Creed Iii (2023)

My quick rating - 6.7/10. I enjoyed the other two, so why not? Oh, that was supposed to be some surprise? Please, I saw that a mile away. No spoilers, but c'mon now. Aside from that hiccup of thinking, this is a decent entry into the series. I did see this one as a minor step down from the first two, though. The buildup, having Creed (Michael B. Jordan) retire from boxing on top and moving into training, is a logical move. At this point, he is visited by an old neighborhood friend (Jonathan Majors) who shares an interesting story from their youth that unfolds through flashbacks during the course of the flick. This buildup to what is so inevitable is done very well, and the acting between these two is excellent. Basically, Majors was locked up in prison before his boxing career could ever happen, and upon his release, he looks to his old friend Creed to not only train him but also give him a title shot in a ridiculously short amount of time. Hey, they did it for Rocky, so why not me? For a movie that clocks in just under 2 hours, they really had a hard time spending those minutes properly. The uneven balance of when to focus on plotlines makes the ending feel rushed. Not sure why they couldn't have spent more time on Major's rise in the ring and less time after the "heel" turn on his dark and vengeful speeches. I know they may have been necessary, but trim the scenes done, and you can still get the point across. I also felt a bit cheated since the action did not feel realistic due to CGI being overused. I prefer when that can be blended seamlessly, and this was not it. I expect Ant-Man's latest leap into the quantum realm to be chock-full of CGI graphics and often feel like I am watching a video game, but with a drama that is kind of light on the action, I don't want to be thinking about CGI at all. Even with the problems that keep this from being better in my eyes, it is still a good standalone movie, especially if you can not relate it to the other 2 Creed flix. These 2 actors on screen absolutely know how to get the most out of each scene they are in and really make this film worth your time.

Streaming for theater-at-home prices in a few spots including Microsoft.

#drama #jackmeatsflix #IMDB #Plex