The third chapter of the Creed franchise, which itself is based off of the Rocky franchise, will make its highly-anticipated debut in theaters around the world today. With the latest movie featuring an unprecedented amount of real-life professional boxers, boxing has been put on the forefront of movie entertainment.
The story of Creed follows up after the Rocky film series which featured actor Sylvester Stallone as the main character, Rocky Balboa. In those movies, Rocky rises from a journeyman to eventually become one of the greatest boxers in the history of the sport after his battles with Heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, played by actor Carl Weathers, amongst other opponents.
Creed continues from the last Rocky V movie and features Adonis Creed, the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed who was born after his father died after an exhibition match against Ivan Drago, played by Dolph Lundgren. The first movie sees Adonis Creed (played by Michael B. Jordan) establish himself as a legitimate boxer with the help of Rocky Balboa himself. He further gets an opportunity to prove his worth in the professional boxing scene after being matched to face the then-incumbent Heavyweight world champion, Ricky Conlan who is played by real-life (currently retired) pro Tony Bellew.
The second Creed movie features a highly-dramatic storyline between Rocky and Creed, and Ivan Drago and his son, Viktor Drago played by actor Florian Munteanu. In this chapter of the movie, Adonis Creed has grown into a bonafide superstar and world champion, while Viktor Drago looks to restore the Drago family name after his father was disgraced by Russia – then known as the USSR – for losing to Rocky Balboa (in Rocky IV) despite his secret PED use and advanced training he had endured.
The latest chapter in of the franchise, Creed III, is the first in the Creed series to not feature Rocky Balboa, but it heavily builds on the already-established characters of Adonis Creed, his wife, Bianca Taylor (played by Tessa Thompson) and other supporting characters that have been featured earlier in the Creed movies. With Michael B. Jordan making his directorial debut in this movie, Creed III introduces a terrifying new antagonist in a childhood friend of Adonis Creed, Damian Anderson (played by Jonathan Majors), who proves himself to be a dangerous and deadly fighter for those at the top of the Heavyweight division after deciding to pick up boxing following his release from prison.
With a slew of reviews already pinpointing Creed III as the best movie in its franchise, the extra exposure it grants to the sport – and the professional boxers that have acted in the movie – will undoubtedly draw more eyes to boxing. Out of all the previous movies, Creed III features more cameos of professional boxers than ever before, and includes boxing stars such as Canelo Alvarez, Terence Crawford, Jessica McCaskill and Jose Benavidez Jr. as some well-known names that are included in the film.
Creed III is a must-watch movie for anyone interested in boxing, and highly recommended for those that take a particular interest in the ins-and-goings of the boxing industry as a whole. It provides a deep look into the preparation, business side and eventual execution of professional boxers, as well as the risks and benefits that come paired with being an athlete that participates in combat sports.
So make sure to put Creed III high on your list of movies to watch, and enjoy a thoroughly entertaining boxing movie with your loved ones.
