Top 10 Sly Movies!

[Hunter Rider]

The thread about Arnie's top 10 has been fun so I figured might as well do one on the other action megastar of the 80's, Sly! I'll start us off!

10. Escape Plan
Ditto with what I said in Arnie's thread.

9. Lock Up
A bit of an under the radar gem, a decent prison flick where Sly's low level con is finishing out his time and on the way to going straight when he's suddenly transferred to a maximum security hellhole ran by Donald Sutherland's sadisitc warden who has a grudge against Sly and intends to break him. It's far fetched but has some emotional moments and a great prison yard football sequence, plus I think it features one of Sly's best performances.

8. Over the Top
Easy to just call it Rocky with arm wrestling, but this is one of Sly's best everyman heroes, the awesomely named trucker Lincoln Hawk who wants to win the big arm wrestling contest to get the truck that will enable him to make more money and look after his son which is the dying wish of the boys mother. The father/son story is simple, a little cheesy but all round feel good stuff as Lincoln and his kid bond on their road trip while the boy's grandfather does everything he can to sabotage things. There are a couple of cool action sequences before the big arm wrestling extravaganza where Lincoln faces Bull Hurley, a guy who looked like a Vince McMahon wet dream.

7. Cobra
Originally this was the script for Beverly Hills Cop, but it actually plays more like Sly's version of Dirty Harry, as he faces off against an anarchistic axe weilding biker gang while protecting a witness, who doesn't actually need to testify in the end as in true 80's fashion Cobra just kills all of the bad guys. I always feel this is Sly's equivelant to Commando in terms of being unashamedly shlocky, almost B movie level one man army action fun.

6. Rambo
Not quite the send off that Rocky Balboa is but still pretty great, the early sequences on the boat and with the bow and arrow in the mine field are nods to First Blood Part II, but the finale is like Rambo uncut, a brutal force of nature that tears through the enemy with thunderous rage. The final shot of Rambo returning home is beautifully bittersweet.

5. Rocky IV
Hey, these lists are about favourites, not about Oscar masterpieces lol. It's my favourite of the Rocky films, the one I have watched the most, it's pure 80's, it's cheesy, it has a cliche plot, awesome training montages showcasing Rocky and Drago's very different approaches, a great soundtrack, and the big fight is classic hero vs monster heel stuff from the WWF, if I can change, and you can change, everybody can change!!

4. First Blood Part II
More bombastic than the first movie but I think the high bodycount clouds the fact that it has a pretty good story in terms of the men left behind that some didn't want found as they wanted Vietnam to be forgotten about ASAP. George P, Cosmatos does a fantastic job with the action, the sequence where Rambo takes the Viet Cong out stealthily in the jungle after he escapes is awesome, and the big helicopter finale is pretty spectacular as Rambo rescues the POW's.

3. Rocky Balboa
The perfect send off from the ring for Sly's most iconic character, he was still brilliant in Creed, but this was Rocky's last stand in the ring and Sly got it just right, no other 80's action Icon has gotten the cinematic send-off that Rocky has gotten.

2. First Blood
One of the best performances of Sly's career, the scene where he pours his soul out to Trautman at the end is as raw as an action hero ever gets, especially in the 80's. The film is a tense fugitive movie with the local Sheriff and his officers hunting Sly's lethal war machine through terrain that he'd mastered in his time in Vietnam and finding themselves completely overmatched by a man who hasn't actually done anything wrong. Jerry Goldsmith's somber theme is one of my all time favourites.

1. Cliffhanger
My favourite film to riff on the Die Hard blueprint, it's perfectly staged and shot, paced well with a likable hero in mountain rescue climber Gabe Walker who is haunted by the death of his best firend's girlfriend in a failed rescue attempt, and he's up against a sneering John Lithgow, on top form as the ruthless, cold blooded Eric Qualen and his group of mercs. Renny Harlin makes maximum use of the stunning snowy mountain setting for some awesome set pieces and a great finale.

