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There is no reboot or spinoff franchise better than the “Creed” movies. The series has been the high-water mark for legacy intellectual properties since 2015, when Ryan Coogler’s excellent reimagining of the “Rocky” films first hit theaters. They are built around a potent combination of sincere emotion, reverence for their characters, and lots of riveting, incredibly well-staged boxing.

At a time when pop culture often seems bored with human-scale action, instead favoring superheroes, space travel and black bears on cocaine, the “Creed” series is a rare exception, delivering old-school popcorn excitement updated for a modern audience.

“Creed III” may be partly defined by its status as a sequel, but it also feels like a new beginning. The film is the directorial debut of star Michael B. Jordan, who brings a fresh, ambitious style inspired by his famous love of anime. It’s also the first time in the franchise’s nearly fifty-year history that Sylvester Stallone does not appear as Rocky Balboa.

Although Stallone’s absence is jarring at first, it gives “Creed III” space to come into its own without relying on its “Rocky” connection. This franchise now belongs entirely to Michael B. Jordan, in front of and behind the camera.

Years after the events of “Creed II,” Adonis Creed (Jordan) retires as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. He embarks on a career as a trainer and gym owner, helping shape the next generation of champion boxers while raising his young daughter, Amara (Mila Davis-Kent).

Adonis’s blissful retirement is interrupted when an old friend shows up at the gym. He is Dame Anderson (Jonathan Majors), a former youth boxing sensation whose career was cut short by an arrest for a violent altercation as a teenager — which involved Adonis.

After 18 years in prison, Dame is out on probation and wants to train for a shot at the heavyweight title. Adonis promises to train him, undeterred by the ex-con’s advanced age. They slowly repair their relationship, but Dame secretly harbors intense jealousy toward the life Adonis has built.

As kids, Dame was the more talented fighter of the two, and Adonis only tagged along to his matches. Dame resents that his old sidekick has the professional boxing career he always dreamed of while he spent the prime of his life behind bars.

Adonis helps Dame maneuver his way to a title fight, which he wins in a brutal match where he fights dirty and throws elbows. As soon as it’s over, Dame — who still resents Adonis for what happened when they were kids — drops his friendly facade. He turns on Adonis in the media, and Creed comes out of retirement to defend his name from his friend-turned-rival.

Eva Morris | Asst. Design Editor

Majors’ performance as Dame Anderson is the best you’ll see in any movie so far this year. He provides an expressive, sympathetic foil to Jordan’s hero, so likable that audiences may root for the villain in the final showdown. It’s the second time in this series, after Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu) in “Creed II,” that the villain has more credible motives than Adonis himself.

Before Dame’s first title fight, his probation officer comes to the locker room and removes his ankle monitor. When he emerges from the tunnel for his ring walk, he comes out alone, with no trainers or cornerman to back him up. This attention to detail from Jordan as a director creates chilling images, and Majors drives them home with bitter intensity.

Jordan has spoken extensively about how his love of anime helped shape his first directorial effort. He screened his favorite episodes for Majors during production, and a poster of Naruto appears in one of the film’s first scenes.

His anime influence is most evident in the climactic match between Adonis and Dame. The fight is full of aesthetic and thematic references to shows like “Naruto” and “Dragon Ball Z.” Jordan uses special effects, slow motion and flashbacks to manifest the boxers’ psychological battle on the screen.

When Adonis and Dame return to their corners between rounds, they see each other as their teenage selves. Once the bell rings, the crowd disappears, and the two fighters battle it out in an empty, shadowy Dodger Stadium as mist rises around them.

This heavy stylization is visually impressive, but sacrifices the immediacy that made previous “Creed” grudge matches so compelling. Coogler’s original film communicated Adonis’ emotional journey through his physicality in the ring without depending on external symbolism — that combat was raw, elegant and expertly choreographed.

Jordan’s new vision is at least admirable for its sheer boldness and creativity. His unique blend of the “Creed” formula that made him famous and the shōunen anime of his youth feels wholly personal.

Still, it’s a disappointing departure from the visceral slug-fests of the previous two movies. The visual flourishes overcomplicate and clutter the fights, and draw attention away from the actual conflict between Adonis and Dame.

Joseph Shirley’s score and the accompanying Dreamville soundtrack, executive produced by J. Cole, go a long way to sell the operatic power of these fight scenes, despite their faults. Shirley takes over for Coogler’s longtime collaborator Ludwig Göransson, who scored the first two films, and delivers some of the most rousing and impactful music in any “Rocky” movie.

“Creed III” takes big swings that don’t always pay off, but its memorable performances, electrifying music and solid melodrama outside the ring prove that the “Creed” series still has a few rounds left to fight as the reigning champion of the blockbuster experience.

Published on March 6, 2023 at 9:30 pm