1 minute read
Duke It Out
By Eva D. Coleman Lifestyle & Culture Editor
CREED III movie channels friends becoming foes, then there’s family
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When the ring around your past is dirty, you will fight your “friends.” CREED III is about Adonis Creed’s attempts to clean up his mental torment of childhood guilt from an incident involving his friend Damian “Diamond Dame” Anderson. Having retired from boxing, Creed, played by Michael B. Jordan, is an astute businessman enjoying a happy life with his wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson), daughter Amara (Mila Davis-Kent) and mother Mary-Anne (Phylicia Rashad). Happiness gets flipped with a nice-nasty reentry of Anderson (Jonathan Majors) into his life.
Anderson smiles, yet deep-seated anger and jealousy seethes through, having built up over time from an 18 year stint in prison. His unabashed, violent tendencies soon make him a clear villain.
Beyond boxing, CREED III is unflinching in its focus on family and fatherhood. There are numerous heartfelt moments throughout the film that showcase the beauty a family unit brings.
Then, there are also times when family secrets surface, yielding to resentment over what possibly could have changed life’s trajectory.
“Let go of everything that was and walk into what is,” Tony ‘Little Duke’ Burton, the matter-offact trainer and friend played by Wood Harris, said. Duke’s memorable line could easily serve as the defining statement of Creed’s longtime, successful run… until he’s forced to stop and deal with his past. The punches, blood, sweat, and slow-motion of saliva spewing from mouths are gut-wrenching along with a rhythmically invoking soundtrack that takes you ringside. With all of the noise, the juxtaposition of communicating via sign language with Creed’s daughter Amara, who is deaf, heightens an onscreen loving awareness of experiences for those with disabilities. A father’s love on display is the soft spot of the movie, aiming straight for the heart of which it lands. Fight. Fame. Family. Then, fending off evil forces. Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut, CREED III, will rope you into an emotional battle that ends with what’s most important. The final scene is touching. Check it out in theaters March 3, 2023.
