"Creed III" is here, and not only does Michael B. Jordan reprise the role he made famous,
but this time, he steps behind the camera to bring his story to life.
And through his personal investment, the ending means more than ever.
"Creed III" sees a now retired Adonis attempt to lead newcomers to the same greatness he
achieved while maintaining his family with Bianca.
However, Adonis' world is turned upside down when his old friend Damian reappears after
nearly two decades in jail.
Although Adonis doesn't know it at first, Damian has revenge on his mind for something
that happened between them when they were kids.
Their dramatic clash leads Adonis to step back into the ring to face his former friend.
"Creed III" finds Adonis on his own to tell his story without Rocky Balboa by his side.
The result is a deeply personal story in Adonis' arc as he's forced to face his past with Damian's
reemergence and deal with the trauma he's tried to keep hidden.
The slow-burning feud that develops between Adonis and Damian eventually builds toward
a brutal fight for dominance.
However, other parts of Andonis' personal story are unearthed in this confrontation.
Throughout the film, we're given glimpses into the fateful night that saw Adonis and
Damian's brother-like relationship come to an end.
Although Adonis would eventually become the world-class boxer we know, he didn't start
out on that path.
In reality, Damian was the rising boxing talent, having already earned some noteworthy accolades
and a few nasty knockouts.
Adonis wasn't much of a fighter and acted more as Damian's manager or assistant.
However, it all came to an end on one particular night.
In a flashback, we see Adonis and Damian run into their old abusive group home father,
Leon.
Adonis becomes enraged by the man and starts to beat him up.
It's not long before Leon's cohorts rip Adonis off of him, but before they retaliate against
him, Damian pulls out a gun to defend his friend.
Unfortunately, the cops pull up shortly after and arrest Damian while Adonis flees from
the scene.
While Damian was ready to stand by Adonis, Adonis couldn't do the same, and this moment
still affects both men decades later.
Damian doesn't have much when he comes out of prison.
But the time he's spent inside has allowed him to develop a revenge plot he's ready to
act on.
The ex-con's swift intelligence is a big part of what makes him stand out amongst past antagonists
faced by Adonis or even Rocky.
"I'm coming for everything."
"You threatening me?"
Damian wastes no time embedding himself into his old friend's inner circle and even gets
into the gym to train against Adonis' protégé Felix.
There, Damian studies Felix to learn his techniques.
When he's ready, Damian convinces Adonis to let the newly-freed boxer to fight Adonis'
young student.
Damian takes things even further by hiring one of his old prison friends to beat up Adonis'
rival-turned-friend Viktor Drago.
The conflict results in Drago's hand being broken which means he can't fight in an upcoming
bout with Felix.
Adonis needs this fight with Felix to happen though, so he gives Damian his shot in the
ring.
Although he nearly gets disqualified for some dirty hits, Damian knocks Felix out and earns
his title.
Then, with this new power and influence, he openly torments and calls out Adonis to damage
his reputation and get under his skin.
Damian might have seemed friendly at first to Adonis, but he quickly becomes a rival
he can't escape.
Not long after Damian wins the title fight against Felix, Adonis' mother Mary Anne calls
him to her house to reveal something devastating.
Upon arriving, Adonis sees letters spread across the kitchen table, all from Damian.
It turns out that Damian had been sending letters to Adonis throughout his time in prison,
but Mary Anne kept them from him.
She says that Damian was always bad news and that she was trying to protect Adonis from
falling into the same patterns.
Adonis is infuriated and incredibly cold towards his mother.
If Adonis had known that Damian had been writing to him, there's a good chance he might've
reached out, and this war he now finds himself in with Damian might never have happened.
Now, Adonis is locked into a fiery battle with Damian while knowing that there could've
been a way for things to be better.
Realistically, though, even Adonis knows that he was really trying to forget what happened
to Damian all along.
In the earlier parts of the film, it's mentioned that Mary Anne had recently had a stroke that
leaves Adonis and Bianca concerned.
Throughout the movie, Mary Anne's condition worsens, to the point that Adonis only has
time for one last conversation with her.
Adonis and Mary Anne's final conversation is easily the tenderest moment of the film,
and it's largely because of who Mary Anne thinks Adonis is.
Although Adonis is right in front of her, Mary Anne talks to him like he's Apollo Creed,
Adonis' late father.
For both Adonis and longtime "Rocky" fans, the mere mention of Apollo's name might bring
a few tears to the eye.
Because Mary Anne thinks that she's talking to Apollo it allows her to be honest when
talking about her love for Adonis.
It's a bittersweet scene showing how real the emotion is between mother and son.
As Damian and Adonis' feud becomes more intense, it makes the people in Adonis' life concerned
about the pain he still harbors.
Throughout the film, Bianca tries to get Adonis to open up, but he denies her advances.
They get into a heated argument right in front of their daughter Amara.
However, after Mary Anne's sudden death leaves him immensely vulnerable, he confides to Bianca
about his past.
In a tearful conversation, Adonis tells Bianca about Leon's abuse and the incident that led
to Damian's arrest.
He talks about how responsible he still feels for leaving Damian behind and never reaching
out to him.
Adonis comes to the realization that maybe he chose to forget about Damian because it
made it easier to move on.
