Sylvester Stallone has made a name for himself as one of the biggest action stars of all time, but he’s also had plenty of unloved releases across his varied filmography. While Stallone will go down in history for his unmatched portrayals of Rocky Balboa and John Rambo, there were many underrated hidden gems in his body of work just begging to be reappraised by a contemporary audience. Looking back and rewatching some of Stallone’s critical flops and financial failures, it’s surprising just how many hold up as solidly enjoyable movies.
There’s no denying that the best Sylvester Stallone movies were his most acclaimed, and nobody would try to claim that some forgotten 1980s box office flop could stand toe-to-toe against the likes of the original Rocky or career highlights such as Cop Land. However, there have also been a lot of Stallone movies that were unfairly judged when they were released and, with the power of hindsight, showcased sides of the actor that were absent from his best-loved movies. As an actor, director, and writer, Stallone’s career featured plenty of unloved movies that were actually pretty good.
8 Escape Plan (2013)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 50%
If action movie lovers had been told in the 1980s that there would be a prison thriller starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, it would have been a cinematic dream come true. Witnessing these titans of the genre sharing the screen was always going to be a cinematic treat, but the lackluster response to Escape Plan suggested viewers weren’t that interested. While admittedly, Escape Plan failed to reach the heights of either star’s best work, this solid, simple, and entertaining film proved that both action heroes still had plenty of fuel left in the tank.
Despite Stallone and Schwarzenegger’s long-standing rivalry at the box office, they were able to put their differences aside long enough for this exciting prison break story. As Stallone’s character posed as an inmate in a high-security prison, he befriended Schwarzenegger, and together, they devised a plan to escape. While this dynamic duo could have done with a better script, their inmate chemistry played off one another perfectly, and they helped elevate what could have been a forgettable prison movie into an entertaining love letter to the camp action style they both became famous for.
7 Paradise Alley (1978)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 40%
Following Rocky’s success, which took home the Academy Award for Best Picture, Sylvester Stallone had the world at his feet and could do anything he wanted creatively. Stallone channeled this incredible potential into his directional debut, Paradise Alley, a 1940s period film he wrote, directed, and starred in about three Italian brothers in Hell’s Kitchen becoming involved in professional wrestling. As a highly ambitious film, Paradise Alley was slated by critics upon release who said it failed to live up to Rocky and was described by Vincent Canby of the New York Times as “a phony, attitudinizing, self-indulgent mess.”
This lackluster response to Paradise Alley has followed the film ever since, and Stallone himself even expressed regret that the final product did not live up to his creative vision. However, looking back on Paradise Alley today, there was a lot to love about this directional debut as Stallone captured a unique aesthetic that brought to mind B-movie pictures of times past. When viewed with the power of hindsight, Paradise Alley was an insightful look into Stallone’s world vision and signaled an alternative direction for his career had he not embraced action movies in the 1980s.
6 Rocky V (1990)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 33%
The Rocky franchise will always be the crown jewel in Sylvester Stallone’s career, and every movie in the series has something incredible to offer. However, one entry that’s always fallen out of the conversation was Rocky V, which admittable was the worst film in the long-running series. But despite the lack of love that Rocky V has received over the years, looking back on it today, it’s a refreshing change of pace for the franchise that did not focus on training montages and took the Rocky series back to the dramatic roots of the original 1976 movie.
Rocky V featured the Italian Stallion agreeing to train a young protégé, Tommy Gunn, hungry for success. As Rocky reestablished himself in a mentorship role, Rocky V had much in common with the later Creed series, although it wasn’t as executed as in those later films. There was plenty of drama as Tommy betrayed Rocky in his attempts to get ahead, and although some of the performances in Rocky V were not up to scratch and it’s painfully dated to the 1990s, it was still an enjoyable entry to the franchise that’s essential viewing for lovers of the series.
5 Over the Top (1987)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 32%
It’s easy to criticize Over the Top as Sylvester Stallone’s cheesy arm wrestling movie, but when viewed on its own merits, the film’s sheer ridiculousness was part of its appeal. As a movie that certainly lived up to its title, Over the Top told the story of arm-wrestling truck drivers fighting for custody of their children and played into Stallone’s tough guy action hero persona. While it never quite reached the heights of the Rocky franchise, Over the Top also doesn’t deserve the hate it gets, as it was a solidly entertaining film.
