Quick quiz: You are a boxing promoter. You take a chance on a guy you found almost literally on the scrap heap. He has no ties to anyone else; you –and you alone- decide what his career might be. In his first professional fight, he becomes undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. In ten minutes of boxing, this man has just made you a millionaire many, many times over. What’s your next move?
A. Cash in; sell his contract to the highest bidder (while retaining the movie right, of course) and reap the rewards
B. Promote him further; control his career. Hand pick his bouts and make sure this brand new cash cow keeps delivering the milk
C. Downplay the boxing; up-play the selling. Showcase his rags-to-riches rise through marketing while being very selective about what he does next as a professional fighter
D. Come out of retirement to box and defeat him yourself, a move that has no upside physically, emotionally, intellectually, or financially for anybody except for the part where you might make him pay for being mean to you.
While A, B, and C are all reasonable real-life options, D is the where the movie went because of course it did.
Creed III is a film that is more-or-less entertaining on its face, but gets worse every time I think about it. Former heavyweight champion Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan, who also directed this one), retired from fighting and now an owner/promoter, is confronted by a childhood friend/bully recently released from prison. Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors as a thirtysomething, Spence Moore II as a teen) having spent nearly twenty years up river, wants to reclaim his boxing career starting at the top, cuz, yeah, that’s how this works.
There is an almost criminal lack of respect for professionalism in this film. In almost every sport you can name, there’s a big difference between promising amateur and ranked professional. There’s an even bigger difference between local bully and boxing heavyweight champion of the world. Look, I don’t want to mess with a prison bully, but I’m not a professional fighter, either. Unless prisons now have professional high-quality boxing matches, Damian wouldn’t actually stand a chance against any ranked boxer, let alone the champ. Even Rocky was a genuine honest-to-God professional boxer before he went toe-to-toe with Apollo Creed (and was oft embarrassed in the process).
Ah, but this is a movie. So we just have to imagine. Sure, punching hard is a skill set that translates universally, right? There’s no wisdom or skill set or experience needed to be a great boxer, right? I’m sure the producers of Creed III are banking their viewers don’t care. And, imdb says they’re right.
Damian and Adonis share a history – a history in which Damian may have gone to jail for defending Adonis, so Adonis feels guilty and gives Damian a chance to spar with current heavyweight champion Felix Chavez (Jose Benavidez), currently prepping for a title defense. When Felix’ opponent pulls up lame, Adonis substitutes Damian in his place.
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.
There is no shortage of red flags here. OK, Adonis owns Felix, sure, but why does he get to say who Felix fights when the opponent fails? Surely there are other voices in this conversation, yes? I mean in the very least, Showtime and the LA Forum should have a say, no? And how about the people that o
wn the contract of the opponent? “Oh, our guy can’t fight, so we’ll just swallow a multi-million $$$$ payday and let you have this.” Yeah, that’s not how this works. Or does Adonis just own everybody, like Don King did not so long ago? This kind of corruption played off as standard practices? It’s probably the most true-to-life to genuine boxing Creed III has to offer.
Did I mention the moment previously where the trainer wants out? Let me see if I understand this correctly: do you, the trainer for the current heavyweight champion of the world, not recognize that the sparring partner has the talent to be a heavyweight champion on his own … or are you not interested in a big payday just for being part of this?
And then there’s the part where the vacancy is filled, quite literally, by an old amateur. This is now beyond stupid. Damian could have died in the ring. Damian should have died in the ring.
Ah, but this is a movie. Instead, Damian beats up Felix good, setting up a grudge match between two old frenemies. Oh, and on the way, the film made sure to demonize Damian, showing him as a dirty fighter and one constantly harboring a grudge with life. Well, that’s new: The dreamer here is portrayed as the bad guy? Well, that will teach you to dream, huh?
What lessons are being taught by Creed III exactly? I shudder to think.
I’m also bothered here by the number of threads the film abandoned. In the opening, we learn that Adonis Creed has become a thoughtful, strategic boxer; none of that is on display in the big match. We learn early on that Damian Anderson is a dirty fighter, willing to take cheap shots to win. That also does not appear in the final fight. I mean, why introduce these things if we aren’t going to see how they play out? Did I mention yet that there’s literally no reason to have the final fight and every reason not to? Adonis, you wish to come out of retirement, risking both health and personal reputation all in an effort to, what? Humiliate your golden goose? You realize if you win, you’ve marred several multi-million dollar paydays ahead. What are you people thinking?
Creed III is genuinely both watchable and enjoyable. I know that seems not to follow based on all I’ve said. But it is a Rocky film, with all the Rocky trappings, and I love the relationship between Adonis and his hearing-challenged daughter. I kinda wish they gave Tessa Thompson more to do in this film, but it’s not like she was going to take up boxing … or was she? Hey, she’s an unranked amateur who hasn’t boxed in 20 years, either, maybe she could be heavyweight champ. Hence, this is the ultimate trees-for-the-forest film. When you get sucked in, you can enjoy each tree individually, but the film deliberately shields you from the forest, because logic and reality is nowhere to be found here. And the more I think about it, the more that really eats at me.
Damian, a human cinder blocky
Wants a shot, and hey! No back talkie!
His idea of paying dues
Is all, win or lose
These screenplays are getting pretty Rocky
Rated PG-13, 116 Minutes
Director: Michael B. Jordan
Writer: Keenan Coogler, Zach Baylin
Genre: Fantasy
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Michael B. Jordan fans
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Professionals
