Stallone Back in Action

Sylvester Stallone became famous for being one of the action stars of the past who epitomized machismo and beefed up bodies like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Steven Seagal, and Jean-Claude van Damme, who reigned in the 1980s to early 90s. He is best known for playing the underdog boxer Rocky Balboa in the Rocky film franchise and as the troubled Vietnam War veteran John Rambo in the Rambo series. But as the 90s drew to a close, old school action movies were then pushed in the backseat and big budget, high tech films took over, and even forced some action stars to retire or run for politics. Stallone shidted to dramas like Cop Land and Shade and the family-friendly Antz and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over.

And now Stallone is back in what he does best: heart-pumping, old school action in the upcoming film The Expendables.  In an interview, the 64-year old actor talked about getting back into making action movies and dissed on Academy winner Al Pacino and James Caemron’s Avatar. He said, “I tried Spy Kids. Doesn’t work.”  He then commented, “Action is a lot harder than drama. I’m waiting for Pacino to play Rambo.”

He also believed that old school action movies will make a comeback. He felt that the success of Avatar will never be topped ever, after the 3D sci-fi film became the highest grossing movie of all time. He said, “It’s a cycle. The same thing happened in 1968 and 69. At the time, the studios were going down big time. They were financing musicals… but all of a sudden Easy Rider (1969) came along and it changed everything. I think the bubble is just about to pop. After Avatar, everybody should just quit. They should. They should say, ‘That was brilliant. It’s done. Let’s go back to the little thing. You know, a guy on a horse, he gets punched in the face and has a fight in a barbershop.’ I think that’s going to happen. I really do.”

See Stallone back in action when the film hits theaters on August 13 but you can also watch The Expendables online.