Finding a way to confront his past with Damian and forgive himself is a huge part of his
personal arc, and this is probably the most open we've seen Adonis throughout the "Creed"
franchise.
With Damian constantly throwing dirt on his name in the media, Adonis is faced with a
tough choice: should he step into the ring with Damian and put an end to this conflict?
Adonis tells Bianca that he doesn't see another way out of this, and she tells him, "Do what
you got to do."
Finally ready to step into the ring again to fight Damian, Adonis doesn't announce his
intentions in an ordinary fashion.
Instead, Adonis decides to give Damian a taste of his own medicine and use the media to draw
him out.
He ultimately appears on ESPN's "First Take" and gets Damian to call in.
"When I walked away from boxing, I walked away with some unfinished business."
Adonis becomes the kind of tactician that Damian has been from the start and essentially
draws him into his trap.
Once Damian gets on the air, he starts berating Adonis with virtually no filter, and Adonis
uses it to fuel his fire.
Right then and there, Adonis challenges Damian to a fight before quickly getting off the
show.
Adonis goes all out when challenging Damian, and it sets the stage for a bloody spectacle
between the two.
With Damian and Adonis ready to duke it out on the biggest stage possible, we get what
everyone expects from these movies, a huge training montage.
It's no surprise to see a "Creed" movie feature these intense sequences of Adonis and his
opponent pushing themselves to their limits before their final bout.
This time around, we see Damian destroying sparring partners in the ring and getting
into some tough workouts on the beach.
Adonis, on the other hand, is in a secluded facility on a mountain sparring with a now-healed
Drago and reigniting that fire within him.
However, there's more going on in this sequence than just sweaty workouts.
Throughout the film, Adonis and Damian have been shown in different lights.
Adonis lives a life of luxury while Damian remains rugged and gritty.
This reflects how vastly different their lives and perspectives have become since they split
apart.
But here, they're reversed.
Damian trains in his own gym and looks more glamorous than he has leading up to this moment.
It makes it clear that he's primed to claim the success he deserves.
Adonis, meanwhile, goes back to his roots in a small facility.
He knows that he has to regain his old fighting spirit.
It's a sequence that's thrilling to watch because of all the energy pouring out of it,
but it also features progression in both Damian and Adonis' journeys.
When the time finally comes for Damian and Adonis to get into the ring together, the
tension is higher than in any of Adonis' previous fights.
The bad blood between these two has truly come to a boil and even in the opening moments
of the fight, they don't pull their punches.
Right off the bat, some brutal shots set the tone, and it's only a couple of rounds in
before blood starts to pour.
There's a moment in the battle where everyone else in the stadium disappears and it's just
Adonis and Damian in the ring fighting each other.
"Let go of whatever was, and walk into what is."
It's a visually stunning and immersive experience sequence.
Throughout the entire scene, you can't help but wonder how much time has passed.
By the time the crowd reappears, the two have reached Round 12.
The climactic boxing match is easily one of the most memorable of the franchise and a
great showcase for Jordan's direction.
Plus, it all builds towards an unforgettable end.
Damian and Adonis hold nothing back in their big blowout fight, and some moments see them
nearly break each other.
At one point Damian delivers a strong gut punch to Adonis and he's brought to his knees.
He almost isn't able to beat the ten-count.
Michael B. Jordan has mentioned on the movie's press circuit that he took some inspiration
from anime for some of the fight sequences, and that swift punch to the gut is actually
inspired by a devastating punch from Goku to Frieza in "Dragon Ball Z."
Damian gives Adonis a run for his money and leaves his face a bloody, swollen mess.
But it's not enough to take him down.
Adonis eventually turns the tables on Damian by pushing him toward the ropes.
Once he finds a good opening, he pops Damian right in the face and it's not long before
Damian is sprawled out on the floor, knocked out.
Adonis has finally defeated Damian and his past demons.
He's officially cemented as one of the greatest fighters of all time, and he's kept the prestige
of the Creed legacy intact.
Adonis defeats Damian in the ring and keeps his reputation as a top fighter, but there's
still more that needs to be done to end this personal feud.
After the fight, Adonis goes to Damian to talk with him face-to-face.
With all their anger and rage left in the ring, they can now have an honest conversation
about their unresolved feelings.
With Damian humbled in front of everyone, it's safe to say that there's going to be
no more trash-talking from him.
Adonis and Damian forgive each other and themselves for what happened the night Damian got arrested.
The stellar performances from both leads heighten the emotion as Damian is brought to tears
by Adonis' forgiveness.
These two are now able to put the past behind them.
After talking with Damian, Adonis heads back to the ring and sees Bianca and his daughter
Amara.
Throughout the film, Amara has shown an interest in becoming a fighter like her father.
She watches his old fights, and Adonis even shows her some moves.
Now, seeing his daughter shadowboxing in the ring, he can't be prouder to see another chapter
in his life unfolding.
Adonis jumps into the ring with Amara to have a little fight of their own, and he lets her
win in an adorable way.
Then, he leaves the ring looking content, but wonders if this will be his last fight.
Whether it'll be Adonis going back into the ring for another bout against a new foe or
watching Amara take the Creed legacy in her own direction, fighting will always be a part
of who Adonis is.
With that in mind, seeing him walk out of the ring after dealing with all these family
troubles and personal demons is more satisfying than ever.