Sylvester Stallone
98 connections found
View:
Connections, in both directions
(A lifetime cinephile, Lee also references or cites Apocalypse Now, Rambo, Missing in Action, and other Vietnam War-related films).
Eddie rightly scoffs at “those Hollyweird motherfuckers trying to go back and win the Vietnam War,” meaning Sylvester Stallone, in the second “Rambo” flick (1985), and the strangely smiling Chuck Norris, in “Missing in Action” (1984).
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Directed by Robert Aldrich
influenced The Expendables (2010), Rambo (2008)
Characters Plot Themes
The men are a diverse crew (British actors Gavin McTavish as the bald and bold Lewis and Matthew Marsden as the likable sniper School Boy are especially memorable) of special-ops types who don't know yet how valuable their guide (Rambo) is, and their banter is a bit reminiscent of The Dirty Dozen -- albeit with a lot more expletives.
Assembling a who’s who of action stars from the last four decades, cowriter and star Sylvester Stallone directs a bloodbath that borrows liberally from such male-bonding classics as Robert Aldrich’s The Dirty Dozen and Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch, but offers not a whiff of the tragic fatalism and astute critique of machismo that inform those superior dramas.
VIDEO: Watch the trailer Though he's going for a brawny appeal à la The Wild Bunch or The Dirty Dozen, this boring tale of hired guns is more like Rambo With a Posse.
The film is essentially a variation on Robert Aldrich’s The Dirty Dozen (1967), in which Stallone plays Barney Ross, the leader of a renegade unit of gun-for-hire mercenaries who journeys with his 2IC, Lee Christmas (the eternally frowning Jason Statham) into a unnamed Latin American enclave to overthrow a dictator.
In essence, “The Expendables” is John Irvin’s “The Dogs of War” (1980) meets Robert Aldrich’s “The Dirty Dozen” (1967), which is a good idea if you don’t have any ideas of your own.
It does what it has to do but it lacks the grit of something like “The Dirty Dozen.”
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Directed by Sam Peckinpah
influenced The Expendables (2010), Rambo (2008)
Visuals Themes
The men soon discover the enemy compound, setting the stage for what's probably the best, most violent action movie climax since The Wild Bunch.
Assembling a who’s who of action stars from the last four decades, cowriter and star Sylvester Stallone directs a bloodbath that borrows liberally from such male-bonding classics as Robert Aldrich’s The Dirty Dozen and Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch, but offers not a whiff of the tragic fatalism and astute critique of machismo that inform those superior dramas.
VIDEO: Watch the trailer Though he's going for a brawny appeal à la The Wild Bunch or The Dirty Dozen, this boring tale of hired guns is more like Rambo With a Posse.
When he set about making "The Expendables" - his nostalgic throwback to ensemble action films like "The Dirty Dozen" and "The Wild Bunch" - he made some smart choices.
And The Expendables could've worked in a Commando meets The Wild Bunch sort of way.
“The Expendables,” while not a perfect movie, is a call back to the classic action films of the seventies and eighties when men were buff, grizzled, hairy and fired off huge guns while also getting the woman in the end, it’s a traditional action film that is also director Sylvester Stallone’s own version of “The Wild Bunch” about old cowboys who have one last stand to reclaim their dignity and self-respect.
Cars 3 (2017)
Directed by Brian Fee
influenced by Rocky IV (1985), Rocky III (1982), Rocky Balboa (2006)
Themes Plot Characters
The back-to-your-roots squaring off against modern technology theme carries a distinct “Rocky IV” vibe, and older audiences will picture Sylvester Stallone carrying logs up Siberian mountains while Dolph Lundgren runs on treadmills while hooked up to a dazzling array of computers and monitors.
While still not a Pixar classic by any stretch, Lightning McQueen and his four-wheeled bunch at least get in the right lane finally with the surprisingly deep Cars 3 (**½ out of four; rated G; in theaters nationwide Friday), which amounts to Rocky IV with anthropomorphic automobiles.
He’s basically Ivan Drago from “Rocky IV,” only instead of Russia being the bad guys it’s the kids these days, ready to make the olds unemployed.
So “Cars 3” is basically “Rocky IV” — minus the geopolitics and that glorious James Brown production number — with a little of “The Karate Kid” thrown in, along with pretty much every sports movie cliche ever.
