Whether it’s the slurred, street-toughened voice that seems lifted from the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood where he was born, the monosyllabic heroes who cemented his iconic status, or the embarrassing career lows, Sylvester Stallone has always been underappreciated. Or, more accurately, after writing, directing, and starring in films for almost 50 years, maybe we just take him for granted. Through half a century of cinematic trends, movements, and upheavals, he’s always been here, like Rocky, taking hits and getting up off the canvas.
And even if he’s played the same two characters in 13 of his films, the phases of Stallone’s career remain disparate and many; he’s been an Oscar nominated phenom, a stand-in for American aggression, a serious filmmaker, a (failed) movie comedian, a punchline, a near-parodic action hero, and, hopefully soon, an unacknowledged legend who deserves a late career reassessment. Indeed, this November he’ll receive about as meaningful a career recognition as a star is likely to get nowadays; he’s the subject of a Netflix documentary titled Sly. Until then, you can see him in Expend4bles, which opens Friday. So in honor of Stallone, we’ve ranked his 18 best and five worst films.
