History Film / CreedII

* InternalDeconstruction: In contrast to the triumphant ending often reduced to "Rocky wins the Cold War," this film makes it clear that the conflict with Drago was devastating to everyone involved - not only did Apollo needlessly die, Rocky's reputation took a hit for seemingly allowing it to happen and he is still traumatized by that night. The brain damage introduced in Rocky V and ignored since is also referenced. And Drago is revealed to have lost everything after that defeat, transforming him from a very shallow ForeignWrestlingHeel to a nuanced TragicVillain.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** Drago was essentially made to be a living propaganda machine for the Soviets and was defeated by an American on their home turf. His life and reputation have never recovered from the shame.
** Several of the previous ''Rocky'' films depicted characters pulling several illegal moves and cheap shots that would get them disqualified in real life with no punishment. [[spoiler:Here, Viktor punching Adonis while the latter was on his knees and knocking him out results in a disqualification by the referee and is held up by the [=WBC=].]]
** Being able to win your fights early on with sheer overwhelming power won't do any good for for your long-term endurance, and it really won't help if your opponent trains specifically to tank your power shots and drag the fight out. [[spoiler:Viktor and Ivan learn this the hard way in the second fight]].
** Adonis' first fight with Viktor leaves him horribly injured, having to be taken home in a wheelchair, being unable to perform basic tasks for months, and urinating blood. He also screams in pain and drops to his knees when he takes a particularly nasty gut shot, which leads to two broken ribs and a ruptured kidney. This is all the more jarring because Rocky was usually nigh-invulnerable.
** Rocky and his son's relationship never actually healed despite the events of ''Film/RockyBalboa'' and tensions remained high well after their apparent reconciliation, so much so that [[spoiler:Rocky's grandchild doesn't even recognize him when he meets him. Though, thankfully, at that point Rocky's son is just happy to see him again and nothing else matters to him]].

The film was released on November 21, 2018. A sequel, to be helmed by Jordan in his directorial debut, will be released on November 23, 2022. The sequel is set to be the first film in the ''Rocky'' universe without Rocky Balboa himself; Stallone has left open the possibility of continuing Rocky's story in a film separate from the ''Creed'' series.

The one where Drago [[PassingTheTorch passes the torch]].

* AdultFear:
** [[spoiler:Not only is Bianca continuing to lose her hearing, but her and Adonis's child is born deaf. Both are distraught at the news, but Rocky assures him that his daughter is a fighter.]]
** Mary Anne learning that Adonis is planning on fighting Viktor. If Apollo's death wasn't traumatizing enough, she now has to deal with the possibility of her adoptive son getting killed in the ring as well.
** For Rocky, realizing that the man he considers like a son might end up dying like Apollo. [[spoiler:When Adonis gets knocked out in the first fight, on TV, Rocky turns off the TV as he can't deal with it.]] Later on, Ivan having the exact same fear [[spoiler:causes him to throw in the towel for Viktor once he realizes that his son is going to lose]].

** The creators want to bring back the iconic "I must break you" in some way, it finally lands with Drago telling Rocky: "My son will break your boy." Drago also shoves Viktor's mouthguard into his jaws to push him during the Adonis fight, saying, "You must break him."

** Despite being the son of Ivan Drago, Viktor actually turns out to share the same AchillesHeel as [[Film/RockyIII Clubber Lang]], namely that he relies too much on brute force and early knockouts, and doesn't have the stamina to go the distance.

* ContinuityNod: The Rocky Steps at the at Philadelphia Museum of Art is revisited again, [[spoiler:only this time, it's ''Ivan and Viktor Drago'' who's standing at the top of the steps after they arrive in America to challenge Adonis.]]

* FiveFiveFive: Robert’s phone number, which Rocky stares at when thinking of calling his son, begins with 555 and a 604 area code, matching up with how in the first "Creed" movie, Rocky mentions his son is living in Vancouver with his girlfriend. This makes Rocky's "just in the neighborhood" excuse at the end of the film even more endearingly outrageous.

** [[spoiler:This gets PlayedWith over both fights. As with Ivan's fight against Apollo, Viktor manages to physically manhandle Adonis, although it doesn't thankfully lead to any mortal injuries. The second fight is more of a CallBack to Rocky's own turn against Ivan as it takes place on Russian soil - as before, Drago loses.]]
* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Ivan’s reputation never recovered from his loss to Rocky, which resulted in [[spoiler:his wife Ludmilla divorcing him, leaving Ivan to raise his son Viktor in poverty in Kiev]]. Ivan hopes that he can restore both his reputation [[spoiler:and his marriage]] through Viktor.
* HuskyRusskie: Viktor Drago's actor Florian Munteanu is a very muscular 6'4. This is especially noticeable in the trailer as he towers over Michael B. Jordan.