 

[MadderMaximus]

Mine:

1. Rocky
2. First Blood
3. Rocky IV
4. The Expendables 2
5. Rambo: First Blood Part II
6. Rambo
7. Creed
8. Copland
9. Rocky Balboa
10. Demolition Man

 

[Aximili86]

Coooobbbrrrraaaaaaaaaaaa!

Heh. Nah, I guess the first Rocky's still probably his best actual movie, but there are plenty of awesome ones along the way even if they're not exactly "quality in a critical sense".

Cliffhanger as #1 though, Hunter? You have interesting taste. Cliffhanger's a bunch of fun though, love Lithgow's silly/ridiculous British accent.

But yeah, that last Rambo movie he directed is a beast. Actually made me pretty squeamish in places.

Demolition Man's goofy fun. I still say Cobra though. Always Cobra. Hilarious movie, so so very 80s personified.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Coooobbbrrrraaaaaaaaaaaa!

Heh. Nah, I guess the first Rocky's still probably his best actual movie, but there are plenty of awesome ones along the way even if they're not exactly "quality in a critical sense".

Cliffhanger as #1 though, Hunter? You have interesting taste. Cliffhanger's a bunch of fun though, love Lithgow's silly/ridiculous British accent.

But yeah, that last Rambo movie he directed is a beast. Actually made me pretty squeamish in places.

Demolition Man's goofy fun. I still say Cobra though. Always Cobra. Hilarious movie, so so very 80s personified.

Cliffhanger is one of my favourite action movies of all time, not just my fav Sly movie, I just love the concept, Die Hard on a snowy mountain!

With Rambo Sly went more violent than he had with any of the previous entries, it was like his answer to the PG-13 generation of action movie that a section of film fans were complaining about a lot at the time.

Demolition Man is fun I agree, what is your Boggle? Cobra is one that will always be slated on a quality level but like you say, it's as pure a slice of the 80's as you'll get in every way and that's why I dig it.

 

[Mandon Knight]

For me, Sly has never been given the praise and credit he deserves as an actor not just a 'movie star', in amongst his action film peers, he is the own who has always taken the risks and tough choices, wishing to expand or test himself, only in later life have others tried this, particularly Arnold.

 

[Aximili86]

Yeah, for sure. I'd agree with the stereotype that he doesn't exactly...you know, act all that often, but he's displayed that he can, he's capable of it. Sort of one of those cool stories like with Schwarzenegger too, total underdog, dude basically got to where he is through nothing but pure grit and a giant pair of balls.

Like, just take the whole Rocky thing alone: you finally get your big break with a script, you're plucked from extra-and-small-speaking-roles obscurity and they're gonna pay you relatively big money for your script - and you raise the middle finger and tell 'em they only get the script if they let you star in it instead of the 5 or 6 giant movie stars they're mulling over?

Who the hell does that?

Will always give Sly credit for those types of moves. He's made a lot of crap over the years too, sure, and on balance he's probably still not as "fun" as Ahhhnuld, but hell, he's awesome all the same. Underrated as a writer too. Maybe...not-so-underrated as a director, haha, but he's had his shining moments there too.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

I did not watch a single Rambo movie, so I'll name the ones I watched and love:

All his Rocky movies, that includes Creed which he was a supporting cast in who doesn't appear before 40 or something minutes I think. Seven movies there.

Grudge Match is another movie I love, doesn't seem as bad as reputed to be. Jon Bernthal as the son of Robert DeNiro is brilliant casting choice.

Escape Plan is another fun movie I love.

Demolition Man is about a destructive guy who fights the Joker. I can't dislike this idea.

And the important one nobody likes to mention, but it is pretty good, makes it severely underrated.

It's one of my personal favorites.

 

[OutOfBoose]

Again, my faves, not best movies.

