‘Creed III’: a solid closure of the trilogy with the best antagonist of the saga

The ‘Rocky’ saga is back in cinemas around the world. Following the withdrawal of the legendary boxer, his pupil Adonis Creed, son of Apollo Creed, took over as the protagonist and with this episode closes his first trilogy. ‘Creed III’ is, in fact, a film in which for the first time the protagonist does not have the help of Rocky himself after Sylvester Stallone’s exit from the franchise.

Adonis, played by Michael B. Jordan, must face the ghosts of his past with a well-known rival. Dame Anderson was his childhood best friend, who taught him all about boxing when they were just kids. However, Dame’s sudden imprisonment cut short his promising sports career. Now, decades later, she wants to fulfill her dream of becoming a champion. And to achieve it, she will fight her way.

An outstanding antagonist

The character of Dame is played by Jonathan Majors, who has become one of the hottest names in Hollywood in recent weeks. His role as Kang the Conqueror in Marvel earned him consolidation at the top of the industry. And in “Creed III” he proves his talent is worth it, as he is by far one of the best ingredients in the set.

Majors gives a sensational portrayal of Dame, a character with countless complexities that belie fear, anger and desire. Thanks to his gestures he is able to convey pity and tenderness as well as rejection and hatred, adapting perfectly to every situation that the film presents. Added to this is an enormous physical corpulence, making him a worthy rival to Adonis. It’s undeniable that Majors put his heart and soul into the role.

And is that Dame is, without a doubt, the best antagonist of the entire “Creed” saga. Against her previous rivals, who either had little context or were too rooted in the legacy of the Rocky films, Dame Anderson is the perfect Adonis counterpart. A self-made man at heart and the toughest in society. An old dog who knows how to manipulate people, who knows he can only trust himself because that’s all he has.and who does everything to get out of the putrefaction of life that has touched him and thus make the hole that he believes belongs to him in history.

This is a very accurate approximation already from the script of ‘Creed III’ to what must be the “villain” of a sports drama of these characteristics. He has to be a great rival when it comes to fighting, but above all he has to convey the truth. Because someone like Dame has nothing to lose and everything to gain. And that makes it dangerous. With its interesting background, it recalls Stallone’s best rivals, but imbued with current events to be the piece that completes the trilogy and closes this phase of Adonis’ life.

An exciting debut

Equally commendable on Jordan’s part is his feature film directorial debut. The young performer has finally taken a step he’s been looking for for years and got behind the cameras to put the finishing touches. Aware of the film’s importance, the now director carries out an exercise in safety and without excessive frills in which the priority is to advance the story.

The result is very solid. Jordan demonstrates not only that he can handle language perfectly, but also that he has been involved in the saga for so many years that he has assimilated the norms of the genre. It’s not for nothing that he wants to expand his Creedverse. Throughout the footage he balances the tension of the sport precisely with scenes of intimate drama where Adonis’ past and present collide like two trains head-on. Each scene adds up and in all of them puts the camera where it should.

Where Jordanian licenses are allowed is in fight sequences. The young man has repeatedly recognized himself as a big fan of anime series. Therefore, he based his action scenes on them, using some stylistic assets that don’t always work as well as in animation. But when they do, they raise the bar for the entire film, making it a real treat for moviegoers looking to see two sculpted body types slapping each other hard and explicitly.

Boxing and cinema, an eternal love

Because if ‘Creed III’ is an exponent of anything, it’s that boxing movies will never go out of style. They are by far the most exploited and well-developed type of sports drama in the history of cinema. The literature of seeing someone fight for their dreams to the point of materializing them in gloves and a ring is still a tremendously appealing sight.

As the heir to all of these, “Creed III” follows its most basic structure to the millimeter. Some powerful action at the start, a personal reason to risk face, hard training sequences to the beat of motivating music… And a mind-boggling ending. Unfortunately, it also falls into some of the usual sins. When the script spends too much time spinning on itself, interest wanes no matter how hard Jordan, Majors, and the always sensational Tessa Thompson try. But she immediately catches the air and takes off before the judge counts 10.

Repercussions for the saga

Aside from the story itself, the film’s main point of interest is seeing how it would develop without Stallone. The actor left the franchise very angry with producer Irwin Winkler, to whom he sold the rights when he was nearly broke. According to the creator and actor of Rocky, Winkler has seized the opportunity to exploit his work to exhaustion, a strategy in which he refuses to participate.

In any case, ‘Creed III’ does not deny its roots. Superficially though, a couple of winks are thrown at Balboa the film is always clear that it must walk alone and not focus on those who are no longer there. And it succeeds, because the feeling of melancholy successfully fades away.

Furthermore, the Creedverse continues to take steps towards its materialization. Jordan’s dream is getting closer, and he’s once again tasked with leaving a good handful of doors open in case he wants to walk through them in the future. With ‘Creed II: The Legend of Rocky’, Viktor, the descendant of Ivan Drago, Rocky’s mythical rival, had already been introduced. Father and son already have a confirmed spin-off, although more are sure to come after this installment. A special mention deserves little Amara Creed, the daughter of the protagonist.

In short, “Creed III” is everything it should be. A magnificent sequel that closes the trilogy portentous. Jordan pulls his craft and claw to his first directorial effort, and Jonathan Majors shines with a far more interesting antagonist than anything seen in the saga thus far. The icing on the cake is the new combat graphics, a barbaric addition.

Note: 8

The best: Jordan’s behind-the-scenes debut, the new aesthetic style for fights, much more dynamic and captivating; and Jonathan Majors.

Worse: He gets so attached to the boxing drama archetype that he makes the same old mistakes.