I can’t remember the last time a sports movie got me this worked. Hell, I’m not even sure there was a ‘last time’ for the effect this left on me. In real life, I’m quite comfortable in my pudgy lion-bear physique and look, but coming out of the cinema for this, I felt jacked. Like I just climbed those famous Philly stairs and was ready to throw down in the ring. Having sat through all the Rocky films thus far, along with the previous two Creed films… I can’t recall any of them giving me this kind of endorphin rush before.
But before we get into the visceral side of things, let’s do our usual footwork here and look a bit deeper at what’s being presented here. Star Michael B. Jordan marks his directorial debut with something this series definitely needed: An insular story. While I have no shortage of good things to say about the last two films, they are predominantly about their own existence as legacy titles, between Creed as the pass-the-baton moment from Rocky himself, and Creed II managing to turn the goddamn goofiest of the Rocky films in Rocky IV into a bedrock for legitimate and heartfelt drama.
Whereas here, while there’s still some remixed plot elements present (untested underdog getting a chance at a championship title a la the original, the champion facing his own Shadow like with Rocky III, giving the title character a genuine villain to face as with Rocky IV), the story is emphatically about Donny Creed. No direct connections to Rocky or even Apollo Creed; only aspects of his own life story coming back to him. Aspects that take the form of Jonathan Majors as “Diamond” Dame Anderson, Donny’s childhood friend and someone who, had a certain event in their respective pasts gone differently, could’ve been in Donny’s position as the champ.
The character drama here is very strong, showing Donny not just dealing with the ramifications of his own actions and how they shaped the man that Dame has become, but also touching on some socioeconomic commentary regarding their shared upbringing and background. Dame sees Donny as the man who got the life he deserved, who’s been singing his song while he’s been stuck in jail for sixteen years, and that envy over a life he never got… well, it’s poisoned him. When he’s in the ring, he’s not looking to win, he’s looking to do damage, coming out looking like he’s ready to spout horns out of his head to complete the minotaur aggression he brings to his punches.
As for Donny, we’re shown a form of survivor’s guilt, which already fits with how that childhood turning point affected the both of them… but through the lens of a specifically Black American experience, that guilt takes on an even murkier form. Using sport to get out of that environment, where Donny and Dame were stuck in the same group home under horrific social conditions, is a common thread for inner-city Black youths in America, but in order to make that transition, there are certain notions that can accompany that want to escape. The sense that if you get out, you’re potentially leaving everyone else there behind, or even that you don’t deserve to get out over somebody else. It’s a difficult mental cage to escape from as is, so imagine how it is for Donny, who has legitimate reasons to feel that way on both fronts. Hell, he isn’t even the only one in his family who had a hand in leading Dame down this dark road.
Because of that emphasis on the two fighters as yin-and-yang, right down to wearing white and black in their climactic fight, the personal and emotional push of the story lands on very solid ground, and brings the franchise into new territory on a thematic level. And yet, that’s not even the only injection of fresh blood this film gets, as the fight scenes also show some real creativity in their staging. Their respective fighting styles work well in further highlighting their interpersonal conflict (Dame goes for damage, while Donny is more surgical, treating the fight like he’s playing chess), and the cinematography from returning DP Kramer Morgenthau isolates each blow as they connect to really draw out the impact.
Then there’s the specific approach that Michael B. Jordan brings in the director’s chair, and he’s on some major weeb shit here. I mean that in a good way, though; he’s mentioned in interviews that his core inspiration doesn’t come from any live-action fighting movie, but from anime.
And we’re not talking the usual Satoshi Kon ‘homage’ that every other American arthouse director engages in (I love Christopher Nolan and Darren Aronofsky to death, but they’re not exactly subtle about this).
Naruto and Dragon Ball Z in particular have been brought up a lot, and the hard hits in the fight scenes certainly fit the bill. But the way the rivalry between Dame and Donny is framed feels like classic shonen material as well, up to and including Majors getting to rattle off some prime monologuing when squaring up with Jordan outside of the ring. To say nothing of how the final fight is presented visually, pulling some nifty psychological touches to emphasis not only their shared past, but how this fight is ultimately between them. The crowd doesn’t matter, the belt doesn’t matter; to them, this is the physical embodiment of an argument between two former friends, and they’re the ones who need this to happen more than anyone else.
It is absolutely phenomenal just how well this film works. As much as the inclusion of fulfilling thematic content helps the whole package, maintaining the franchise pedigree of having heart underneath the rippling muscle, the way all the production fundamentals meld together really serves to highlight why this formula still works after being cracked damn-near fifty years ago. The cinematography is gorgeous, the editing is razor-sharp, the soundtrack is choice (good Dude, the needle drops here pack as much of a punch as both fighters combined), and the imagery used in the fight scenes might just push them into being some of the best in the franchise’s entire history. It’s a testosterone shot with a live-action anime chaser… dammit, I’m honestly tempted to call this my favourite of the entire series, both Creed and Rocky, for just how well that combination works here.
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