I was late to the Creed party so I had to make sure I watched Creed I and II before I saw Creed III. Creed tells the story of a troubled child, Adonis Creed, orphaned with a penchant for fighting and a need for self-discovery. Adonis is played by Michael B Jordan and developed by Sylvester Stallone. Adonis’ father fought Stallone’s character, the infamous Rocky Balboa, before his passing. Eventually, Stallone plays as one of his boxing mentors in the series.
If you haven’t watched Creed I and II you definitely should watch how Adonis’ character grows from boy to man to master boxer to husband to father to leader. It is a great movie about the complexities of self-discovery/mastery in the undercurrent of grief, loss, trauma, abandonment, abuse, failure and sadness. Adonis, “Donnie”, also learns how to love and be loved with the help of his adoptive mother, Mary Anne Creed, played by Phyicia Rashad. Through Mary Anne’s love and forgiveness of her late husband, she was able to raise his son despite him being a product of an affair. While I am in no means a proponent for forgiving cheating, I can acknowledge and admire the strength becoming a blessing to someone who needed it despite the circumstance.
Through his love for his girlfriend turned wife, Bianca, played by Tessa Thompson; Donnie, a very passionate and impulsive person, learns how to be patient, calm, and intentional in his pursuit of Bianca. His admiration and respect for her, required him to become a more humbled version of himself to understand the needs of Bianca and their relationship. 
In Creed III Donnie is met with a challenge, an old friend turned foe believes he is entitled to what Donnie has accomplished in 18 years. His friend, Damian Anderson, met Donnie at a group home. Donnie and Damian were thick as thieves until one night of revenge put Damian in prison for over a decade. Damian, with time behind him and a chip on his shoulder, comes in on a mission to live what he always dreamed, to be a champion.
Damian, played by Jonathan Majors, wasn’t so lucky with the hand he was dealt, it appears no one saved him in the way that Mary Anne saved Donnie. His perspective of success and fulfillment comes from a similar but different place.
I don’t want to add any more spoilers to this movie in case you haven’t seen it already but I can tell you that the acting was phenomenal and the storyline was great. I enjoyed Micheal B Jordan’s direction of the movie and loved the casting. Jonathan Majors has been in very intelligent and intentional roles every-time I see him and I look forward to seeing more of his work. Wood Harris, Donnie’s trainer, also does a phenomenal job in illustrating a beautiful relationship between coach and athlete but also, Black manhood and Black boyhood.
“Let go of what was and walk into what could be.” – Wood Harris in Creed III
This is definitely a date night, girls night and family night movie. My date and I went to a Dine-In AMC on Long Island with food delivered to your seat, heated recliner chairs, Maker’s Mark and an Amaretto Sour. Had a blast.
If you liked or disliked this movie, I’m curious to know why. Let me know what you think in the comments below.
PS: Related to the Wood Harris quote & You have to watch Luther