Creed III

 It's time to get back in the ring.

I skipped out on Creed II partially due to my packed schedule in 2018. But I'm back to commentate on Creed III, in which Michael B. Jordan not only returns as boxing champ Adonis "Donnie" Creed but directs it himself. What can you expect from a Rocky movie without Sylvester Stallone? A lot.

This time, Donnie retires from boxing to become a family man. His wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson), retired from singing due to her hearing loss, while their daughter, Amara (Mila Davis-Kent) was born deaf. In the meantime, Donnie is now a boxing coach, whose star pupil, current champ Felix Chavez (actual boxer Jose Benavidez Jr), is about to face Donnie's former foe Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu). What can go wrong?

Enter Damian "Diamond Dame" Anderson (Jonathan Majors), Donnie's former best friend, who went to prison after he saved Donnie from a beatdown. Dame, an aspiring boxer, wants his own one-in-a-million title shot for the heavyweight championship. Donnie is forced to consent after Drago is randomly assaulted. Dame brutally KOs Chavez and later mocks Donnie in public. This leaves Donnie no choice but to come out of retirement to take on Dame.

Any relatively minor gripes come from the defining incident. In the prologue, Donnie recognizes a man named Leon, and immediately beats him up. Dame pulls a gun on Leon's friends when they clobber Donnie. Donnie ran and left Dame to face the cops. Bianca later comforts Donnie during his emotional low point and tells him it's not his fault Dame did what he did. But Dame did what he did to save Donnie. Donnie did what he did because, as we find out, Leon was abusive. All in all, it's a tragedy of impulsiveness, and is more morally gray than the film realizes. I'll talk more about the fallout next paragraph.

Chavez and Dame enter their fight with the bravado of pro wrestlers. Dame, in particular, is greeted like a heel, and believe me, Dame is a spectacular heel. When he first appears as an adult, he and Donnie greet each other like old friends. Dame's request for a title shot is quite sincere. His nice guy attitude gives way to ego once the fight happens. He's still polite when he slugs Donnie in public. He's such an egotistical heel that we wait anxiously for Donnie to throw down. Our patience is awarded. Still, while Dame is vindictive, we understand his vindictiveness. It's nice to see them reconcile at the end.

Now for the star. As Donnie, he's got a great relationship with Amara, who starts taking after her dad. Their first scene together is quite funny as he plays tea-party. On a serious note, his relationship with adopted mom Mary-Anne (Phylicia Rashad) is tested by a plot twist, though they reconcile on her death bed. He still proves himself a determined hero when he takes on Dame. Behind the scenes, Jordan's technical crew prove their mettle. The boxing scenes are excellently edited by Tyler Nelson and Jessica Baclesse. Dame vs Chavez is legitimately brutal, while Donnie vs Dame turns stylish with some mid-fight hallucinations. Who can forget Donnie pulling a plane during his training montage. Donnie's LA mansion is quite stylish, while his ultimate victory is perfectly punctuated by Joseph Shirley's use of Gonna Fly Now. 

Creed III keeps a steady pace during its 116 minutes. Its star proves himself as great a director as his frequent collaborator, Ryan Coogler, who co-wrote the film with his brother Keenan, and Zach Baylin. You'll be on edge during its fights both in and out of the ring. Its central conflict is morally gray, though we both sympathize with the hero and villain. It's a great Rocky movie even without the Italian Stallion. Hurry up and see it in theaters. It won't be there forever.