Creed III
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | Release Date: March 3, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 62 Critic Reviews
Positive:
51
Mixed:
11
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
ColliderRoss BonaimeFeb 23, 2023
Creed III honors the past while looking forward to the future, and gives Jordan—both the actor and the director—the spotlight in a way that shows his immense talents. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleTrace SauveurMar 2, 2023
The screenplay by Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin springboards off these ideas to make a no-frills sports melodrama that excels because of everyone’s commitment to making a great one. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireMar 3, 2023
Jordan has long since proven himself as an actor of terrific charisma, versatility and humanity; with Creed III, he shows he’s just as captivating on the other side of the lens. Read full review
88
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiMar 2, 2023
Brilliant star Michael B. Jordan does double-duty in “III,” returning to play Adonis Creed and directing a film for the first time — the man is a champ at both athletics and aesthetics. Read full review
88
USA TodayBrian TruittMar 1, 2023
In addition to reprising his role as Adonis Creed, Jordan packs his directorial debut with the usual “Rocky” melodrama and bombastic ring entrances while freshening the series with stylish, anime-influenced fights and a new spotlight on deaf representation. Read full review
85
Film ThreatAlan NgMar 3, 2023
The story is about being held accountable for your actions and making things right. But it’s also about the love and honesty of family and, ultimately, forgiveness. Read full review
85
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzMar 2, 2023
The actor is as engaging and captivating as ever on-screen as Adonis, yet he’s just as present and committed behind the camera, delivering a stirring string of heartwarming and jaw-breaking moments that add up to something if not exactly unique, than certainly rousing, effective and entertaining. Read full review
85
PolygonSiddhant AdlakhaFeb 23, 2023
Michael B. Jordan imbues this spinoff/threequel with a cinematic zest the series has never seen before, expanding the visual language of the Hollywood boxing movie in remarkable ways. Read full review
82
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiFeb 23, 2023
Creed III may not have the pure, unadulterated power of the original “Rocky” or the original “Creed” but it’s a worthy follow-up that takes chances and makes the most of them. It’s a sharply produced and emotionally raw film, anchored by exciting performances and impressive writing. Read full review
80
Vanity FairRichard LawsonJun 11, 2023
With Creed III (opening in theaters March 3), Jordan takes full control of the reins, making his directorial debut in calm and confident fashion. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalKyle SmithMar 23, 2023
Creed III brings up unusually troubling questions for a formula picture, and the care the script takes to add depth to Donnie strengthens the final third of the film, which in accordance with the sports-drama rulebook leads us through a rousing training montage and a climactic competition, this time in Dodger Stadium. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Alison WillmoreMar 7, 2023
Creed III’s greatest achievement is demonstrating that there’s more story to be told about Donnie, who after two films had been looking pretty thoroughly explored as a character. Read full review
80
We Got This CoveredFrancisca TinocoMar 3, 2023
Jordan’s clear vision for Creed III is hindered by a couple of melodramatic crutches that are typical of the genre, and constant, incredibly distracting and tacky product placements throughout. Small faults in what is otherwise a self-assured, confident, and refreshingly vulnerable sports epic. The actor and filmmaker is dead serious about his craft, and it’s great to watch. Read full review
80
The AtlanticDavid SimsMar 3, 2023
With the inventiveness of Creed III, an old franchise suddenly feels fresh. Read full review
80
ABC NewsPeter TraversMar 3, 2023
Michael B. Jordan returns as star and now director to play Adonis Creed, the boxing champ who comes out of retirement to take on a fierce new contender (a dynamite Jonathan Majors). Even when the overcrowded plot stumbles, this clash of the titans is worth cheering. Read full review
80
The New York TimesManohla DargisMar 2, 2023
As entertaining as it is predictable, Creed III does exactly what you expect, delivering nicely balanced helpings of intimacy and spectacle, grit and glamour. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinMar 2, 2023
Even with the steady supply of clichés and occasional leaps of logic, the dramatic scenes smoulder away nicely. Read full review
80
NMENick LevineMar 2, 2023
Creed III isn’t quite a knockout, but only a fool would come away questioning whether this seasoned slugger of a franchise has more rounds left in it. Bring on Creed IV. Read full review
80
EmpireAmon WarmannFeb 27, 2023
Giving the gloves to Michael B. Jordan both in front of and behind the camera leads to satisfying results, and the year of great Jonathan Majors performances continues. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzFeb 27, 2023
Creed III is definitely a people movie. And Jordan has trained his lens on the right subjects. He’s once again convincing as a man trying to fight his way through internal conflict, not just opponents in the ring. Read full review
