case, when a deaf-mute person plays a deaf-mute).

As for the flaws, though, the creators failed to maintain a basic chronology throughout the Creed franchise. So, after the opening scene, which took place in 2002, the action takes the viewer forward by 15 years (i.e. in 2017). But the events of the second part took place in 2018. And there is no way Adonis, after his second fight with Victor Drago, could have gotten in the ring so quickly for a rematch with Ricky Conlan (who should have gone to jail after the fight in the finale of the first part). Especially looking at teenage Amara, it's hard to know what year the events of the third "Creed" take place in, if the girl born in the second part in the threequel is at least 10 years old.

Otherwise, "Creed 3" was faithful to the traditions laid down in the first "Rocky". There is a search for motivation to fight halfway through the movie, and training to music. Admittedly, there was only one instrumental track the whole time, borrowing a bit from Gonna Fly Now. However, for a debut, Jordan did more than well, continuing the franchise. Whether there will be a 4th installment, or some other spin-off, time will tell. Personally, I wish the creators would stop and not turn the already taken from Stallone "brainchild" into an assembly line.