1. First Blood. My favorite role of Sly. The film is endlessly rewatchable.
2. Cobra. Schlocky 80s cheese, but still a lot of fun.
3. Cliffhanger. I think it's one of the best Die Hard inspired films.
4. Assassins. Banderas steals the show here, but it still counts as a Sly film.
5. Rocky IV. The only Rocky film I can stomach. Hilarious Cold War era portrayal of the Soviet Union. The film is a cousin of Arnold's Heat.
6. Judge Dredd. I always liked this film. Including the infamous "LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW" and the funny side-kick. Hi-budget futuristic action schlock-fest.
7. Demolition Man. Really awesome concept of the futuristic society. Hot Sandra and awesome performance by Wesley Snipes.
8. Rambo.
9. Rambo: First Blood Part II. It went from realism to super-hero comic book action. Still fun action film and look at those muscles.
10. Rambo III. Explosive political turd. Absurd and cheesy. Even more muscles. But it's Rambo and Rambo is awesome.

 

[Aximili86]

I should probably check out Escape Plan again one of these days, caught it once on cable and remember it being fine for what it was. Couple of cool Ahnuld one-liners, Holly from The Office, Caviezel being all evil. Fun times.

Spider, definitely check out the first & fourth Rambo flicks. II & III are ass, but entertaining in their own way, but I & IV are awesome, with actual substance.

Yeah, I dig his Dredd film too OutOfBoose. Clearly the recent one's a million times better a Dredd flick, but the Danny Cannon one had an actual budget and was pretty much a production design wonderland.

As for Cobra: "Angel of the city, angel of the city..." lala la






Way to out-Rocky-song the cheesy Rocky songs, Sly. Just awesome.

 

[Loki882]

In no real order:

-Rocky.
-First Blood.
-Rocky Balboa (aka Rocky VI).
-Creed.
-John Rambo (aka Rambo IV).
-Cop Land.
-Demolition Man.
-Cliffhanger.
-Creed.
-Rocky II.

 

[Enriquespy]

I'm so glad Cobra is getting the love it deserves.

Should've been a bigger classic. I'd also agree that it's to Sly what Commando is to Arnie.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

• Rambo I
• Rocky I
• Rocky II
• Rambo 2008
• Demolition Man
• Expendable I
• Rocky III
• Judge Dredd
• Cop Land ( but it was not a Sly vehicle )

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Again, my faves, not best movies.

6. Judge Dredd. I always liked this film. Including the infamous "LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW" and the funny side-kick. Hi-budget futuristic action schlock-fest.
7. Demolition Man. Really awesome concept of the futuristic society. Hot Sandra and awesome performance by Wesley Snipes.

• Demolition Man
• Judge Dredd

• *Cosmic Highfives*

Spider, definitely check out the first & fourth Rambo flicks. II & III are ass, but entertaining in their own way, but I & IV are awesome, with actual substance.

Looks like I will do that sooner than I expected.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I should probably check out Escape Plan again one of these days, caught it once on cable and remember it being fine for what it was. Couple of cool Ahnuld one-liners, Holly from The Office, Caviezel being all evil. Fun times.

Spider, definitely check out the first & fourth Rambo flicks. II & III are ass, but entertaining in their own way, but I & IV are awesome, with actual substance.

Yeah, I dig his Dredd film too OutOfBoose. Clearly the recent one's a million times better a Dredd flick, but the Danny Cannon one had an actual budget and was pretty much a production design wonderland.

As for Cobra: "Angel of the city, angel of the city..." lala la






Way to out-Rocky-song the cheesy Rocky songs, Sly. Just awesome.

I'm actually listening to this song right now as I read through the thread, so to see it in your post made me laugh.

 

[-JKR-]

1. Rocky
2. First Blood
3. Demolition Man
4. Cliffhanger
5. Creed
6. Tango & Cash
7. Cop Land
8. Rocky IV
9. Cobra
10. Rocky Balboa

 

[Hunter Rider]

I love seeing Judge Dredd and Demolition Man in the lists, neither are personal favourites of mine but I am digging that like the Arnie thread everyone is just posting what they enjoy no matter the critical perceptions.

I see Rambo III on a couple of lists, it's my least favourite of the franchise but still a cracking action film, if I'm not mistaken I believe it was the most expensive film ever made at the time and the money is certainly up there on the screen, some of the helicopter action is stunning.