80
UproxxMike RyanFeb 23, 2023
Creed III does serve as a nice springboard to whatever future movies Jordan wants to direct. He’s done a really great job here. And it, of course, allows Jonathan Majors another chance to emote. Right now, Majors has to be the king of emoting. He is truly great at it. What’s interesting about this movie is a viewer can see both sides of the conflict between Adonis and Dame, at least to a point. Read full review
80
ScreenCrushMatt SingerFeb 23, 2023
Creed III returns the franchise to its roots in macho melodrama. Yes, Adonis and Dame eventually fight. But a lot of Creed III is about their lives away from the ring, and about universal themes that have nothing to do with boxing like getting older and feeling as if your dreams are about to slip through your fingers. Read full review
80
Total FilmMatt MaytumFeb 23, 2023
Michael B. Jordan keeps the Creed formula feeling fresh with a confident directorial debut that's also 2023’s second threequel supercharged by a Jonathan Majors antagonist. Read full review
80
VarietyOwen GleibermanFeb 23, 2023
Creed III is a sports drama that feels like a thriller with an urgent conscience. Read full review
80
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyFeb 23, 2023
Man of the moment Jonathan Majors somehow manages to out-charisma both Michael B Jordan and Tessa Thompson here. Read full review
80
IGNClint GageFeb 23, 2023
While Creed III may not stray too far from the very familiar format of a Rocky movie, seeing Creed truly begin a legacy of his own apart from Rocky Balboa is an exciting chapter for the series. Read full review
80
The GuardianBenjamin LeeFeb 23, 2023
The Rocky spin-off series continues to dazzle with another knockout drama with the magnetic Jonathan Majors. Read full review
75
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenMar 9, 2023
Majors is easily the best thing in this third Rocky offshoot. Read full review
75
The Film StageConor O'DonnellMar 3, 2023
Handily crafted and only occasionally stilted, Creed III is a remarkably limber piece of entertainment. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMar 2, 2023
In short, by delivering the expected and doing so with style and intensity, it lands in the top tier of the nine Rocky universe movies, although falling short by a few titles from the pinnacle. Read full review
75
Original-CinJim SlotekMar 2, 2023
Creed III has the fights, it has a story, and it has a heart. For Jordan, it’s a feature directing debut with punch. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsMar 2, 2023
Unlike “Creed II,” which had little visual distinction and a storyline forgettable enough to send me straight to Wikipedia for a refresher, Creed III tries a few things. And it showcases two charismatic stars who are also genuine, ambitious actors. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeOdie HendersonMar 1, 2023
The backstory between Donny and Dame is too heavy and complex for a movie that aims to be a crowd-pleaser, but Majors and Jordan do their best to balance the material. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldMar 1, 2023
You can see clearly in the final scenes where “Creed IV” might be headed; you can also see that Jordan as a director shows promise well beyond this film. “Creed III” works as well as it needs to, and for the umpteenth film in a franchise, that’s more than enough. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubMurtada ElfadlMar 1, 2023
Creed III captures the spectacle and ceremony of boxing, providing the audience with an entertaining thrill ride. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, owing much to its predecessors in the Rocky and Creed series in story structure and character development. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayFeb 28, 2023
For the most part, Creed III is a matter of clear, straightforward storytelling, with a well-balanced variety of action, feeling, character development and fan-pleasing callbacks. It’s a good movie. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperFeb 28, 2023
What makes Creed III a consistently engrossing watch is the gritty and violent back story, and the present-day tension between two former best friends whose lives were forever changed by a single confrontation that went sideways and who now have been reunited after nearly 20 years, with one man on top of the world and the other about two degrees from reaching the boiling point as he simmers with rage and resentment. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleFeb 27, 2023
To put it into a larger perspective, if Creed III were a “Rocky” movie, it would be up there — nowhere near the original “Rocky” and a little worse than “Rocky II,” but certainly better than the rest of them. Read full review
75
The Associated PressLindsey BahrFeb 27, 2023
While there is a case to be made for the final fight to, let’s just say, go a different way than it does, Creed III is still a knockout. Read full review
75
ObserverDylan RothFeb 24, 2023
Creed III is a blast, confidently managing the poignancy and playfulness of its most memorable predecessors. Read full review
75
The Daily BeastNick SchagerFeb 23, 2023
It’s easy to see the film’s punches coming before they’re thrown, but that doesn’t lessen their wallop when they land. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattFeb 23, 2023
Majors, already seemingly inescapable this year, brings a wounded menace that suggests the many sedimentary layers of fury and grief underneath; he's less some sneering Iron Curtain meathead á la Rocky villains of yore than a lost soul. Read full review
