Creed 3 lands rave first reactions ahead of release

A successful instalment of the Rocky spin-off?

By Brenna Cooper

10 Feb 2023

Amazon Prime

Creed III has received its first reviews ahead of its release next month and it appears to be a directorial success for Michael B Jordan.

Set seven years after the events of the previous film, Creed III sees Adonis 'Donnie' Creed (Jordan) relocate to Los Angeles with wife, Bianca (Tessa Thompson) and young daughter.

Donnie's life is soon thrown into turmoil by the appearance of childhood friend Damian (Jonathan Majors) who's just finished serving 18-years in prison and feels that Donnie has stolen his place as boxing champion.

The first critics' reviews have praised Jordan's skills as a director, as well as strong performances from the cast.

"Michael B. Jordan’s #CreedIII is ferocious! The fights are big & exciting, and all different from one another (which I loved). Jonathan Majors is unstoppable. Fierce, sympathetic, chaotic - what an incredibly dynamic performance here. MBJ directs the hell out of it, too," wrote Rotten Tomatoes' Erik Davis.

CREED III is a great directorial debut from MBJ. It adds an air of freshness to the franchise & the fight sequences are next-level with IMAX, though the standout moments are outside the ring. Not sure where the film ranks of the 3, but all are great. #Creed3 #CreedIII pic.twitter.com/myVylWQUi3
— Trey Mangum (@treymangum) February 10, 2023

CREED III is great!! mbj does a great job directing and jonathan is incredible
— victoria edel (@victoriaedel) February 10, 2023

Insiders' Jason Guerrasio highlighted the work of Jordan as a director, writing: "Fear not all, Michael B. Jordan absolutely kills it as a director. #CreedIII is gonna give you goose bumps and a whole lot of emotions. And there's one scene in particular that wowed me. Had never seen it done in any of the ROCKY/CREED movies. And then Jonathan Majors... wow!"

While Totalfilm's Matt Maytum praised Majors' work as the film's antagonist as well as Thompson and Jordan's performances, adding: "Creed III is great! Benefits from Jonathan Majors’ antagonist - easily the most interesting opponent Adonis has faced.

"Michael B. Jordan is an assured hand behind the camera and still charismatic as hell in front of it. Tessa Thompson remains v valuable to the series."

michael b jordan in creed 3, walking into a boxing arena wearing a cape, crouds cheer and wave in the background

Warner Bros.

While the Creed films are a continuation of the Rocky franchise, it will be the first one which doesn't feature Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa.

Explaining the reasoning for his absence, Stallone revealed it was a "regretful situation".

"[It's] a regretful situation because I know what it could have been," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "It was taken in a direction that is quite different than I would’ve taken it.

Creed III will be released in cinemas on March 3, 2023.