The Rocky movies come to mind immediately when watching Lightning train for the big race against Storm, and if you’re a fan of that series (particularly Rocky IV and Creed), you’ll likely connect with Cars 3 in a similar way.
Cars 3 es básicamente Rocky III, con vehículos sustituyendo humanos y las carreras de coches sustituyendo el boxeo.
Rourke’s insufferable Russian accent reminds me of Dolph Lundgren’s cartoonish villain Ivan Drago from Rocky IV.
Things kick into high gear with a live 'show' for Stark Expo that recalls the boxing ring theatricality of "Rocky IV" but we soon learn that Tony is keeping a secret - the core which is keeping him alive is poisoning his blood.
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991)
Directed by Simon Wincer
influenced The Expendables (2010)
In “The Expendables,” Stallone, who also co-wrote the screenplay, plays a character who calls himself Barney Ross, while the aforementioned Mickey Rourke, fresh from his bit as the Russian villain in “Iron Man 2,” plays the all-too-appropriately-named Tool, a character whose entrance is an homage to “Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man” (1991).
The Great Train Robbery (1903)
Directed by Edwin S. Porter
influenced The Expendables (2010)
Visuals
The Expendables ends with a knife thrown at the camera, a parting assault on the audience reminiscent of 1903's The Great Train Robbery.
And “Baby Driver’s” “Harlem Shuffle” can’t compare to “Staying Alive.”
“Plane” is a too-generic title for what’s actually a pretty good little movie, combining with the ad campaign to convey a sense the film is more “Rambo”-like than it is.
…spectacle that finds a couple of jacked-up English-speaking everymen forced to kill their way out of a sweltering foreign jungle full of indigenous militants, and climaxes with the bad guys loading the shoulder-mounted rocket-launchers that Southeast Asian henchmen always keep on hand in case Sylvester Stallone ever decides to reboot “Rambo” again.
But before Billy faces his ultimate foe — Miguel is a less memorable version of Mr. T’s scene-stealing Clubber Lang from Rocky III — he must go on that defining personal journey: being banned from boxing for a year, losing his home and family, and one upbeat song (Eminem’s “Phenomenal”) that champions his indomitable spirit in the face of such adversity.
“Southpaw” is, like most fellow boxing movies, a shameless melodrama, one that mixes “Rocky III” with “Rocky V,” plus bits of Franco Zeffirelli’s unwatchable 1979 remake of “The Champ,” in which Jon Voight and Ricky Schroeder tussle over who can mug more.
Rocky III's rebuilding-the-champ drama meets Cinderella Man's Daddy struggles, with a dash of The Fighter's neighborhood grit and some Eminem on the soundtrack for the beefcake training montage.
The plot takes a turn toward “Rocky III” territory when he’s goaded into a confrontation by upstart contender Miquel Escobar (the terribly unlikable Miquel Gomez), and tragedy ensues.
If you’re familiar with the wide world of boxing movies, you’ll notice that this is basically the plot of Rocky III.
That’s all harmless enough, but the film mines some arguably xenophobic Tea Party territory with its portrayal of villainy: a black mechanical warrior named Zeus, the tool of gross ethnic stereotypes Farra Lemkova (Olga Fonda, exuding the chilliest Eastern European visage since Dolph Lundgren’s 'Drago’ in Rocky IV) and the inscrutable Asian, Tak Mashido (a cartoonishly-vile Karl Yune).
In a way, the movie is like Rocky IV minus the Cold War but with the addition of robots.
At first the final fight with Atom looks to be Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed I, but then it’s almost exactly Rocky IV and suddenly, out of nowhere, we find out robots can get tired.
The film’s final fight transports boxing lovers specifically to “Rocky IV” where a street-smart, smaller and scrapier Rocky Balboa wages war against the seemingly unbeatable Russian powerhouse Ivan Drago.
Concentrate on those scenes, try to ignore the schmaltz in between, and the whole experience isn’t really any worse than, say, “Rocky IV.” (Compared to any “Transformers” picture, it’s practically “Raging Bull.”)
So instead of something along the lines of Rocky or, hell, Rocky III, what we end up with is Over the Top crossed with E.T.. Goyo's less annoying that Stallone's son in that movie, but it's close.
In its Rambo-alike moments, the first Predator converted echoes of Vietnam into cheesy thrills.
Action movies like 2008’s Rambo work just fine with characters designed to breathe, then die.
