For the first time, Michael B. Jordan sits in the director’s chair for Creed III and, of course, plays Adonis Creed again. The movie franchise, which is a spin-off of the legendary franchise Rocky, has extremely gained popularity and established itself as a blockbuster in the drama sports genre. Beating expectations that were sky-high after Jordan entered the director’s chair, Creed III hits both action and emotion just right to firmly put Jordan not only as a leading actor but also as a talented filmmaker.
In Creed III, Adonis Creed is no longer living in the shadow of his father or his mentor, Rocky Balboa. He completely laid himself out as a boxing champion and man grappling with his own legacy. The film focuses on the personal and professional challenges that Adonis faces through preparing himself to defend his title while crafting himself through relationships with his family and friends. Under the ball-control of Jordan, these themes are newly fresh and intimate. Creed III is both an organic continuation of the franchise and a bold new step.
One of the takeaways from the way Jordan directs is how tight-lipped the films are with their message, and quite often, in this instance, it’s not so much a boxing film but one focussing on the emotional journey of the characters. What remains more deeply seated into the psyche of the characters with Creed III and thereby introduces Adonis’s fragility, fears, insecurities, and the weight of expectations that come with being a champion. The kind of balance Jordan tries to strike between fight scenes as intense as possible and quieter moments proves that he well understands character-driven storytelling, which adds so much depth to the storytelling.
But the movie breathes fresh air with Damian Anderson, played to perfection by Jonathan Majors. Damian is an ex-close friend, now Adonis’s rival, and their prior friendship provides a complex layer to the conflict. There’s so much energy to Majors that tension between him and Jordan brings a dynamic level to the film. So, the war between Adonis and Damian is more about unresolved business between these two, not about winning and losing within the ring, so that raises the stakes to a higher level than ever.
The fight scenes are truly thrilling, visually, as done by Jordan’s direction, and put fans of the series. He makes use of dynamic camera angles and slow-motion shots that relate the physicality and emotional intensity of the match. Capturing both the brutality and the beauty of the sport in boxing, it speaks well of Jordan’s close association with the sport and the world of Creed.
In a nutshell, the directorial debut over Creed III by Michael B. Jordan is a triumph that breathes new life into the nostalgic franchise with a deeper emotional layer. The direction showcases the healthy feel of the technicality of filmmaking along with nuanced profile development that fans have grown to love. But Creed III elevates not only Jordan’s career but also the standard for the franchise, and that leaves folks holding their breaths about where he’ll go next, both in front of and behind the camera.
