Michael B. Jordan: "Creed III"

"Creed III" is getting attention because it is a bit more complicated than previous Rocky movies. Generally, you know which person you're supporting. But, in "Creed III," the "villain" has an understandable grievance against our hero--and so the moral skies get cloudy.

A "Creed III" flashback shows us our two stars in a group home. They take a trip to a bodega. A local bully taunts Adonis Creed--and Creed snaps and begins assaulting the bully. Creed's frenemy, Dame, appears, and Dame pulls a gun on the bully. Creed runs away; Dame goes to jail. Creed doesn't contact Dame, year after year after year.

In 2023, Dame is released from jail, and he is seething with rage. He doesn't reveal this to Adonis. The way the rage "leaks out" makes for an interesting Second Act (and Jonathan Majors is so talented, he seems to be a real person in any scene, even when the writing creates some heavy lifting).

Michael B. Jordan's directorial debut made me think about a landmark work for TV, "Friday Night Lights." In that show, Jordan played a complex character--an occasional thief, a showboat, someone with a quirky relationship to the truth. Whenever Vince would self-destruct, you could understand what he was doing, because you saw his father and mother failing, and you saw how little the fictional town of Dillon seemed to care. Watching Vince was like walking a tightrope: There was so much suspense, even if there was just one soul at stake (even if this story wasn't about a battle between civilizations, or between humans and alien invaders).

I'm not sure if Jordan has talked about "FNL" this year--but I see a line that connects Vince Howard with "Dame." I liked "Creed III."

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