Creed III reactions praise Jordan’s directorial debut and Majors’ raw and powerful performance

With so much Super Bowl-related hullabaloo online, it’s easy to miss the first reactions to Creed III, the third film in the Rocky spinoff franchise starring Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed. The hard-hitting sequel serves as Jordan’s directorial debut, and critics and fans appear to be impressed by what they’ve witnessed. People reacting to Creed III praise the film’s intense boxing scenes filmed exclusively for the IMAX experience, Jonathan Majors’ stunning performance as Damian Anderson, and Jordan’s promising future as an up-and-coming director.

We’ve collected several early Creed III reactions below, doing our best to steer clear of spoilers.

Here’s the plot synopsis for Creed III:

#Creed3 is solid enough. Especially dug exploring this particular stage of Adonis’ career/life. Loved the addition of Mila Davis-Kent and, my god, Jonathan Majors is ferocious. Haven’t seen Ant-Man yet but going from seeing him in Magazine Dreams to this is really something else. pic.twitter.com/QSK2B8b5yy

— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) February 10, 2023

Michael B. Jordan, in his directorial debut, does an admirable job directing CREED 3. His performance though ranks among his best & the IMAX-shot boxing scenes are distinctively awesome. Jonathan Majors brings raw power & charisma to a personal story of two friends turned enemies pic.twitter.com/TV7REfEhuf

— Matt Neglia (@NextBestPicture) February 10, 2023

#Creed3’s EVERYTHING you could want from the finale to the CREED trilogy, Jonathan Majors proves to be a ferocious foil for Michael B. Jordan who delivers a KO for his feature directorial debut, plays HUGE in IMAX, audience cheering throughout, this is gonna be BIG ??? pic.twitter.com/ouU0akoNuM

— Erick ??? Weber (@ErickWeber) February 10, 2023

Creed 3 is an intense emotional journey. Great directorial debut by Michael B Jordan, coupled by amazing performances by both Thompson and the scene stealer Jonathan Majors. Fight scenes are awesome. Few times I was wondering where Rocky was but it never took away from the story.

— Kristian Harloff (@KristianHarloff) February 10, 2023

CREED III is a great directorial debut from MBJ. It adds an air of freshness to the franchise & the fight sequences are next-level with IMAX, though the standout moments are outside the ring. Not sure where the film ranks of the 3, but all are great. #Creed3 #CreedIII pic.twitter.com/myVylWQUi3

— Trey Mangum (@treymangum) February 10, 2023

#Creed3 REVIEW: EMOTIONAL. BRUTAL. GAY. Michael B. Jordan does it again! CREED is back and better than ever. This isn’t just another boxing movie, it’s one of the BEST films ever! WOW. Great editing too. A fitting end to his journey, while also setting up what’s next #Rocky pic.twitter.com/03DO14fLbV

— Atom (@theatomreview) February 10, 2023

#Creed3 is AMAZING! @michaelb4jordan delivers a solid feature on his directorial debut. Final fight is precisely edited. #JonathanMajors gives a great perfomance, but the MVP goes to Mila Davis-Kent, she’s adorable & brings a lot of heart to the film! @creedmovie pic.twitter.com/VYShhpkiFF

— Jana N Nagase – Jana On Camera (@janaoncamera) February 10, 2023

Bay-BEE #Creed3 ????

Ive been a fan of the Creed franchise since day one & it is by far the BEST ONE

Michael B. Jordan DID THE DAMN THING as director. Jonathan Majors is a frightening/formidable foe

BUT this film proved AGAIN that my loyalty will forever lie w/Adonis Creed? pic.twitter.com/KO2oJCRAmy

— Shanelle Genai✨ (@shanellegenai) February 10, 2023

#Creed3 is emotional, electrifying and triumphant! Our screening cheered throughout the boxing scenes like it was a real match – a huge compliment. @michaelb4jordan vs #JonathanMajors is equal to Stallone vs Lundgren! MBJ has a bright future as director!@mgmstudios @creedmovie

— Peter Cheng (@Playmaka34) February 10, 2023

#CreedIII there’s a moment during creed 3 where you are going to cry and it’s so beautifully done. It is shot great our screener everyone was in tears, and speech everyone stood up and cheered. The whole over arching story over the movie, you can’t outrun your past.

— Alex (@Brazil201) February 10, 2023

#Creed3

Super impressive directorial debut. MBJ took some BIG risks for a rookie that paid off in a big way and tapped into Jonathan Majors incredible range. Fight scenes had people going crazy like it was a real match and the drama had people crying like it was real life https://t.co/qWFKwR9rJz

— Kenjac (@JackKennedy) February 10, 2023

After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) thrived in his career and family. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian (Jonathan Majors), resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face-off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damian – a fighter with nothing to lose.

Michael B. Jordan directs Creed III from a story by Ryan Coogler, Keenan Coogler, and Zach Baylin. Keenan Coogler and Baylin wrote the screenplay. Creed III continues the story of Adonis Creed, the son of Apollo Creed, who trained under the legendary Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone).

Joining Jordan, Tessa Thompson (Bianca Creed), and Mila Davis-Kent (Amara Creed) in Creed III are Jonathan Majors, Wood Harris, Florian Munteanu, and Phylicia Rashad. The threequel marks Jordan’s directorial debut.

Speaking with Deadline at Sundance, Majors said he took real punches from Jordan while filming Creed III. “I took a couple, I think. I loved it. I’m just so humbled by the opportunity to be a part of the Rocky franchise. Sly, Michael B. Jordan, it’s like, if I’m gonna be in that lineage, even as a baddie, I wanna go for it. So, yeah, [Michael] might caught me a few times. I took some body shots, and gave out a few, too.”

What do you think about the first reactions to Creed III? I am dying to see this movie in an IMAX theater. I’ve been a fan of the Rocky franchise for as long as I can recall, and I’m ready to get back in the ring. Let’s go!