The third installment of the Creed movie series, Creed III, came out on March 3. Fans worldwide quickly flocked to theaters, eager to see the renowned Michael B. Jordan fighting the brilliant Jonathan Majors on the big screen. “The tears flow as freely as the blood in ‘Creed III,’” wrote critic Manhola Dargis. So, is Creed III really this amazing, or is it just another example of a decade-long franchise unwilling to stop? Let’s dive in.

Creed III, as many may know, is the third film of the Creed movie saga, itself a spinoff of the popular Rocky movie series. The film explores the fictional heavyweight boxing champion of the world Adonis Creed, son of Rocky Balboa’s rival-turned-friend Apollo Creed, as he navigates his life as a “retired” boxer. Damian Anderson, Creed’s childhood friend and boxing prodigy, is introduced after apparently being in jail for 18 years.

Anderson asks Creed for help with getting back into boxing, and after a series of events, Creed lifts Anderson up as the underdog opponent of Creed’s mentee Felix Chavez. Anderson goes on to play dirty and win the championship, effectively backstabs Creed because of problems from their past, and eventually fights him for the championship. Creed wins and is once again named the heavyweight boxing champion of the world.

Overall, the film is a good one. The plot is interesting, Michael B. Jordan once again demonstrates his superb acting skills, and Jonathan Majors delivers a brilliant performance. Majors’ introduction into the franchise, as well as the film’s end, in which he and Jordan make up their past grudges, is a genius move, opening him up as the potential main character if the franchise continues.

However, best of all, is the film’s independence and avid interest in cutting off ties with the Rocky series. Rocky was, of course, a spectacular movie, but over the last couple of decades, its franchise has evolved into just a toy that Sylvester Stallone and Irwin Winkler can’t let go of. Creed III, eight movies after the original, is finally a step back from this; it lets go of Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa and Dolph Lundgren’s Ivan Drago, both of whom the previous films couldn’t stop including. Similarly, the movie finally gave up the neverending legacy of both Apollo Creed and Rocky, mentioning them only a few times throughout the film.

Now, is all of this done well? Not at all. Most of the aforementioned characters’ disappearances aren’t mentioned at all, and the fact that Creed doesn’t think once to possibly ask Rocky for advice or training is almost hysterical. However, even this is better than Creed II’s irritatingly incessant inability to distinguish between Rocky and Creed.

In terms of the plot, it’s not bad, but then again – it’s not expected to be good; the movie capitalizes mainly on its franchise’s fanbase, the beautifully shot dark and mysterious scenes, and of course on both Creed and Anderson’s excellent fighting. Tessa Thompson’s performance cannot be forgotten either, as she plays Creed’s patiently loyal wife. She takes care of their daughter, Amara, throughout the film, who towards the end, starts learning how to fight from her dad. It will be interesting to see if this is just a random scene, or perhaps rather a foreshadowing of the future of the movie series.