A strong entry into Rocky franchise that encapsulates the boxing world both in and outside of the ring.

Adonis Creed is a retired boxer working as a promoter. Creed III explores his new life, post retirement and what it means for him and his family. An old 'brother like' friend from Creed's past, Damian Anderson played by Jonathon Majors, comes back into his life which sets off a series of events. We get to witness Creed's post boxing story whilst also witnessing Damien's much delayed boxing story.

The film was built up really well especially in the first half where it takes its time to introduce us to the characters, plot and theme of the movie. Despite being two hours long, it's clear that a lot of the movie got chopped as the second half was rushed which is a shame as the film could have given us so much more prior to the Main Event.

Johnathan Majors was fantastic. His character had menace, pain and emotion. What's great is that the relationship between Creed and Anderson was morally grey so you could empathise with both sides of the story which make the movie more heartfelt. Michael B Jordon was solid in his role as Creed as per usual and the supporting casts of actors and boxing personalities both new and old were a lot of fun.

The choreography which was influenced by MBJ's love of anime, was good despite some of the usual big screen over exaggeration and the soundtrack was fire opening up with The Watcher from from Dr Dre's 2001! Those hoping to see Rocky on screen shouldn't hold their breathe.

Okay, maybe guts aren't an organ, but there are things missing in this movie. Those things and Sylvester Stallone. He's missing, and his absence is felt, when often this movie is trying so hard to make you do just that, feel.

With no heart and no guts, it's hard to do that.

The boxing scenes here feel like a video game and the non-boxing scenes feel like a Lifetime movie.

The only reason this movie is a seven and not a six, is because of the screen presence and charisma of both Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors. They are incredible.

But there is no grit. No toughness. It's too glossy.

It's nice to have a running time of under two hours. It is. But this story is unbelievable with the sudden ascent of the antagonist.

With the time given, a nice Rocky montage with cheesy rock music or even rap music would've been an effective shoutout.

The movie also takes way too long to get to the root cause of the legal incident that pulled these two guys apart as young men as well.

This is the weakest Creed film by far.

In the Rockyverse it's right at the bottom there with Rocky V.

In fighting terms this portion of the Creed trilogy is remarkably underweight at weigh-in.

Creed III (2023) is a movie my wife and I saw at an advanced screening last night. The storyline follows a retired Adonis Creed who is now a stay-at-home dad with his daughter and successful wife, who is now a music producer. One day while at the gym he acquired he runs into an old acquaintance whom he was best friends with as a kid. His friend was a better fighter with a brighter future than him, but they got in trouble and his friend was sent to jail for 15 years. Now out of jail, he wants what's owed to him, which is everything Creed has. Creed gives him his chance but quickly wishes he didn't. Once the demon has been unleashed on the boxing landscape the same man who unleashed may be the only man who can stop him...Creed.

This movie stars and is directed by Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther),in his directorial debut, and also stars Jonathan Majors (Lovecraft Country),Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show),Tessa Thompson (Dear White People) and Wood Harris (Remember the Titans).

There is a lot of good in this movie and a few misses too. The premise for this storyline is very good and had a ton of potential. The acting and set-up of the circumstances is tremendous. Jonathan Majors continues to establish himself as one of Hollywood's elite; and Jordan, Rashad and Thompson support and play off each other perfectly. The chemistry is excellent amongst the cast, even the "child actors" deliver strong performances. This is a movie made for IMAX with great cinematography, use of colors, camera angles and the sped up/slowed down shots were brilliant. The ring intros are the best ever depicted in a boxing movie and the soundtrack was fantastic too. I also loved how they incorporated life with, and as, a def individual. Unfortunately, when you get to the final fight, it felt like a concept that was better on paper than when executed. The entire final sequence with the use of CGI during the fight was a bit cheesy and didn't work for me. The trainer, Harris, was a HUGE step down from Stallone and Burgess Meredith and just didn't have the impact those characters had on the franchise. Some of the scenes were too straightforward, especially the ending fight where there was a monumental opportunity to change the direction and feel of the franchise, but it falls on its face...like a poorly executed gut punch (there is one of those in here too).

Overall, this is definitely worth a watch, but easily the worst of the Creed trilogy. I would score this a 7/10 and recommend seeing it once.