It's sad that Rocky is butthurt about not having a stake in the Rocky franchise because MBJ is really keeping his franchise alive. MBJ hasn't had a mid movie yet and by mid, I mean something as mid as Rocky 5. All of the Creed movies have packed a powerful emotional punch, with Creed I being about him proving he wasn't a mistake, and that he could live up to his father. Creed II being about him avenging the death of his father in the ring and becoming a father himself, along with Rocky mending his relationship with his own son. And Creed III being about Adonis dealing with his past as a teenager and the guilt he felt leaving Damien behind. It sounds wrong to say and maybe I relate more to Creed because I'm black but, the Rocky movies didn't touch me as much personally. They were just good for universal themes that all people love in sports movies (the underdog getting an opportunity or the underdog beating an unimaginable force, etc.) but, Creed really excels at weaving those urban fabrics into the storyline that black people resonate with.
Going on to the movie, I really felt bad for Damien. He had his entire life stripped from him over a stupid decision he made. Technically, they both made dumb decisions. Adonis chose to beat Leon up, and Damien chose to pull a gun out. Adonis got away but unfortunately Damien got locked up for years. So, I understood his anger and his sense of urgency. He don't got years to wait, he has to get it going now. And even if he does make it, he knows inside that he SHOULD have had YEARS of fighting professionally instead of wasting away in a cell.
Duke was getting on my nerves. Complete hater. You would think he would have learned after the way he hated on Adonis only for him to become one of the best boxers. Damien wasn't a "bum". He had the skillset clearly, he was just bitter, angry and institutionalized.
I did like however, how Damien was like "you learned some new moves" basically showing that Damien might've had enough in the tank to compete and might've been the better fighter as kids but, nothing compares to Adonis training professionally for decades. Damien was missing that polish.
I loved the shot of them boxing in the ring alone with no crowd, and both of them seeing each other as kids
Reminded me of some of the guys I grew up with
You know its a good movie when you almost want the other guy to win. I didn't give a fukk about Drago winning or Ricky Conlan winning but, I almost wanted Damien to. I honestly thought that Adonis was going to throw the fight at the end to let Damien win out of guilt and to let him get his chance. But I'm glad they didn't. One, Damien was kinda fighting dirty with Chavez because he had so much to prove in the ring and so much anger + little years left, so he wouldn't have learned anything. And two, it would have cheated Damien if Adonis gave it to him. If I was writing the script though, I would have had the fight end in a draw or win by decision/points. Have Adonis win but, have them go the entire fight. Just like Rocky and Apollo in Rocky I. That way it would have proved that Damien had the skills to hang with the best fighters even if he was raw and not as discliplined. He just got caught up in the system. The good thing is Adonis did right by his boy in the end. Damien likely got paid millions (so he's not broke) and can still fight for a few more years until he's too old to do it, so he still lived out his dream even if it wasn't what it could have been if he didn't go to prison.
Great movie.
