Culture Crash: The Release Of Creed III

Creed III is, yes, the third Creed movie, but by extension, it’s the ninth movie in the Rocky universe. It’s difficult to do something truly original in the ninth installment of a beloved franchise – just ask JJ Abrams and the team behind Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – but Michael B. Jordan finds a way.

Jordan has starred as Adonis Creed since 2015’s Creed, but with his character’s third installment he makes his directorial debut and injects the film with his own passions and sense of purpose. The fight scenes take inspiration from the anime and comic books Jordan grew up loving, and they really are some of the best, most visually striking and unique fight scenes I’ve ever seen.

Beyond just cool fights, though, Creed III gets its villain very, very right. Jonathan Majors, the star of Lovecraft Country and Kang the Conqueror in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, plays Damien Anderson, an old friend of Adonis’ who is finally released from prison for something that happened in his and Adonis’ youth. Dame has watched his old buddy Adonis rise to the top of the boxing world and the world of fame and stardom from behind bars, and now he wants his turn.

Creed III may be the ninth movie in a film franchise, but it’s also the first of those movies to not feature Sylvester Stallone as his beloved Rocky Balboa. It’s a big test of a franchise to make an installment without its original hero, but Michael B. Jordan the director ensures there’s enough going on in his movie that you never really miss old Rock. It really is a new era, and Creed III makes it on its own merits, without relying too heavily on nostalgia. It’s a genuine breath of fresh air and the first great crowd-pleaser of 2023.