Creed 3 avoided the mistake that killed the Rocky franchise and created a much better sequel than Rocky IV

The relationship between the Rocky films and Creed spin-off is interesting, but Creed III
clearly learned from the mistakes made by films like Rocky III and beyond. Rocky was a groundbreaking sports film that saw the hero go through an incredible journey to overcome challenges and become the best boxer in the world. So when the sequence, Rocky IIreleased a few years later in 1979, it continued to build on that legacy and increase the film’s epic scale. However, things went off the rails soon after.

Meanwhile, the spin-off franchise, Beliefwhich follows the incredibly talented young boxer, Adonis Creed, managed to maintain a consistent tone across the first three films which helps ensure future success. However, both franchises still have a lot in common. But with some small adjustments, Rocky could have potentially avoided the sharp drop in quality as the series progressed.

Creed avoided Rocky’s mistake of becoming too cartoonish in the third film

Rocky had a strange tonal shift for Rocky III

The biggest problem to come out of Rocky movies started with Rocky III. Unlike the serious and technically brilliant fighter Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang was a caricature of a hot-headed boxer. Played by Mr. T, who built a successful career as part of the team of misfits in The A team. From him character there was a comical version of a big tough guyand Clubber Lang proved to be quite similar. They are both incredibly energetic, loud and aggressive, but they also have a sense of bravado that seems to be on display.

Additionally, the film shows Rocky becoming a completely different person as he spends much of his time and energy posing for cameras. Overall, the film feels like a significant departure from previous entries, with the hero becoming a shadow of his former self and the story spinning in circles. Happily, Creed III I didn’t fall into the same trapand made a concerted effort to ramp up the tension and drama in the third inning.

It took the Rocky franchise years to recover from Rocky 3’s drastic change in tone

Rocky became a parody of himself for years

That’s not to say Rocky didn’t have some good moments in subsequent films. Ivan Drago Rocky IV remains one of the most notorious films in the history of sports cinema, but the franchise’s reputation was no longer perfect. Like Rocky in Rocky IIIHe suffered his first knockout, and this would forever be marked in his history. Films have become more focused on one battle between villains and Rocky as herowith subtle stories that failed to carry the deeper narrative forward.

The beauty of the original film was the fact that the film balanced this montage of a boxer learning his craft, overcoming defeat and training to become a champion, but it happened alongside the fighting and personal growth. The relationship with Adrian helped complete Rocky as a humannot just an athlete. And with these two narratives happening simultaneously, everything felt more complete and meaningful. Belief It started with this type of narrative and didn’t take its foot off the brake from the beginning.

It’s hard to imagine that Creed will become as cartoonish as Rocky

Creed laid a better foundation for the future than Rocky

Thanks to the focus on the dramatic side of the story in BeliefDonny’s journey to becoming champion was full of emotion, growth and overcoming challenges. Having never known his father as a man, Donny turned to others for training and found close friendship and family with his father’s former rival, Rocky Balboa. THE the romance between Donny and Bianca remains a key part of the storyand by bringing rivals like Viktor Drago, son of the boxer who murdered Apollo Creed during a fight, and his best childhood friend, Damien Anderson, the films maintain the dramatic tone.

Of course, Rocky went through some challenging storylines with the deaths of close friends and the death of his beloved Adrian, but the film often crossed the line and entered silly or cartoonish territory. Belief continues to strive to make each new entry more difficult than the last, not just in terms of meaningful, well-choreographed fight scenes, but stories that put the hero to the test in and out of the ring. Creed III did a great job of maintaining that tone, and it’s hard to see the franchise spiraling out of control like the franchise that preceded it.