75
ConsequenceLiz Shannon MillerFeb 23, 2023
There's a confidence to respect in this film, as it tells a story which feels fresh within the established framework. Read full review
74
Paste MagazineJesse HassengerFeb 27, 2023
Even when Creed III treads familiar ground, this series feels like the ideal outlet for the on-screen persona Jordan is building: a resilient man who needs to better understand the power he’s fought so hard for. Read full review
70
Little White LiesCheyenne BunsieMar 2, 2023
With a clear vision and understanding of the storytelling, and buoyed by Zach Baylin and Keenan Coogler’s deft screenplay, Jordan makes an ambitious debut that needs more finetuning at times but retains the best traits of the trilogy to remain a suitably introspective, yet thrilling chapter in the Creed legend. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshMar 2, 2023
Coogler and Baylin’s screenplay isn’t all that innovative with the sports movie formula, and it unfortunately tends to rely on characters plainly spelling out their inner monologues, rather than leaving it to subtext. But Jordan’s steady direction elevates the material, keeping a strong hand on the tone and emotional tenor. Read full review
70
Screen RantPatrice WitherspoonFeb 23, 2023
Though Baylin & Coogler’s script gives just enough to not be forgettable, Jordan’s direction seals the deal and provides fulfilling entertainment. Read full review
67
IndieWireKate ErblandFeb 23, 2023
Only in the film’s final half-hour, which (unsurprisingly) sets the pair on a path to duke it out in the ring, do they — and this film — really spring to life. Read full review
65
CNNBrian LowryMar 2, 2023
If only the script and story were in the same kind of fighting shape as its leads. Grounding the narrative in Adonis Creed’s past does provide a weightier foundation, but the tradeoff is an element of sluggishness in a movie that, despite its impressive cast, never feels particularly light on its toes. Read full review
65
SlashfilmChris EvangelistaFeb 23, 2023
Indeed, I sure hope "Creed" doesn't take the "Rocky" route and pump out sequel after sequel. Whether or not that happens will surely be up to studio execs and box office returns, but if this is the final round for the "Creed" series, it's a fitting, if predictable, end. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineDerek SmithFeb 23, 2023
The film comes down to a draw between its flashes of brilliance and its missed opportunities. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeMar 7, 2023
Jordan is doing double duty here, directing as well as starring in this solidly by-numbers chapter in the ongoing Creed saga. He does a workmanlike job – the fight sequences are thrillingly visceral, but his weakness for cheesy montages and the film’s formulaic screenplay ensure that the picture was never going to take the franchise anywhere new. Read full review
60
CineVueChristopher MachellMar 7, 2023
The screenplay balances the big narrative beats that this kind of broad crowd pleaser demands, along with posing more difficult social questions to which there are no easy answers. Read full review
60
Rolling StoneK. Austin CollinsMar 3, 2023
Creed III is very much a boxing movie. But it’s got a gnarled, contingent conflict at its center that’s a little too knowing for the movie not to have a little more than usual on its mind. Read full review
60
The New YorkerRichard BrodyMar 2, 2023
Creed III makes clear that Jordan, in directing and starring, has serious matters, personal and professional and societal, in mind. But the movie, produced as one briskly overpacked feature, doesn’t allow him enough time to explore them. Read full review
60
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeMar 2, 2023
Michael B Jordan, who bossed the previous two rounds as Adonis Creed, shuffles behind the camera for a film that intersperses soapy sentiment with first-class acting duels. Read full review
60
Time OutKambole CampbellFeb 27, 2023
There’s enough excitement and heart in its familiar pleasures and fresher twists on the franchise’s sports-movie thrills, showing that it has plenty of fight in it even without the rehashed Rocky myths. Read full review
60
Screen DailyTim GriersonFeb 23, 2023
As a director, Jordan has produced polished, briskly paced entertainment but what’s disappointing is that, quite often, Creed III hints at being something more. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeFeb 23, 2023
In the spirit of its predecessors, Creed III gears audiences up for a fight of the century: The battle between Adonis and Damian is billed as one between an underdog and a man with nothing to lose. But the implications of those categories are murky and unsettling. Read full review
58
The PlaylistCharles BramescoFeb 23, 2023
This prodigal son’s reappearance ignites a rivalry a little Biblical and a little Shakespearean, though their macho melodrama hews most closely to the flavor of screenwriterly contrivance. Read full review
50
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottFeb 28, 2023
Jordan manages to squeeze a decent amount of drama from the obligatory third-act showdown, but even then, his reach exceeds his grasp, with a display of misplaced arthouse ambition. Read full review
50
Movie NationFeb 23, 2023
This is a humorless, dry retread of the lesser, later “Rocky” movies, a molehill of a tale for our boxing titans to climb. Read full review
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