Do people out there want to see a “Rocky” movie without Rocky? After “Creed III” one has to state very clearly: Yes, they want to! As of today, the hit movie without Sylvester Stallone, but with Michael B. Jordan, is available as an Amazon Prime Video subscription.
When the boxing drama “Creed 3” opened in German cinemas on March 6, 2023, the film had the best start of the year to date – with more than 410,000 viewers on the first weekend alone. For comparison: The first “Creed” film, then still with Sylvester Stallone, only reached around 340,000 visitors in Germany – and not in the first four days, but over its entire duration!
But the surprising success of “Creed III”, in which Michael B. Jordan (“Black Panther”) not only returns in front of the camera as the titular hero Adonis Creed, but also sits down in the director’s chair for the first time in his career, was in the media Reporting overshadowed by less good news: As part of a TikTok trend, some weirdos tried to misbehave so badly in the cinema that the screenings of “Creed III” had to be canceled if possible.
It is therefore not unlikely that a significant group of interested parties were deterred by these incidents – and they were now at least the chance to catch up on “Creed III” – at no additional cost – as part of the Prime subscription on Amazon Prime Video:
Creed III on Amazon Prime Video*
At the beginning of “Creed III” Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has already hung up his boxing gloves – instead of getting into the ring himself, he now manages young talents. But then Adonis’ best friend from his youth, Damian (Jonathan Majors), who has spent the last two decades behind bars, reemerges – and now craving his own chance to make it all the way to the top as a boxer.
Too late, Adonis realizes that Damian is obviously not only interested in his own success, but also in revenge – and so the ex-world champion finally has to get his gloves off the hook again…
The first “Rocky” film without Rocky – can that go well?
Can a “Rocky” movie work without Rocky? Maybe that’s the wrong question! Because the other way around was it perhaps even necessary for the “Creed” series to do without Sylvester Stallone at some point in order to finally find its own identity: Michael B. Jordan already shows in the atmospheric and stylish flashbacks at the beginning of the film that he not only has the necessary street cred, but also really has what it takes in terms of staging – this also applies to the pleasantly physical staging of the fights, although he is uses some really unexpected staging tricks in the final fight.
But while Damian turns out to be an exciting, multi-layered, ambivalent character, you don’t really understand why Adonis – like Rocky used to do in all his films – actually gets this irresistible feeling that he absolutely has to get back in the ring. The ex-champ seems full and satisfied – and the conflict that has built up is only of limited use to credibly change something about it.
3.5 out of 5 stars from FILMSTARTS
The conclusion of the official FILMSTARTS review of “Creed III” is then also:
„Michael B. Jordan delivers a directorial debut that is really impressive. In addition, there is Jonathan Majors as Damian Anderson, who is clearly the strongest adversary of the entire series, at least in terms of acting! At the same time, Adonis Creed feels so full and satisfied throughout the film that the really big emotions – especially in the ring – are missing this time.“
After “Creed 3” follows a whole “Creed” universe? Spin-offs and even an anime series in the pipeline!
*The link to the Amazon offer is a so-called affiliate link. If you make a purchase through this link, we will receive a commission.
