He is one of the most recognized "movie stars" of the past 30 years. He has been nominated for an Academy Award both as an actor and as a screenwriter and approaching the age of 65 he could beat the living crap out of most men without so much as breaking a sweat.
He is Sylvester Stallone and once again he sits atop the box office mountain with his newest film "
The Expendables", the high octane adventure that is essentially a love letter to fans of the great action films of the 80's.
But amidst the success of "The Expendables" a lingering question hangs in the air... what does (or can) Sylvester Stallone do next?
Let's rewind a little bit. 20 years ago Stallone was one of the most bankable and successful stars in Hollywood. He was so good that even though he had a couple of duds that would have killed other actors careers (yes, I'm looking at YOU "Rhinestone" and "Over The Top") he endured without so much as a scratch. This was Rambo Balboa himself!
But then in 1990 he once again returned to one of his two bread and butter film franchises "Rocky" to produce "Rocky V". The film was critically despised and maligned by film fans across the world. It was one thing for Stallone to do a bad film here and there... but for one of the "Rocky" or "Rambo" films to flatline marked a major shift in his career as he decided to move away from his iconic characters and retire them.
Over the next 15 years an aging Stallone struggled to maintain relevance. In that time frame he gave us a couple of great films... films like "Cliffhanger" and "Cop Land" but he also made forgettable movies like "Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot", "Daylight", "Assassins", "Driven", "The Specialist", "D-Tox" and "Spy Kids 3-D".
Heading into the mid-2000's, the climate for Sylvester Stallone had changed in Hollywood. No longer was he the A-list superstar whose very appearance in a film would spark interest amongst the film fan community.
Then came the decision for Stallone to go back to what he was most known for and where he enjoyed most of his success... "Rocky" and "Rambo". It was announced that in 2006 a new (and supposedly final) installment of the "Rocky" franchise would be coming to theatres.
Many people (including myself) rolled their eyes at the idea. Stallone was now in his 60's and to me the decision to do another "Rocky" film felt like a pathetic attempt by a once influential actor to achieve relevance again. I saw it as not only a bad idea... but a sad moment as well. Well after seeing "Rocky Balboa" I (and many other people) had to shut my mouth because the movie was a pure triumph! It was a perfect ending to the franchise and became arguably one of the best films in the celebrated series.
Then came "Rambo", and while it wasn't loved by critics, it delivered exactly what "Rambo" fans were looking for, and as film critic Brandon Fibbs put it "While Rambo is certainly not for everyone, it succeeds at being exactly what it sets out to be: a nostalgic, actionpacked, gore-splattered ode to the antihero of a bygone era."
Recognizing that the film fan community obviously still hungers for Stallone in action roles despite his age (or maybe his age adds to the wonderment of it all), he set out to make what many call his Dream Team project "The Expendables" and now it sits at #1 on the box office charts.
So the question now becomes... what does Stallone do from here?
There has been talk of Stallone starring in a new remake of "Death Wish" which will keep him in the "action and violence" genre audiences seem to love him for. But aside from that, what direction does Stallone go in from here?
The quandary presented isn't an easy one. During that 15 year dry spell audiences and critics appeared to have grown disinterested in Stallone apart from his major iconic characters. With "Rocky", "Rambo" and now "Expendables" heralding his return, the action star seems to be pigeonholed. But at nearly 65 years of age, no matter how much of a genetic freak and superior male specimen he is, how long can he really be expected to do these kinds of films?
Stallone has proven he is capable of turning in great dramatic performances and even being an Oscar calibre writer, but will audience (now that Stallone is hot again) be willing to give projects he does a chance that don't fall under the "action" genre?
Should Stallone stick with what makes him popular even though his window is closing, or should he use his current popularity to take a chance to develop other sorts of projects even though his history with those sorts of things haven't been really successful to the extend his bigger films have? It's not an easy question.
So I pose the question to you! Let's play Ari Gold for the moment and pretend that you are Stallone's agent. Which way would you like to see Stallone go from here?
1) Do another Rocky film?
2) Do another Rambo film?
3) Do "The Expendables 2"
4) Do something in drama?
5) Do something in Comedy?
6) Do something else (you name it).
Give us your thoughts below.