* KickTheDog: Upon meeting Adonis for the first time in person (whose father ''he killed'') Ivan’s first words to him are:

* ManlyTears: Happens to Adonis thrice: first when he's brooding in the hospital over his defeat to Viktor Drago, second when he learns that [[spoiler: his daughter was born deaf]], and third when at the gym trying to calm the baby down and he punches the heavy bag and then cries out of frustration. The first instance is notable because it's a rare example in a mainstream film of a male hero crying for his own pain and humiliation.

* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler:Adonis and Viktor's first fight ends in a disqualification when the latter lands an illegal blow that knocks out the former. This bites both men; Adonis feels disgruntled that he was utterly dominated despite retaining his title while Viktor is infuriated by not being the champion himself even though he clearly controlled that fight.]]
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler: Ludmilla and her new husband leave the arena during the final fight when it's clear Viktor will lose.]]

* SkewedPriorities: Upon defeating Wheeler, Adonis seems to care more about the fact he won his Mustang back than he does about becoming the Heavyweight Champion.

* [[StageMom Stage Dad]]: Ivan is one to Viktor. Slightly more sympathetic than most examples since his own life been destroyed by his loss to Rocky. But it’s obvious he views Victor as his own chance for redemption. He does get redemption at the end as well when he throws in the towel and then immediately goes to comfort Victor acting much more like his father than his coach.

** Drago was essentially made to be a living propaganda machine for the Soviets and was defeated by an American on their home turf. His life and reputation has never recovered from the shame.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: The first fight between Adonis and Viktor, where heavyweight champion of the world Adonis Creed fights a lesser known Eastern European heavyweight and gets absolutely battered, but gets a meaningless victory after the latter gets himself disqualified for low blows calls to mind [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riddick_Bowe_vs._Andrew_Golota Riddick Bowe vs Andrew Golota]], in which heavyweight champion of the world Riddick Bowe was likewise battered by lesser-known Eastern European heavyweight Andrew Golota and walked away with a meaningless victory after the latter got himself disqualified by low blows. Like in the movie, they had a rematch to settle things right (but unlike the movie, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riddick_Bowe_vs._Andrew_Golota_II the exact same thing happened]]).
* VictoryByEndurance: [[spoiler:Part of the reason why Viktor loses the rematch is in part due to having never fought past the fourth round in any instance, allowing the more experienced Adonis to begin wearing him down.]]

-->'''Ivan:''' You're smaller than your father.

* NotSoDifferent: Because of Ivan, Adonis never had a father. [[spoiler:Because of Rocky (technically), Viktor never had a mother.]]

* FiveFiveFive: Robert’s phone number, which Rocky stares at when thinking of calling his son, begins with 555.
** And a 604 area code, no less... who knew Robert lived in Canada now?
*** In the first "Creed" movie, Rocky mentions his son is living in Vancouver with his girlfriend. This makes Rocky's "just in the neighborhood" excuse at the end of the film even more endearingly outrageous.

The film was released on November 21, 2018. A sequel, to be helmed by Jordan in his directorial debut, will be released on November 23, 2022.

* RealityEnsues:
** Drago was essentially made to be a living propaganda machine for the Soviets and was defeated by an American on their home turf. His life and reputation has never recovered from the shame.
** Several of the previous ''Rocky'' films depicted characters pulling several illegal moves and cheap shots that would get them disqualified in real life with no punishment. [[spoiler:Here, Viktor punching Adonis while the latter was on his knees and knocking him out results in a disqualification by the referee and is held up by the [=WBC=].]]
** Being able to win your fights early on with sheer overwhelming power won't do any good for for your long-term endurance, and it really won't help if your opponent trains specifically to tank your power shots and drag the fight out. [[spoiler:Viktor and Ivan learn this the hard way in the second fight]].
** Adonis' first fight with Viktor leaves him horribly injured, having to be taken home in a wheelchair, being unable to perform basic tasks for months, and urinating blood. He also screams in pain and drops to his knees when he takes a particularly nasty gut shot, which leads to two broken ribs and a ruptured kidney. This is all the more jarring because Rocky was usually nigh-invulnerable.
** Rocky and his son's relationship never actually healed despite the events of ''Film/RockyBalboa'' and tensions remained high well after their apparent reconciliation, so much so that [[spoiler:Rocky's grandchild doesn't even recognize him when he meets him. Though, thankfully, at that point Rocky's son is just happy to see him again and nothing else matters to him]].

