After leaving the screen in 2018, Michael B. Jordan comes to direct the ninth installment in the Rocky & Creed franchise. Jordan returns as his character Adonis Creed, flourishing in his career and family life. When his childhood friend Damien, played by Jonathan Majors, returns from jail, he wants to prove his shot to be able to fight in the ring again. As this leads to a fight between former friends, Adonis has to put his future on the line.

When Adonis brings Damien to the training ring, we see that Damien, in the ring, is a fighting prodigy. We return to the present day and see Amara, all grown up, played by Mila Davis-Kent, waking him up in a playful manner. Tessa Thompson returning as Bianca, Adonis’ wife, is still the character we love. Later in the film, we find out that Damien wants the title that Adonis has. Adonis, trying to help an old friend, backfires on him. Damien likes to fight dirty. This ruins his reputation, and he loses friends over Damien’s unfair fighting. This leads him to fight with his friend to clear his name and save his career. 

After watching this film, I have to point out the way Jordan directs this movie. I can tell that he adds elements of his enjoyment of anime that are shown in the way of the boxing matches and the camera movements. When I look into the fighting scene between Adonis and Damien, it feels like I am right in the ring fighting to save my name, just like Adonis. These shots remind me of the anime Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure or Naruto. When I see these camera angles or camera movements, it gives off the feeling of an action anime, and the main character is fighting for his people or to get someone back. 

But I think my favorite implement in this movie is to see the use of sign language in the film from the Creed family. Amara being a deaf black girl, plays a big role in her character. Amara is a significant character in this movie, bringing light to the Deaf community and showing hearing audiences more about Deaf culture. Bianca having progressive hearing loss and Amara being a deaf individual makes me especially love this movie even more. 

After watching this film, I thought overall, this movie is a great one to see with friends or family. Given the cast, acting, and cinematography, this movie could be one of my favorites since the sequel of Avatar.