1. That Scene
For anyone who hasn't made it to "Creed" yet, please do yourself a favor and head to your local cineplex right now. ...okay. Back? Good. Now you know exactly what scene we're referring to above. After Rocky collapses while sparring with Adonis (Jordan), he's in and out of the hospital faster than you can say, "We've got training to do," but it's not the sight of the heavyweight champ in a hospital gown that grabs you. It's when he's called back to learn his diagnosis and upon hearing the word "cancer," a wave of memories flood his face. "My wife tried that," Rocky says when told it's time to start chemotherapy, and with those words a million men, women and grown children wept.
This is one of a handful of scenes requiring Stallone to really dig deep — to find that "stuff in the basement" — but it's in that repeated line, when you see so much history shoot across Stallone's face, that his purest moment is found. It's a truly significant scene for the film — as Adonis' love for Rocky helps him not only become a better fighter, but more importantly, to find his own "stuff" and come to terms with it in the ring — but it's also bigger than "Creed." Stallone's intimate confrontation with death changes Rocky and "Rocky" forever by allowing Adrian and Rocky's love story to live on in "Creed." Stallone, who obviously created these two characters so long ago, finds the passion they shared once more, for the betterment of both the past and the present.