Michael B. Jordan is set to deliver a knock-out punch with Creed III. At least, that's according to the initial social media reactions: critics have praised Jordan's directorial debut, which continues the respective Creed and Rocky franchises.
As Jordan steps behind the camera, Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa is absent for the first time in the history of the classic series. This leaves the spotlight firmly on Jordan who now doubles up as both director and star.
Jordan's character, boxer Adonis 'Donnie' Creed, is now enjoying the success he has reaped from his bouts in the previous Creed movies. As Donnie says, his success is "built on the shoulders" of both Rocky and Donnie's father, the late Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers).
However, there's trouble in paradise with the emergence of a figure from Donnie's past. Step forward Damian (Jonathan Majors), the former's childhood friend who went to prison at a young age and sculpted himself into fearsome shape.
The apparently benign Damian is soon revealed to be anything but, and it all comes down to another title fight where the two men must settle their differences on the canvas. The movie comes to the big screen in IMAX, which allows the brawny fight scenes to glisten and sheen with added dynamism, expanse and tension.
We've rounded up a select portion of the initial responses, which praise scene-stealer Majors (also to be seen in Marvel's Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania), and the confidence of Jordan's direction. Let's get ready to rumble all over again.
#Creed3 is solid enough. Especially dug exploring this particular stage of Adonis’ career/life. Loved the addition of Mila Davis-Kent and, my god, Jonathan Majors is ferocious. Haven’t seen Ant-Man yet but going from seeing him in Magazine Dreams to this is really something else. pic.twitter.com/QSK2B8b5yy
— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) February 10, 2023
#Creed3’s EVERYTHING you could want from the finale to the CREED trilogy, Jonathan Majors proves to be a ferocious foil for Michael B. Jordan who delivers a KO for his feature directorial debut, plays HUGE in IMAX, audience cheering throughout, this is gonna be BIG 🥊🥊🥊 pic.twitter.com/ouU0akoNuM
— Erick 𝕄𝕄𝕋 Weber (@ErickWeber) February 10, 2023
Creed 3 is an intense emotional journey. Great directorial debut by Michael B Jordan, coupled by amazing performances by both Thompson and the scene stealer Jonathan Majors. Fight scenes are awesome. Few times I was wondering where Rocky was but it never took away from the story.
— Kristian Harloff (@KristianHarloff) February 10, 2023
CREED III is a great directorial debut from MBJ. It adds an air of freshness to the franchise & the fight sequences are next-level with IMAX, though the standout moments are outside the ring. Not sure where the film ranks of the 3, but all are great. #Creed3 #CreedIII pic.twitter.com/myVylWQUi3
— Trey Mangum (@treymangum) February 10, 2023
Michael B. Jordan, in his directorial debut, does an admirable job directing CREED 3. His performance though ranks among his best & the IMAX-shot boxing scenes are distinctively awesome. Jonathan Majors brings raw power & charisma to a personal story of two friends turned enemies pic.twitter.com/TV7REfEhuf
— Matt Neglia (@NextBestPicture) February 10, 2023
Will Creed III live up to the mighty legacy of both the existing Creed movies and the Rocky movies? Find out at Cineworld on March 3rd when the movie lands.
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