2020-2029, Film Review

Creed III (2023)

Posted on March 3, 2023April 22, 2025 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

© MGM, United Artists Releasing and Warner Bros. Pictures

Creed III – Film Review

Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors, Mila Davis-Kent, Wood Harris, Florian Munteanu, Phylicia Rashad

Director: Michael B. Jordan

Synopsis: After a successful boxing career, Adonis Creed (Jordan) faces a new challenge when a former childhood friend and boxing prodigy (Majors) resurfaces…

Review: To follow in the footsteps of a cinematic icon like Rocky Balboa is far from an easy feat. Yet, with its superb blend of nostalgia, pulsating fight scenes and an unwavering determination for its lead character to honour the legacy of Apollo Creed, as well as forging his own, this is precisely what the spin-off to the Rocky franchise accomplished when its first film fought its way into cinemas to critical acclaim. With its sequel, it continued along this path by adding some deeply personal stakes for both its lead character and his coach. It might have seemed unthinkable the third film would not feature the iconic character of Rocky in any capacity. Yet even without the involvement of Sly Stallone, it has proved it has plenty of fight left in the tank.

Adonis Creed has spent years enjoying a successful boxing career. However, he has now reached a point where he has chosen to retire as a professional fighter and transfer to the role of a coach/promoter and the owner of a gym training the next generation of fighters. On top of this, Adonis also has family responsibilities parenting his daughter Amara (Davis-Kent) with his wife Bianca (Thompson). However, when a former childhood friend Damian Anderson (Majors) comes back into Adonis’s life after spending 18 years in prison, he wants his chance to become a professional fighter and make up for the time he lost while serving his sentence. Initially offering his former friend a chance to rehabilitate and train, Adonis is forced to confront his past relationship with Damian when it becomes clear Damian’s aspirations threaten to challenge the legacy Adonis worked so hard to build.

The script by Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin, working from a story co-written with Ryan Coogler, continues to honour the theme beating at the heart of these films: legacy. The boxing aspect unquestionably plays a part in the films, but the emphasis is first and foremost on these characters and their relationships with those closest to them and the legacies they strive to build. For Adonis, he may have enjoyed a phenomenal career as a pro boxer, but the question about legacy becomes even more prescient since Adonis has hung up his gloves. With a daughter to now take care of, given the fierceness and brutality of the sport, the film explores what kind of effect will his boxing career have on her as she grows up and handles the challenges of life. A dilemma which causes tension between Adonis and Bianca. However, there are also some extremely heart-warming moments of the trio as a family, with Bianca also getting much more screen time as she is also having to balance her career and her parental responsibilities.

Yet, despite those heartwarming moments, the crunch of the film’s conflict lies in the relationship between Adonis and Damian. Through a flashback sequence, the relationship between the young Adonis and Damian is established and how events in the past have shaped the men they have become. Fast forward to the present day, and it is fair to say the relationship is complicated. There is initially respect between the two men, but it doesn’t take long for this respect to erode as Damian’s aspirations put him and Adonis on a direct collision course, which leads to an enthralling showdown. He’s certainly the man of the moment given his status as the MCU’s next big bad, and Jonathan Majors delivers a sensational performance as Damian effortlessly combing the intense physicality of the fight scenes with the more restrained emotional moments between these two friends-turned-rivals.

Taking the directorial gloves from Coogler and Steven Caple Jr in his directorial debut, Jordan follows in the footsteps of his predecessors as he puts his own stamp on the film’s fight scenes, proving his talent both in front of and behind the camera. Is there anything this man cannot do? He has made no secret of his love of anime and those influences come through in the fight scenes with intense close-ups of the fighters’ facial expressions, and slow motion before a significant blow is about to be landed. It is an effective combination and adds to the intense physicality of the fight scenes, which particularly comes through when viewed on the big screen. The Creed franchise had a lot to live up to, but through three excellent films which rarely put a foot wrong, it has honoured the legacy of the icon of Rocky Balboa and has given its star to launch himself as one of Hollywood’s newest and most exciting young directors.

Continuing to honour its central themes of family and defining your legacy, while getting another superb performance out of man-of-the-moment Jonathan Majors, ensures this threequel earns delivers the knockout blow and earns its title as a worthy successor to one of the greatest sports film franchises of all time.