Stallone, who also co-wrote the movie, later said there were things he would change about Over the Top (via Ain’t It Cool News), and if he could redo it, he would make the climatic arm wrestling event in Vegas “not so carnival-like.” However, the outrageous aesthetics of Over the Top gave it a uniquely 1980s feeling. While most of the criticisms thrown at Over the Top were valid, it’s hard to deny that this simple film was an excellent exploration of a father-son relationship that’s a lot of fun to revisit as a Stallone fan.
4 Lock Up (1989)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 31%
According to director John Flynn (via Shock Cinema), the Sylvester Stallone movie Lock Up had a haphazard production, which meant filming started before a finalized script was ready. This was apparent in the uneven nature of the movie as, thematically, it jumped from intense thriller to vulnerable drama and into a sheer parody of itself. However, this does not mean viewers should dismiss Lock Up entirely, as it was a good movie that featured one of Stallone’s best performances and an astounding turn from Donald Sutherland as the vindictive prison warden determined to make this life a misery.
Lock Up saw Stallone portray Frank Leone, a convict nearing the end of his sentence in a low-security prison who was transferred to a maximum-security facility where he must admit to a much stricter way of life. Stallone said Lock Up was not made with “enough maturity” to make a significant impact (via EW), but despite its issues, it fairs much better than the action heroes’ worst offerings. With an enjoyable mix of action, drama, and romance, Lock Up kept the suspense high until the credits rolled and was an underrated addition to Stallone’s body of work.
3 Tango & Cash (1989)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 31%
Despite standing as one of the best action comedies of the 1980s, Tango & Cash was harshly judged when it was first released. As the last great action comedy of its decade, Tango & Cash saw Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell team up in a buddy cop adventure that, while full of tropes and cliches, had plenty of offers. With Stallone as the straight-laced Lieutenant Tango and Russell as the cowboy cop Lieutenant Cash, this duo had great cinematic chemistry, even if the storyline felt predictable.
With Stallone and Russell framed and sent to jail by their arch-nemesis, this pair of mismatched LAPD cops were forced to put their differences aside and take down a sinister crime barn. Tango & Cash was full of fantastically cheesy 1980s one-liners and walked the fine line between a genuine genre picture and a hilarious parody of buddy cop stories. At its core, Tango & Cash was a solid action movie that never truly got enough love, although its reputation has grown in stature in the decades since its release.
2 Cobra (1986)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 18%
The abysmal rating of Cobra on Rotten Tomatoes was entirely unjustified, as this carnage-filled action film more than delivered on its promise of fun, fast-paced, and frenzied thrills. Stallone starred as the title hero, Lt. Marion “Cobra” Cobretti, a no-nonsense cop investigating a string of crimes, including a mass shooting and hostage situation at an L.A. supermarket. While Cobra was criticized when it was first released for its excessive violence and reliance on genre tropes, this was also part of the reason it has built up a cult following over the years.
Stallone’s character may have been one-dimensional, but Cobra was a straight-up action movie focused on thrills over characterization. As a mayhem-filled mess of a movie, Cobra’s lack of decorum or narrative heft may turn off some viewers, but for action movie junkies who can’t get enough of excessive violence, it will be just what the doctor ordered. While pretentious movie critics may not connect with Cobra, viewers occasionally just want to see Stallone let loose as he recklessly takes down criminals.
1 Oscar (1991)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 11%
It’s no surprise that Sylvester Stallone disillusioned audiences with the John Landis comedy Oscar. As one of the biggest action stars of the 1980s, seeing Stallone trade his signature style for a rare comedic performance was a little jarring, as viewers kept waiting for his character to turn violent like he did in so many movies before. However, this was not the case for this underrated box office flop, which, when viewed on its own merits, was a hilarious film led by a talented cast.
Oscar explored a gangster trying to keep a promise to his dying father to give up his life of crime while also dealing with his wayward daughter’s (Marisa Tomei) promiscuous behavior. As a lighthearted gangster comedy set in the 1930s, this outrageous farce suffered from misguided audience expectations as Stallone had strayed too far from his normal style for viewers to enjoy Oscar for what it was. However, enough time has now passed to see that Sylvester Stallone gave an incredible performance here and that Oscar never deserved the hate it received.
Sources: New York Times, Ain’t It Cool News, Shock Cinema
