Recent Disappointments: Creed III, The Black Phone, Nope, and The Bourne Legacy - Review

Today I thought I would discuss three recent releases which to varying disagrees left me disappointed. That is not to say that these are all bad films but they all left me wanting more and feeling that they could have been better.

Creed III (2023)

Before discussing Creed 3 I want to briefly share my thoughts on Creed 2 (2018) which I thought a solid sequel that peaked in the third act becoming something truly special. Sylvester Stallone somehow still delivers in the iconic role of Rocky Balboa. Michael B. Jordan was great here both as an actor and in terms of the physicality he brought to the role. Tessa Thompson was the star of this film for me. She stole every scene she was in as her character was the glue which held it together. The Drago storyline at times felt haphazard but impressively came together in the end. Wood Harris, from The Wire, was also fantastic here. Phylicia Rashad brought a lot to this film portraying Creed’s mother and I really enjoyed the way the movie avoided having her play a cliched boxer’s mother as has been done before. Steven Caple Jr. put together a solid sequel though Ryan Coogler’s absence could be felt at times.

Now for Creed III. For me this was the definition of how not sticking the landing can undermine an entire film. Jonathan Majors carried this one and the development of his character was phenomenal to the point I was rooting for him to beat Creed. He perfectly embodies someone holding deep resentment for his friend and the world that turned its back on him. The subtle ways he conveyed this along with the brilliant nuances to his performance such as when he ignores the advice of his corner to observe his opponents increasingly hurt shoulder which gave him confidence that he will win the fight were just some of the ways he elevated this movie with his exceptional work.

Expectedly Creed wins but the manner in which he did this was lacking and did not feel like the climax of a film which had done so much to build up to this point. The creative direction for this fight was noteworthy though, the almost dreamlike way in which Michael B. Jordan presented this moment was awe inspiring from the surreal imagery to the lack of noise from the crowd. There was so much to like in this moment that it was a great disappointment to see the sequence end with a whimper.

I am dumbfounded by the script of this film. Creed’s mother having health problems and his daughter misbehaving at school are never properly resolved and in the end served more as filler than essential moments in the film. Creed struggling with his past was also interesting but resolved too quick again making it feel inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

What could have been a perfect cap to hang on the end of a great trilogy with its surprisingly gritty story and creative directorial decisions succumbed to the Hollywood formula in place of telling its own story. Michael B. Jordan is great as a director and actor but should do better to ensure the script he is bringing to life is sound.

The Black Phone (2021)

Perhaps my expectations got the best of me as I was very excited to see Scott Derrickson, the director of Sinister, return to the horror genre with Ethan Hawke again starring in his movie. As such I was enjoying the early half of this film when the tension was building up and many of the scenes were filled with great performances from young actors who were given great quippy and colourful dialogue to spout out. Once the main character is abducted my enjoyment of the film quickly eroded. Many of his escape attempts felt ridiculous or unnecessarily complicated so as to make it hard to root for him as his actions were hard to comprehend and take seriously.

Ethan Hawke is a quirky yet effective villain. What made his character suffer was his small presence in the film. We see so little of him that we neither learn much about who he is or grow too fearful of him as he never remains long enough to leave a lasting impression. Again, this is where my own bias could be impacting my opinion of the film. I am a huge Ethan Hawke fan and may have gone into the film expecting to see more of him such that my disappointment may be more a result of me wanting to see more from one of my favourite actors rather than a shortcoming of the film.

The ending of the movie is fun enough where the outcast character who was looked down on by his peers finds a new confidence in life and struts through school uninhibited by fear. But for a movie which touched on such heavy subjects such as children being kidnapped and tortured before being killed this felt a bizarre note to end on. This movie has received much praise and while I did enjoy with much of it I must admit that it was a good film but it left me wanting more than satisfied.

Nope (2022)

Jordan Peele is such a frustrating filmmaker. Get Out was a smash hit with amazing characters and a creative horror centred plot whose magic Peele has failed to recreate since. While I have come to appreciate his second film Us (2019) more on repeat viewings Nope is not a film I will ever revisit for the simple reason that this film felt empty and devoid of anything worthwhile.

Still, the mirage of the great filmmaker Peele can be shine through at times here such as his great ability to create uniquely ridiculous yet empathic characters none who embody those traits better than Angel Torres, played by Brandon Perea, who is a grumpy tech support worker whose cutting remarks were a joy to watch.

Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer are not nearly as fun to watch and their characters lack any clear motivation or definition such that the ways they act in the film come off as abnormal and abrupt since the audience never really learns much about them to be able to discern why they act the way they do. As such, when they switch between monotone line delivery and random outbursts of charisma it felt absurd.

Michael Wincott and Steven Yeun also play absurd versions of what a human might be with Yeun being a former sitcom star (not Bojack Horseman) while Wincott is a deep voiced cinematographer who the audience will grow to hate for the simple reason that his baritone voice is a chore to endure. Neither character is given much to do and with so little backstory the audience never comes to care for either one of them which made sitting through their scenes painful.

So many have claimed this to be a spiritual successor to Tremors while the only similarity that I could draw between this film and Tremors is that both have end credits. Ultimately, Nope takes a painfully slow time to develop a plot devoid of substance which relied solely on trying to subvert expectations which failed to be coherent. I am falling out of love with Peele.

The Bourne Legacy (2012)

In discussing modern films I thought I should bring up one more movie that I watched this year. This movie had an incredible first half with great action set pieces and character development that then fell flat with an aggressively average second half that never seemed to gain back the momentum from the first part and limped along until the film finally came to an end.

Jeremy Renner was great here though its just too bad the rest of movie wasn’t.

The rest of the Bourne franchise is great though and I highly recommend the first and fourth installments in the franchise as they are my personal favourites.