2020-2029, Film Review, London Film Festival 2021

The Harder They Fall (2021)

Posted on November 2, 2021November 2, 2021 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

The Harder They Fall – Film Review

Cast: Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Lakeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi, Deon Cole

Director: Jeymes Samuel

Synopsis: When he learns that his bitter enemy has been sprung out of prison, an outlaw re-forms his gang to take his adversary down once and for all…

Review: What is the first thing that comes to mind when someone says the word “Western”? A shot of a rural town in the USA, showdown duels with guns, cowboy hats/boots, and the familiar sounds of the spurs on the boots, or the doors of a saloon opening and closing. Perhaps there’s also a musical number akin to something that you’d hear from The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, is playing in the background, as a Caucasian hero strolls in on horseback to save the day? The Western is a genre that so often has white people at the forefront of the story. Yet too often, black people find themselves on the sidelines when it comes to these types of films. Hence, to see a Western that places the experiences of black people at this point in history at the forefront, with an all-star cast of some of the finest black actors currently working in Hollywood, is extremely refreshing, and long long overdue.

Nat Love (Majors) is an outlaw who has got a burning desire for revenge against Rufus Buck (Elba) after Buck committed an unforgivable crime when Nat was young. Now as an adult, when Nat learns that Buck has been freed from his incarceration as a prisoner, he’s out for revenge. He reforms The Nat Love gang, which includes real-life historical figure Stagecoach Mary (Beetz) and Cuffee (Deadwyler), to take down Buck once and for all. The only problem for Nat Love and his gang, is that Buck has his own gang surrounding him, including Treacherous Trudy Smith (King) and Cherokee Bill (Stanfield), determined to protect him at all costs. With the conflict between the two rival gangs boiling over into an all-out war, the bullets are gonna fly.

When taking one look at the cast that Samuel has assembled, there’s only one word that best describes it: stacked. No matter where you turn, there are actors with glittering careers everywhere you look. The end result is a brilliant cast, all of whom are in scintillating form. This crop of characters are certainly not ones you would want to cross, but that doesn’t mean that they are not extremely compelling and hilarious to watch. Jonathan Majors is someone who has burst onto the scene relatively late, in comparison to some of his cast members. Yet, in the few short years since he rose to prominence, he’s proven himself to be an extremely compelling on-screen presence. This continues with his performance as Nat. It’s quite the unenviable task to take a character like an outlaw, and add an incredible layer of depth and humanity to that role. Yet, with just about every performance he has given in recent years, Majors pulls it off brilliantly.

As Nat’s love interest, the relationship between Nat and Stagecoach Mary could have been very conventional. While the chemistry between the two is most assuredly there, Beetz plays this character as someone who is not subservient to Nat in any capacity, she’s more than capable of kicking Nat’s arse if she wanted to, and likewise for Cuffee. On the other side of this gang war, the character of Rufus Buck is someone who you dare not cross if you value your life, and Elba’s performance is suitably intimidating. Alongside him, Regina King is clearly relishing the opportunity to play an antagonist, and she’s absolutely terrific to watch. However, there’s far more to both their characters than just robbing banks and shooting down anyone in their way. As with Majors’ Nat Love, and indeed every character that you see on screen, there are subtle nuances to these characters that make them far more than just outlaws who are in this business for the money.

It is incredible to think that this is Samuel’s feature film directorial debut. While he has worked on music videos and short films with Jay-Z (who is one of the film’s producers), it’s quite the leap to go from directing short films and music videos, to directing a thrilling Western with some of Hollywood’s finest. Yet when you watch what Samuel, who also wrote the script, has concocted, it’s an absolutely breathtaking achievement. His direction is so confident and stylish, if you had no idea that this was his first feature film, you would be forgiven for thinking that he’s a seasoned director who has been doing this for years. It all translates into an enthralling and compelling story that grabs you from the word go.

Some may well struggle with the thick Texas accents that some of the characters speak with. However, by telling this story from the perspective of people who were not trapped in the brutal institution of slavery, it lends a much-needed new perspective to the people and the lives they led at this point in history. With such a confident and brilliant feature film debut, an exciting new voice has entered the world of filmmaking. No matter what project he chooses to do next, Jeymes Samuel will surely have captured the curiosity and the attention of audiences all over the world, and deservedly so.

The Western genre has been given a much-needed revitalisation. Impeccable performances from its all-star cast, combined with slick and stylish action, and the end result is a breath-taking feature film debut from Jeymes Samuel.