 

[-JKR-]

I love seeing Judge Dredd and Demolition Man in the lists, neither are personal favourites of mine but I am digging that like the Arnie thread everyone is just posting what they enjoy no matter the critical perceptions..

So true!

 

[MadderMaximus]

I see Rambo III on a couple of lists, it's my least favourite of the franchise but still a cracking action film, if I'm not mistaken I believe it was the most expensive film ever made at the time and the money is certainly up there on the screen, some of the helicopter action is stunning.

Rambo III has my favorite opening of the series, but I find the rest of the movie just to be meh.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Trying to put together list for Sly and Arnie, and I realized that Arnie has a way better filmography.

 

[Luigi]

Rocky 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and Creed (Love this series)
First Blood
Judge Dredd

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

1. Rocky: Much like with the film that brought Arnie to prominence so too with Sly, the first is the best. Sly shepherded this film into existence and on all levels you can feel the effort paying off. This film falls into that interesting category I guess I would call "popcorn drama". It's not an action adventure, or historical drama, it's not a sci fi or any other type of mass entertainment piece but it's for sure trying to be both a compelling down to earth story as well as being an audience pleasing hit. It does a great job balancing out both it's gritty aspirations alongside it's rags to riches sports movie formula, which if we are honest, is not something this movie invented, but it sure as hell perfected it. One can't really talk about Sly's crowning achievement without putting it into the context of the times. The post American retreat from Vietnam/post Watergate era was a tipping point for cinema. In many genres that were popular and profitable there was a sense of the dark, cynical and gritty method of story telling having been pushed to it's limits. While Star Wars had yet to come out you could already see that many in Hollywood were looking for something else to get people excited about movies again, they just didn't know exactly what. Jaws had come out the previous year and was a bit of a hinge point type film. Sure it was a bit of a horror film but it had incredibly well cast and likable characters at the center of the story, yes... Even Quint is likable to an extent. But where were the inspiring "heroes"? Where were the stories to bring the crowd to their feet? Well, Sly gave it to us in the form of a story that was grounded yet uplifting. Rocky as a character starts off as far from some Reagan era super hero, which is the impressing he has in the pop culture mind. No, Rocky begins in his film as a denzien of the underworld of Phillie, a leg breaker for the local racketeers. He's not a terrible person but let's face facts... He was a criminal. But he had potential and we see it just as Mickey does and the film makes you fall in love with this "bum". His dreams, his self doubt, his romance, his dogged nature... It's all executed with such assuredness and craftsmanship. The beauty of it all is also how, despite what the series would become, and how it resonates in people's minds, Rocky is not really cliche'd as we think. The "villain" isn't really a villain at all. Carl Weathers' Apollo isn't "the bad guy". Rocky respects him, and they don't have a real personal animosity between them. Also, Rocky doesn't "win" anything at the end in the traditional sense. He gains self respect and the respect of the masses in his defeat. Nothing is really by the book in this movie. Adrian isn't some bombshell starlet type. She's a quiet and sheltered average girl and Rocky isn't some quick witted lothario on the make. He's a meathead with a heart of gold who for the first time in his life is putting effort into realizing his potential. I already mentioned Weathers who is phenomenal as Apollo, but after Stallone the other supporting character that makes the film is Mickey as played by Burgess Meradith. In some ways Mickey's story is as compelling as Rocky's and you see two men starring at the unflinching nature of life and it's fortunes trying to latch onto something that will give their struggles meaning. A timeless Hollywood film for the ages Rocky will always be something that can be shown to anyone that doubts that Stallone is just tired cliche' of an action star.

2. Nighthawks: I find it strange this film doesn't get talked more about in terms of Stallone's filmography. Sly was ahead of the pack in seeing that, as tragic a phenomenon as it may be, international terrorism was great grist for the mill of Hollywood action films. This film definitely has the gritty tone of the era down and I give Sly extra points for doing something he rarely did for the rest of his career which is give us a very different look as compared to most of his other movies. A taught then "modern" thriller which finds Sly and co-star Billy Dee Williams roped into the search for Rutger Hauer's international terrorist, Nighthawks has plenty of twists and tense moments, a great villain and I think a really great finale. I think compared to most other roles outside of Rocky from the first two Rocky films, this is also Sly doing the hero of film at his most down to Earth. Anyone that's not seen this film please give it a shot. I think you'll be surprised.

