YMMV / Creed (2015)

• Alternate Character Interpretation: Was Rocky telling the truth when he said that Apollo won the third fight, or was he just unwilling to tell Donny otherwise?
• And You Thought It Would Fail: When the film was first announced, many fans were less-than-enthusiastic, saying that Rocky Balboa had been a perfect send-off for the series and that this film would likely be a poor follow-up. As it turned out, it garnered even more critical acclaim than Rocky Balboa, and made back its budget in its first weekend alone. It also brought an Oscar nomination for Stallone, his first since the original Rocky.
• Award Snub: Despite earning massive praise for its direction, cinematography, editing, acting and music, the film only has one Academy Award nomination: Sylvester Stallone for Best Supporting Actor. Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan missing out are especially galling and helped provoke the "Oscars So White" controversy. Additionally, after being viewed as the frontrunner, many were upset to see Stallone lose the Oscar, though Mark Rylance's victory for Bridge of Spies is viewed as strong and unique in its own right.
• Awesome Music: Has its own original soundtrack, including the remix of the Rocky tune that plays during Donny and Rick's last round, as well as "Last Breath" by Future, which uses another remix to the famous tune as it's beat. As for the original score, Adonis' theme has garnered much praise for its epic, moving sound.
  • Adonis' intro theme? "Hail Mary".
• Even Better Sequel: Although Rocky Balboa had previously earned praise for being a Surprisingly Improved Sequel that successfully wrapped up the franchise, Creed has managed to actually outpace it, earning a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and 82 on Metacritic. As a result, it has easily become the most well-reviewed film in the Rocky franchise since the original.
• Fan Nickname: To continue the association in the Rocky franchise, it's sometimes affectionately referred to as Rocky VII.
• Fanfic Fuel: Adonis being defeated by Danny "Stuntman" Wheeler at the Delphi Gym opens up a lot of potential rivalry story-lines that could be used for sequels now that Adonis has been outed as Apollo Creed's son. As a possible nod to this, Wheeler is the opponent Adonis faces and beats at the start of the second film.
• Genius Bonus: The gym owned by Tony "Little Duke" Evers (bequeathed him by his father, the elder "Duke") is called the "Delphi Boxing Academy". Its most famous alumni is Apollo Creed, and pictures, images and tributes to him are all over the gym. In Greek mythology, Delphi was the most famous site of prophecy in the world, and a place sacred to... Apollo, Greek god of light, music and prophecy.
  • Adonis is given the somewhat derisive nickname of "Hollywood" by the guys at the gym. He spars (and loses) to Danny Wheeler, who bears the Nom de Guerre "Stuntman". This could be a clever allusion to how in the movie industry ("Hollywood"), the star gets all the money and prestige for the daring stunts performed in the film, while in reality it is the stuntman who actually executes the maneuvers, as the actor either lacks the skills, toughness, or fortitude to do them himself. So naturally, the "stuntman" trounces the flamboyant (but ultimately toothless) "Hollywood" idol.
• He Really Can Act: Not only does Sylvester Stallone do a great job himself, even earning himself an Oscar nomination, but this movie will make you forget that Michael B. Jordan was ever in Fantastic Four (2015).
• It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: While the film averted this trope pretty nicely for the most part, one minor complaint that some viewers had was that the ending was near-identical to that of Rocky Balboa, with the title character going the distance and losing on a judges' decision, but being widely acclaimed as the moral victor of the night. In fairness to the filmmakers though, there were only really two other endings they could have gone with, namely Adonis losing by KO (which would have been far too much of a Downer Ending), or him actually managing to win (which, regardless of whether it was by decision or by KO, would have come across as unrealistic).
• Most Wonderful Sound: The soundtrack throughout most of the movie was awesome modern pieces. Then, toward the end of the final fight at the end of the film, the old Rocky Theme started playing.
• Signature Line: "Since we're pretty much like family...who won the third fight?" "He did."
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Despite much being made about Donnie being a Heroic Bastard, we never learn how Apollo's legitimate children feel about their half-brother; in fact, outside of a throwaway line by a newscaster describing Donnie as Creed's youngest biological child, Apollo and Mary-Anne's children are never even mentioned, and we never hear how Mary-Anne felt about discovering her husband was unfaithful right before he died.

---