Creed (2015)
Directed by Ryan Coogler
influenced by Rocky Balboa (2006), Rocky III (1982), Rocky IV (1985), Rocky II (1979), The Expendables (2010)
Plot Themes
Sylvester Stallone paid proper tribute and respect to his character Rocky Balboa with the final chapter in his saga “ Rocky Balboa .”
Meanwhile, likably game as Stallone was in going another few rounds for 2006’s “Rocky Balboa,” it’s nothing compared to how enjoyable he is — and affecting — in his new less-is-more supporting role.
From there, it became slightly gimmicky, bringing in a kid for Rocky V, then going for the standard return-to-roots comeback vibe with Rocky Balboa .
But, as a Rocky movie, it does manage two important things: It hits on the inspirational spirit the movies strive for and sometimes achieve ( Rocky, Rocky Balboa , sometimes Rocky II ), but often failed to ( Rocky III, IV , and V ), and it introduces a new character who stands on his own as someone worth paying attention to and investing in (unlike Tommy in V ).
It's clear that Coogler loves the franchise — even some of the bad bits — peppering in nods to the previous films wherever he can, be they references to Rocky and Apollo's third and final fight in Rocky III or that famous training montage.
Every movie in the Rocky series is referenced in ways both minor (Rocky’s turtle!) and major (who won the secret fight at the end of Rocky III is finally revealed).
…not a bad plot, having been used in such films as Tears of the Sun (2003) and probably most successfully in The Sand Pebbles (1966).
Warrior (2011)
Directed by Gavin O'Connor
influenced by Rocky IV (1985), Rambo (2008)
Themes Plot Characters
The point I was trying to make by comparing it to “Rambo” and “”Rocky IV” — which it has more in common with than “The Fighter” — is that in a larger cultural context, “Warrior” wants to beat the recession into a bloody pulp.
Alas, although the acting's uniformly strong, and the film has kitchen-sink grit to spare, it errs more on the side of 1985's Rocky IV than John Avildsen's '76 original, what with its "unstoppable" Russian fighter (Kurt Angle) and a climax that's never in doubt.
When, late in the story, both brothers must defeat an inexpressive and nearly superhuman Russian fighter (pro wrestler Kurt Angle), it's impossible not to think of Dolph Lundgren as the Soviet near-automaton from the affectionately mocked "Rocky IV."
But because we know exactly which two characters will end up in the championship bout (despite the challenge of a hulking Russian straight out of Rocky IV), the home stretch occasionally becomes tedious, with the emphasis shifting from character development to repetitive slugfests.
In “Rocky IV” the same year, Stallone— draped in the flag—gets to pummel a Soviet Superman, giving America some sweet wish fulfillment during the Reagan Cold War.
But there is way, way too much of the TV commentators, who give us the same information ad nauseam (the bouts are almost comically over-explained), and none of the other fighters are given anything beyond a rudimentary sense of personality (O'Connor and co-writers Anthony Tambakis and Cliff Dorman even trot out a Rocky IV-style Russian killing machine, and the characterization is about as subtly drawn).
It's not quite ridiculous enough to be truly great like a "Commando" or a "Red Dawn," but it can stand on its own feet and make you want see another one, assuming you're the kind of person who wanted to see this one.
Harkening back to some 1980s classics such as Predator, Commando and Rambo, the film feels old — but old in a good way, where special effects are live-action stunts and the material is treated seriously with a touch of wryness.
The major studios, with big budgets and movie star mojo, jumped on the action wagon long after it had established a stranglehold on the movie-going habits of the decade (Lethal Weapon,1987; Aliens, 1986; Robocop, 1987; Commando,1985).
…one with Hercules in New York, the other with the soft-core sex picture The Party at Kitty and Stud's (retitled The Italian Stallion after Rocky was a smash) ?
Four decades after Stallone debuted in "The Party at Kitty and Stud's" and the Governator in "Hercules in New York," that might arguably make a more watchable movie than "The Expendables."
Rebel Ridge is a smart action thriller in the First Blood mode and is elevated by Pierre’s terrific central performance.
Like Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, Stallone is an idealist masquerading as a cynic, but when the Burmese Army captures and tortures a battalion of deeply annoying Bible-thumpers from Colorado, Stallone springs into action.
Combine that with a back-half Michael Cera cameo that rivals Rambo in gratuitous violence…