3. First Blood: Another of Sly's films that's been denigrated by too many sequels and dismissed by high brow film critics this is just the definition of a compelling and crackerjack action thriller. On all levels really look back on how well done this movie is. It's cinematography is fantastic. It's location is breathtaking. It's stunt work is top notch. It's score is iconic. And yes... It's got a great screenplay. It's dialog is sharp and the performers all bring their A game. As is often the case for a film what's most important is the "guts" of the film when it comes to cast. You can have a great and well like lead at the top but if everyone under him is less than stellar your film will suffer. Well not in this case. Not only are the background characters well done, but you've got both Richard Crenna and Brian Dennehy going all out in their parts. And yes... I will even go to bat for Sly's end monologue. It's a tour de force that spoke to a lot of people that lived through the Vietnam era. I think that people nowadays look at it as the start of a cartoonish franchise. But that's really on the second film. No, First Blood is a well done but grounded action drama about a man wounded on the inside by his experiences serving his country and how he found himself a hounded figure in that country because it still didn't understand what it had done to him and people like him that had served.


4. Copland: I think this film deserves more praise than it gets these days and I wish Sly and chosen to do more work like this than he has so far. This is a nice tight film about police corruption that proved that yeah, Sly could hold his own in a cast filled with the likes of Deniro and Keitel. I think James Mangold got a good and quite naturalistic performance from Sly who is not really playing a buffed out super hero. In fact this is a kind of cousin to Sly's Rocky, a regular joe schlub who has to step up to the plate as the sheriff in a town populated by New York City Police officers. While perhaps not ground breaking in the genre of crime films it's solid all around with again, quite the cast.


5. Creed: This almost doesn't make the list because despite it being based on characters created by Sly and set in the world of Rocky... It's not really Sly's picture. Still... What a great movie to see Rocky in again. This sort of role is exactly what he should have been doing in films instead of trying to continue on as as the ass kicking leading man type. This is Rocky as, after all the craziness of his films, you would expect to be at this point in his life. Now the vet and former celeb that is facing down the inevitable road of mortality who sees greatness in the son of a former rival turned friend. Sly looks his age and it works wonders in this film, something he should have embraced a long time ago. In any case, he works well here and brings his creation to life one more time in a way he can be proud about.

And... Honestly that's it when I think of good films for Sly that I don't think need any justification.

Now on to the "best" of the lesser Sly offerings.

6. Rocky II/Rocky III/Rocky IV: Okay, maybe you'll call this cheating but these films, the follow ups to the classic Rocky are honestly it's own trilogy and not necessarily the greatest cinematic high points they could be. Yeah, I know... We all love a good montage. But that's just it guys and gals... That's all these films bring to the table. They are from start to finish retreads. Occasionally fun retreads but retreads. This is formula film making at it's most naked and while I enjoyed these movies as a kid... As and adult it's hard to take them all that seriously, with probably Rocky IV standing out as a slickly ridiculous movie that REALLY thinks it's saying something about world politics. All competently done mind you with Sly and the cast doing a fair job, it's still many notches bellow what was done on the set of the first Rocky. And they get ranked as one big mega film because they tend to blur without truly unique identities of their own outside of opponents changing form but not function for Rocky. I mean... Yeah, I like the training sequences of Rocky IV as much as anybody for being slick patronizing nonsense that is also somehow equally awesome, but I gotta call spade a spade as see them.


7. Rambo: First Blood Part II: Guys... I used to love this movie. But it's not aged well. This is the film that turned John Rambo into a cartoon. Not just well trained man out foxing a local police dept. this is now John Rambo, one man army taking out what seems to be a sizable chunk of the North Vietnamese military. It's over the top and silly if you think about it. However like Rocky IV's training montages you can't totally wash away it's nostalgic hold. As an over the top action film it's one of the better ones. It just gets a lot of points shaved for it's handling of a real issue, the loss of American service men in Vietnam and the anguish of their families.