2020-2029, Film Review

Da 5 Bloods (2020)

Posted on July 7, 2020July 7, 2020 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

Da 5 Bloods – Film Review

Cast: Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Mélanie Thierry, Paul Walter Hauser, Jasper Pääkkönen
Jean Reno, Chadwick Boseman

Director: Spike Lee

Synopsis: Four Vietnam War veterans return to the country in search of the remains of their fallen squad leader and seek to obtain the stash of gold that the soldiers hid during the war…

Review: Cast your mind back to 2017, to the events of Charlottesville, USA. The world watched in horror, as it was given a brutal reminder of the sheer ugliness of the deeply entrenched racism still rampant in American society. A year or so after those ugly events, Spike Lee gave the world BlacKkKlansman, a film focusing on a true story about one man’s battle with rampant racism in one small town in America, before putting that into the wider context of Charlottesville and the racism that has been entrenched into American society for generations. Two years later after his last, and extremely thought-provoking joint, Lee is once again channelling his fury into another powerful, and in the wake of the appalling brutality that black communities in the US still face at the hands of law enforcement, extremely timely piece of film-making.

This new joint from the fiercely vocal director, and staunch Trump critic, once again provides a stark reminder of the brutality that Black people have, and continue to face in today’s society, with the war in Vietnam serving as the backdrop. Four African-American Vietnam War veterans: Paul (Lindo), Eddie (Lewis), Melvin (Whitlock Jr) and Otis (Peters) reunite for a deeply personal mission. They’ve returned the country, along with Paul’s son David (Majors), in search of the remains of their fallen squad leader Norm (Boseman) so that he can be brought home and properly commemorated. Simultaneously, they’ve returned to recapture the stash of buried gold that their unit was protecting during the war.

In a similar manner to what he did with BlacKkKlansman, Lee puts the events of the war, the experiences of these four veterans, and its unpopularity back in the USA into a wider context, that of a society that has been crippled with racism for generations. The battle that veterans, such as these four men, experienced in Vietnam may have ended many years ago. Yet for all their years of service, they continue to find themselves in an ongoing battle for equality and an end to a fundamentally racist system that has disproportionately affected the black community, for generations. A fundamental injustice that given rise to the Black Lives Matter movement, a movement whose voice and message, especially in the wake of the appalling murder of black people by police departments across the country, has taken hold not just in America, but across the world.

Each and every one of these actors turn in exceptional performances. The chemistry between the four veterans really shines through, they have certainly have been through hell and back together, which solidified the bonds that they have as brothers-in-arms. However, as the five them set off on their mission, tensions between them begin to mount over various subjects, tensions which threaten to tear their mission, and the bonds built between they have built as soldiers, apart. Lee is certainly a man who isn’t afraid to say what he thinks, and with this film that’s certainly applicable to what these soldiers are experiencing, but this is a joint that is about so much more than just the Vietnam War.

The performance that shines brightest though is by far and away, is Delroy Lindo as Paul. His fierce pro Trump views certainly don’t sit well with the rest of his fellow veterans, and that by consequence, will likely be the case with the audience too. While war does have long lasting consequences, for any soldier, it’s an experience that leaves its mark. This is certainly true for all the Bloods, but it’s especially applicable for Paul. With every word he utters, it’s crystal clear that the effects of the Vietnam War, and the years that have followed, have inflicted deep emotional turmoil upon him. Turmoil that makes you sympathise with him, as it has fundamentally changed him forever, resulting in a very fractured relationship with his son.

Chadwick Boseman might have garnered worldwide fame for his work in bringing Marvel’s Black Panther to life. However, this performance as the leader of this band of brothers, is a subdued, but emphatic display of his abilities as an actor, and the impact of what he brings to the film cannot be overstated. While Lee employs some slick editing, expertly combining present day with flashbacks to the fighting occurring in Vietnam. Though it is for the most part, slickly edited together, it does feel a tad overlong in places, and could have potentially shaved ten to fifteen minutes off its running time. Nevertheless, that does not minimise the film’s impact, as it shows how the battle continues for veterans such as these men, long after they have returned from the war. Their fight against the sheer ugliness of a society entrenched in systemic racism has continued in the decades that followed.

Given the appalling brutality that remains an ugly stain on American society, one can hope that the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement, can bring seismic, and much needed, needed change to end a society that is systemically rigged against veterans like the titular Bloods, and the black community as a whole. Though it is hard to ignore the current President and his deliberate attempts to stoke that racial division, that has enabled voices such as Spike Lee and the Black Lives Matter movement to emerge and use their platforms, to fight those fires of division and to spread these pivotal messages, messages that are crucially resonating with people across the world.