Let’s be honest here. I was here for Jonathan Majors opposite Michael B. Jordan. Two great actors and phenomenal looking men. Whoever blessed us with this casting, thank you.
First thing’s first. Stop killing my legends in movies. It was already bad enough that we didn’t get Rocky in this film, and then you all had the nerve to give Mama Rashad a stroke. Twice! Also, she told Adonis before she died to find another way and he decided that the other way was fighting. Don’t think that’s what she meant, champ, but ok.
This is Jordan’s directorial debut, and he’s the lead. I don’t know many actors who do that their first time out, but those who have studied other directors as they act usually fare better than those that don’t. Jordan has been under Coogler for years and Coogler’s talent is unmatched, so I didn’t have any qualms coming into the movie knowing he was directing.
Visually, they took a lot of swings and some things worked while others didn’t. After Donnie and Dame reconnect, they go to a local spot. There, we’re doing the extreme shots to give us, the viewers, this intimate yet awkward encounter between friends. At one point, the camera starts on Donnie, pans out and around to Dame. It just was a weird shot for me and I would have just been ok with the toggling back and forth. Didn’t need the pan shot. Sometimes, less is more.
Jonathan Majors is a sweet man. I know it. He has a 9-year-old daughter, he’s from Texas, and I’ve seen many interviews he’s had with his cast mates. He seems like a perfect gentleman. Between Kang and Dame, I don’t know if I believe that anymore. I’m only joking but these two villain roles have really shown the range of this man on his acting journey. If he keeps this up, an Oscar is a few years away. We will see him at the Academy Awards. You know what it is? It’s the subtle things that he does. Dame was silently calculating but he was also loud in doing so. It was always amazing to me how he could turn it on and off. Those last couple of scenes in the ring were a rollercoaster of emotions and I was taken iron that journey through his eyes, his breathing, and his stance. It was very entertaining to watch.
Felix has best walk in in the franchise. That’s it. That’s the statement. We’ve seen a lot of entrances in this franchise, but when I saw this man had a whole Dia de los Muertes theme complete with characters and colored smoke…..I was floored. THAT is entertainment. Here is another way we saw Dame being calculating. He’s spared with Felix before but it wasn’t until he got in the ring that he really showed out. That false sense of security that Felix, his mom, and Donnie had was because they judged Dame because of his age, his past, and what he allowed them to see at the gym. That was not all he had to offer and Duke knew that.
While we’re talking about Duke, let me tell you how much I love Wood Harris in this role. He’s arrogant, he’s annoying, he knows everything, and has been everywhere. Wood was born for this role! He was the man with the red flag in his hand the entire film. Now, they showed Duke in the audience at one of Dame’s fights when the kids were younger, so he knew these kids. Knew their power and weaknesses. This backstory adds to why Duke didn’t want to train Donnie in the first movie.
Amara is adorable. I love this kid. I hate reading subtitles, but when it’s something as beautiful as this, it’s worth it. I absolutely loved her punching that girl in the face. Do I condone violence? No, but sometimes people need to understand not to bother you. Leave me be. That girl learned that lesson that day. But then again, if the teacher is saying Amara is always fighting, then that little girl should have known that could have been coming when she ripped her drawing. It was sweet to see Donnie and his daughter interact with each other. The tea party was beautiful.
You know what irritated me the entire movie? It’s a small thing. Not a huge thing because I did enjoy myself. Dame won one fight against Felix and half of what he did should have disqualified him just like it did Viktor in the second film. But my point is, they made it seem like this man had won 17 fights before. It was just one fight! Folk walking around calling him champ. I thought it was hilarious that he called Stephen A. Smith’s show and the super said heavyweight champion and the record was 1-0. That shouldn’t even be worth putting on a super!
While we are on things that annoyed me, here we go. I used to work for a news station in production. I hate when movies make production of shows seem so flawless. First off, how did he get the number to the show? That’s not a thing you just have in your phone! Also, there are delays. Don’t make it seem like they can freely just talk to each other while one is in the studio and one is at home. That’s not how that works, and yes, I know it’s a movie, but still.
I found it interesting that in the final Adonis was in his corner with white shorts and Dame was in his corner with black shorts. It’s that classic hero-villain motif which I found interesting. Later in the fight, we see that both men love each other too much to really have the heart to fight each other but what’s done is done.
I would love to know how the relationships progressed after the battle. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and would go see it again. What did yall think? I almost would have wanted this movie to come before the second to give a better scope ton the weight of being a Creed, but I didn’t write the franchise. Plus, we got to see Viktor again. I like how they show that Donnie isn’t a man who has bad blood with anyone. All the men he’s fought, he’s found a way to be cordial or friendly in some way which is endearing.
BLACK WATCH 