* {{Jerkass}}: Buddy Marcelle is quick to take a jab at Apollo to Adonis when the latter is initially disinterested in fighting. He later shows some redeeming qualities, though.

Life has become a balancing act for Adonis Creed. Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight, he is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family’s past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring. Rocky Balboa is there by his side through it all and, together, Rocky and Adonis will confront their shared legacy, question what’s worth fighting for, and discover that nothing’s more important than family.

The film was released on November 21, 2018.

* NWordPrivileges: Downplayed.
-->'''Adonis [to Little Duke after his first round with Viktor]''': "Nigga, don't call this shit!!!"

** After the previous film had ShownTheirWork by correctly depicting Adonis as a ''light'' heavyweight contender,[[note]]Michael B. Jordan was ~185 pounds during filming, moderately above the 175 LHW limit (like most people at that weight class, Adonis probably cuts a few pounds of water weight before the weigh-in to make 175, then shows up as his real weight on fight night).[[/note]] this film has him becoming the WBC world heavyweight champion in the opening minutes. Later in the film, his weight is given as 215 pounds, even though Michael B. Jordan has ''clearly'' not gained 30-40 pounds of muscle since the last movie. Him moving directly into heavyweight rather than cruiserweight first is also unlikely. Note that, while some [=LHWs=] ''have'' moved up to become heavyweight champions relatively quickly, the last guy to do this was Roy Jones Jr. in 2003, who beat the aging John Ruiz for the WBA title, and he immediately relinquished it to go back down to LHW because he knew he couldn't defend it. His weight gain had pushed his frame far past it's natural capacity, and he would have had to face a variety of 6'4-6'8, 230-270 pound challengers who were just beginning to bring on the super heavyweight era. A blown up LHW like Adonis being a reigning champ in such an era is well past the point of plausibility.

-->-- ''' Buddy Marcelle'''

''Creed II'' is the sequel to 2015's ''Film/{{Creed}}'', the second SpinOff of the ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}'' franchise, and essentially the follow-up to ''Film/RockyIV'', written by Creator/SylvesterStallone and Cheo Hodari Coker and directed by Steven Caple Jr.

->'''Rocky Balboa:''' In the ring, you got rules. Outside, you got nothing. Life hits you with all these cheap shots. People like me, we live in the past. You got people that need you now. You got everything to lose, this guy has got nothing to lose.\\
'''Adonis Johnson:''' I ain't gotta choice.\\
'''Rocky:''' [[Film/RockyIV That's the same thing your father said, and he died right here in my hands.]] Listen to me, this guy... he's dangerous.\\
'''Adonis:''' I'm dangerous!

->''[[Music/KendrickLamar ♫ I got, I got, I got, I got\\
Loyalty, got royalty inside my DNA\\
Cocaine quarter piece, got war and peace inside my DNA\\
I got power, poison, pain and joy inside my DNA... ♫]]''

''Creed II'' is the sequel to 2015's ''Film/{{Creed}}'' and the second SpinOff of the ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}'' franchise, written by Creator/SylvesterStallone and Cheo Hodari Coker and directed by Steven Caple Jr.

-->'''Adonis [to Little Duke after his first round with Viktor]''': "Nigga, don't call this shit!!!

* ManlyTears: Happens to Adonis thrice: first when he's brooding in the hospital over his defeat to Viktor Drago, second when he learns that [[spoiler: his daughter was born deaf]], and third when at the gym trying to calm the baby down and he punches the heavy bag and then cries out of frustration. The second instance is notable because it's a rare example in a mainstream film of a male hero crying for his own pain and humiliation.

* ManlyTears: Happens to Adonis thrice: first when he learns that [[spoiler: his daughter was born deaf]], second when he's brooding over his loss to Viktor in the hospital, and third when at the gym trying to calm the baby down and he punches the heavy bag and then cries out of frustration. The second instance is notable because it's a rare example in a mainstream film of a male hero crying for his own pain and humiliation.

** For Rocky, realizing that the man he considers like a son might end up dying like Apollo. [[spoiler:When Adonis gets knocked out in the first fight, on tv, Rocky turns off the tv as he can't deal with it.]]

*** In the first "Creed" movie, Rocky mentions his son is living in Vancouver with his girlfriend. This makes Rocky's "just in the neighborhood" excuse at the end of the film more even more endearingly outrageous.