Stallone’s Place in the New-Action Pantheon

When I think about the last few really popular action movies, I think of The Bourne Ultimatum, Casino Royale, Live Free and Die Hard, maybe even 300. How can you place Sylvester Stallone among the action heroes in the films on that list? He may blend in alright with the crowd in 300, but with all the attention the buff male bodies got in that movie, it’s pretty obvious the tough, buff look is out of heavy rotation in the 21st Century film scene. Now, Matt Damon, Daniel Craig, and Bruce Willis are all strong, muscular guys, but they’re also lean and pretty average in the height department.

The impending release of Stallone’s latest decade-spanning sequel may be exciting some fans, but it seems so odd. Stallone making sequels to films that were originally released in the 1970’s and 80’s only points out his inability to find viable roles in the present. A quick scan of his IMDB profile showed me that, aside from one of the Spy Kids movies, Rambo, and Rocky Balboa, I recognize nothing in the actor’s repertoire this decade. Even though this Rambo will boast the biggest body count of the series I still don’t see it doing anywhere near as well at the box office as our favorite lithe-ass-kicking-everyman films do.

Big-bodied action stars like Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger are few and far between on our current movie landscape. We like our (anti)heroes to look like someone we may pass on the street without noticing. Only time, and Monday’s box office reports, will tell us for sure whether or not Rambo is still relevant.