8. Cliffhanger: I know, I know... This film has it's fans. And I'm one of them. This is probably the best of the films Sly started doing in the years starting his decline as a box office power house. I actually have to give it up to Harlin and Sly in the way the film begins and it's not that it's especially bad either. As I stated it's the best of his films during his decline years. It's just... I think that Lithgow as great as he is as a scene chewer in the film is almost from another film. He's not riding the line between cool and cartoonish that Rickman did in Die Hard and as a matchup, I mean... Who are you gonna pick in a fight between Sly and John? That said, the film delivers on some really great spectacle and the stunts are pretty great. Though I must say this is the movie which started the cliche' of Sly running from a fireball that he road for about four more movies. Not terrible as a movie but I will always look at it as the film that when I think of how Sly lost his magic this was the one that starts that long slow process.


9. Tango And Cash: This film is... It's not exactly "good" but I guess it's for me what Cobra is for others. We know it's cheezy crap but it's not without it's charms cheezy crap. Sly plays the more straight laced action hero next to Kurt Russell's wild man hero and... The chemistry actually kinda works. Now the rest of the movie does actually play like the parody of a late 80's action film you might see on the Simpsons. I mean... EXACTLY like a parody. Of course our heroes are framed. Of course we get a shot of both their asses. Of course the main villain is just so EVIL he has to be played by Jack Palance. Of COURSE there's a monster truck sequence. Of COURSE there's a sister played by Teri Hatcher who does a strip scene. Of COURSE... Well I could go on. But it's just a hare's breath under total crap with some cool action and witty banter that it works as a totally dumb action film.


10. Lock Up: This film is a real anomaly in Sly's career as a middle point type film between his more over the top fair and his more grounded early films. It's not anywhere near as ridiculous as Cobra or Tango And Cash but it's still fairly outlandish in ways that even a First Blood isn't. As such it's held back all over. It never really reaches any out there highs but it's sometimes to over the top to take seriously as a drama. Granted there's some affecting moments. One of the most touching scenes Sly ever did period was when he takes a young con that's never had the chance to learn how to on his first "drive".

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Trying to put together list for Sly and Arnie, and I realized that Arnie has a way better filmography.

Yeah, this is more or less my sentiment. They were neck and neck for a short period but Arnold held onto a certain level of quality for a longer period. Arnold also was more successful in trying to branch out with the type of action films he did. Like, right off the top of my head I think Dredd and Demolition Man are the only two Sly sci fi films I can think of where Arnie made sci fi a huge part of his filmography.

 

[-JKR-]

Trying to put together list for Sly and Arnie, and I realized that Arnie has a way better filmography.

He does. And the reason why I still haven't put together a top 10 list for Arnie is that, while I know which movies to include in the top 10, I have no freakin' idea how to put the best ones in order (starting with the "Terminator" films, I can't decide which one between part 1 and 2 I like more). That's how good his filmography is. Whereas with Sly, "Rocky," "First Blood" and "Demolition Man" are easily his top 3 films (in that order) for me.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

I'm having an easier time with Sylvester movies.

Yeah, this is more or less my sentiment. They were neck and neck for a short period but Arnold held onto a certain level of quality for a longer period. Arnold also was more successful in trying to branch out with the type of action films he did. Like, right off the top of my head I think Dredd and Demolition Man are the only two Sly sci fi films I can think of where Arnie made sci fi a huge part of his filmography.

This movie is not his, but he plays a small yet important part in Guardians of the Galaxy vol 2.

Does Escape Plan work as science fiction? I think the science of unscrewing land tile with his fingers while he is under strong light is too BS to be considered less.

And the reason why I still haven't put together a top 10 list for Arnie is that, while I know which movies to include in the top 10, I have no freakin' idea how to put the best ones in order.

I get that feeling, that's why I listed them in the order of the movies that come mind first.

 

[-JKR-]

Yeah, I think I'm going with a chronological order for Arnie. Just can't decide.