Say what you will about Sylvester Stallone, but he is one of the great Hollywood survivors.
A star since he wrote and appeared in “Rocky” 34 years ago, Stallone’s career has probably had more downs than ups — his filmography is littered with unwatchable (and long forgotten) flops such as “Rhinestone” and “Judge Dredd” — but the man has a way of bouncing back every time he is counted out.
Stallone’s latest star vehicle “The Expendables” — which he directed and wrote — came in at number one in the box office derby last weekend and according to today’s industry projections it will hold down the same spot for this weekend. The movie is cruising toward a $100 million gross in this country (and probably a lot more than that overseas).
The promotion for the movie has been clever, maximizing Stallone’s amusing, weirdly self-deprecating persona. He still acts as if his whole career
has been an accident and brushes aside suggestions that he could have parlayed his “Rocky” Oscar nomination for best actor into the sorts of roles that Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino were playing around that time.
Stallone is usually more fun out of character than he is in one of his action movies, so it’s not surprising that the feature length documentary “Inferno: The Making of The Expendables” is sharper than the B-movie it documents.
The doc debuted on the video-on-demand service EPIX last weekend and is a lively and funny view behind the scenes showing us Stallone orchestrating his latest comeback.
If you haven’t seen “The Expendables” yet you will get the gist from the VOD documentary — the action picture is totally predictable and yet canny in the way it teams Stallone with several of today’s reigning B-movie stars (Jason Statham, Jet Li), as well as a co-star from yesteryear (Dolph Lundgren, the Soviet boxer in “Rocky IV,” below) and a double-cameo appearance by two of the star’s peers (Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, above).
While “Inferno” has the carefully tailored look of one of those authorized DVD extra “making of” films, Stallone is such a character offscreen that it is fun to watch him working on the script in his office (where his patient secretary has to collate piles of messy, scribbled-on sheets of paper into something readable by others) and whipping up his actors on the set.
“Inferno” is a nice companion piece to the excellent interview Stallone gives GQ in the current (September) issue.
From my point of view, it’s sad that the star was never able to get out of the “Rocky” and “Rambo” traps — his reviews and Oscar nomination for the first “Rocky” could have set him on a much different course as an actor — but there is no denying his continuing energy and good humor.
Joe,
I don’t think the ‘Rocky’ and ‘Rambo’ movies were traps– Sly is simply at his best when he growls, scowls, and grunts. Alas, after his best comes, well, nothing, as his flops well show. The one movie where he had a chance to display whatever real acting chops he had was ‘Copland,’ in which he was seriously outclassed by Liotta, Keitel, DeNiro, and the rest of the cast.
I do like his movies because of what they are (and what they are not). And I admire him for his ability to make much ado about nothing. He’s a wealthy man, and deservedly so.
Comment by taxman1 — August 23rd, 2010 @ 7:58 am
Thanks for the comment. You are probably right. But whenever I go back and watch the first ‘Rocky’ I do wonder if he might not have been able to become a more interesting actor. But you can’t really argue with the huge global success he has enjoyed with his “growls, scowls and grunts” roles over the past 30 years.
Comment by Joe — August 23rd, 2010 @ 11:01 am
Joe -
A friend of mine, a serious movie freak, and I were just noting how good Stallone was in ‘Cop Land’, a pretty good movie overall. I think it supports your suspicion that Stallone could have done more with his subtle command of characters who are simultaneously brave, downtrodden, poignant and triumphant.
Comment by Chris Knopf — August 24th, 2010 @ 1:46 pm
Taxman, you’re way off on your assessment of Cop Land. Stallone quietly holds his own against the actors you named, which is best shown in the confrontational scene between Stallone and De Niro. His subtle and layered performance is arguably his best performance to date, so to describe his presence amongst the rest of the class as being “outclassed” is pure nonsense.
Comment by John — October 3rd, 2010 @ 2:31 am