It's called a knockout: at the weekend the boxing drama "Creed 3", the third episode in the "Creed" series, was released, being in itself a sequel to "Rocky".
The film brought in no less than 58 million dollars: the highest opening ever in the history of the expanded universe of "Creed" and "Rocky", and in fact also the highest opening ever in the history of sports films.
The "Creed" movies, as you remember, follow Adonis Creed, the son of Apollo Creed, the boxer who was the enemy and then the best friend of Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone.
Creed Jr. is played by Michael B. Jordan, one of the most prominent stars in Hollywood in recent years, who here goes behind the camera for the first time and also directs the film.
Stallone, however, withdrew from the project due to artistic differences, making Creed 3 the first film in this expanded universe in which the legendary actor does not appear.
Jordan is doing just fine without him.
His directing work is impressive, culminating in a boxing scene that is one of the most amazing in the history of the genre, no less.
The rookie director subverts what we have seen in the previous films in the series and genre in general.
He breaks down what happens in the series and reassembles it in a way that reminds of modern art or ballet.
The result is jaw dropping.
Impressive in every sense of the word.
Michael B. Jordan in "Creed 3" (Photo: Tulip Entertainment)
The boxing matches are the bread and butter of these films, but there are other virtues in "Creed 3" as well.
The plot engine is a friend from the past of Adonis, played by Jonathan Majors who can now also be seen in the new "Ant-Man".
The friend from long ago hurts the life of the successful and happy boxer, destabilizes the harmony in his life, reveals skeletons and demons from the past, and threatens to drag him back into the darkness.
The confrontation between the two begins as a psychological battle and turns into a physical confrontation only to return to the mental plane, because the real message of "Creed 3" is that everything is in the head.
It is a confrontation between two individuals that is also a metaphor for something broader: the conflict between a person and his shadow, light and darkness, peace and war, love and hate.
Even big fans of the "Rocky" movies will admit that this new hit is one of the most sophisticated and profound movies in the history of the series, and its success is justified.
Stallone, who remains outside the ring, can only eat the hat.
For the full review of the film - listen above to a conversation between Iris Cole and Avner Shavit on Radio 103.
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Michael B.
Jordan
Silvester Stalon
Rocky
Creed
Rocky Balboa