“I got excoriated because the movie’s so violent”: Sylvester Stallone Feels This Movie is His Best Action Movie Despite Endless Criticism
When thinking about Sylvester Stallone’s best movie, many might believe that it must be the 1976 film Rocky. However, that’s not the case at all, this might be startling to many, but the actor himself revealed that his best movie was the 2008 project that earned immense criticism and backlash.
Despite the harsh comments about Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo IV, the acclaimed actor considers the film his best movie. Set in Burma, Stallone plays the titular role of John Rambo helping the mercenaries on their mission. The violent theme and intense scenes drew backlash for the film but the negative response didn’t bother Sylvester Stallone.
Sylvester Stallone Calls Rambo IV His Best Movie Despite Drawing Criticism
Sylvester Stallone needs no introduction when it comes to the actor’s massive hit acting career after Rocky was released. The actor soon became a household name in the industry, with directors lining up to offer him movies. However, despite massive hit films and earning a strong fanbase Stallone’s Rambo IV was seen gathering negative response over its violent theme.
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However, the criticism didn’t seem to have bothered the Expendables star as he considers it one of his best films. While talking about Rambo IV, Stallone explained that his film had intense scenes like children being burned alive and violent scenes. He told THR:
“One film I’m truly proud of — it’s the best action film I’ve ever done because it’s the most truthful — is Rambo IV, dealing with Burma, where they’ve had a civil war for 67 years. But I got excoriated because the movie’s so violent. And it is violent.”
The Samaritan star mentioned that Rambo IV depicted the harsh reality of the Civil War in Burma, where neighbors turned against each other, and many viewers couldn’t accept the brutality of the war. Stallone justified the violence in the film, as it was required to showcase the intensity and conflict. The actor added:
“I was really happy with that film, and I never thought it would ever reach the theatre. I thought: ‘They’re never going to show this.”
Sylvester Stallone doubted the release of Rambo IV because of the film’s intensity, but when it finally came out, the Backtrace star was satisfied that his project allowed viewers to witness the prolonged conflict that occurred in Burma. Due to the impact of Rambo IV‘s reception, it took years to release Last Blood in 2019.
Author David Morrell Expressed Disappointment With Sylvester Stallone’s Last Blood
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Author David Morrell is the man behind crafting John Rambo, whose novels led to Sylvester Stallone’s iconic films. However, with more additions to the film, the author once expressed disappointment stating that the newer Rambo films lacked soulfulness. He told Newsweek that the movies ignored emotional depth, which is mainly considered while making films. Morrell added:
“I felt degraded and dehumanized after I left the theater. [talking about Last Blood]… “Instead of being soulful, this new movie lacks one. I felt I was less a human being for having seen it, and today that’s an unfortunate message.”
Many believed that Last Blood lost track and failed at depicting the emotional side of the character that David Morrell created. However, despite the challenges and evolutions in Sylvester Stallone’s films, he has always mentioned being grateful for the films.
Rambo IV is available on Prime Video.
