Category: Cop Land

Sly Stallone’s Most Underrated Acting Scenes

Craig / / 2021, Cop Land, Creed II, First Blood, FIST, Get Carter, Oscar, Rocky, Rocky Balboa, Rocky III, Rocky V

Tom at TV Over Mind came up with a list of Five Underrated Acting Scenes from Sylvester Stallone.  While the list or the presentation isn’t the best. (The used the photo above for heading <I added the text for my post> and it isn’t their number one choice.  Also some of the example that they picked were not the best choices for Sly most underrated acting scenes.  With that said, using just his top five, I’ll rank those same picks and then give you what I think are some much better choices.

Tom at TVOM

Craig

5. Talking to Adonis in Creed II during the fight

5. The final fight in Rocky V: Since this is more of a physical scene than an “acting” scene I rated it lower.

4. The final fight in Rocky V

4. The atrium scene in Oscar: Oscar is underrated. Sly’s performance is good but there are many scenes in other movies that should have made the grade.

3. The atrium scene in Oscar

3. Talking to Adonis in Creed II during the fight: Sly has better scenes in Creed II than this one.

2. PTSD scene in Rambo: First Blood

2. The Rocky Balboa speech: This is a good choice and it became so popular I can see why Tom listed it in his first spot.

1. The Rocky Balboa speech

1. PTSD scene in Rambo: First Blood: Sly gives a classic performance and shows that Rambo isn’t all blood and guts.

Other scenes that should have made the cut:

Rocky: So many to choose, but since I am going to limit it to one from each additional film, I’ll go with the scene where Rocky tells Adrian if he is just standing when the final bell sounds…

FIST: Again many to choose from, but this time I’ll go with the scene where Sly is talking to the men about the trucker that was hurt and although the company won’t take care of him., their union will.

Rocky III: The scene on the beach with Talia Shire where she asks Rocky what he’s afraid of and he answers…

Cop Land: So many great scenes… For me it is a toss up between Sly’s scene with Annabella Sciorra or his scene with DeNiro.

Get Carter: Sly’s rooftop scene with Rachel Leigh Cook is one of his best.

Rocky Balboa: Any scene where he is talking about Adrian.

Creed: The scene in the locker room when Rocky explains to Creed why he isn’t going to get treatment for his cancer.  One of Sly’s all-time best scenes.

Sly Stallone’s Most Underrated Movies!

Craig / / 2021, Cobra, Cop Land, Demolition Man, Nighthawks, Over the Top

Saeed Saeed, at The National News, posted his choices for Sly Stallone’s Most Underrated Movies.  You know how I enjoy lists, so using just Saeed’s choices, here are how I’d rank them.  

Saeed

Zablo

1. Nighthawks (1981)

1. Nighthawks (1981): Ahead of it’s time and solid through and through.

2. Cobra (1986)

2. Cop Land (1997): One of Sly’s finest performances and he’s in with heavy hitters. Sly more than holds his own.

3. Over the Top (1987)

3. Over the Top (1987): Granted it’s a sentimental story that stretches credibility, but it is not as bad as many would believe. That’s the definition of underrated.

4. Demolition Man (1993)

4. Demolition Man (1993): The opening had so much potential but ventures too far into silliness for me. Plus fans love Demolition Man.

5. Cop Land (1997)

5. Cobra (1986): Had soooo much potential. Cool character, cool idea for a movie but needed to be fleshed out more. Still fans dig it.

Saeed’s list is a good one. If I had created the list I would have put Sly’s Get Carter in the first spot. Not only does it contain scenes with some of Sly’s finest acting, but the cast is solid, the story is strong and the director shows great flourishes. Get Carter is not a perfect film (few are), but in my opinion it is Sly’s most underrated.

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

Craig / / 2021, Celebs, Cliffhanger, Cobra, Cop Land, Creed II, Demolition Man, Family, First Blood, Jennifer Flavin-Stallone, Nighthawks, Oscar, Over the Top, Rocky, Rocky Balboa, Rocky V, Sly Fan, Suicide Squad

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

Sly Stallone’s Most Underrated Characters!

Craig / / 2021, Assassins, Bullet in the Head, Cliffhanger, Cobra, Cop Land, Demolition Man, Get Carter, Judge Dredd, Las Vegas, Nighthawks, Over the Top, Paradise Alley, Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot, Tango & Cash

Kacie Lillejord, at ScreenRant created her list of the 10 Best Underrated Sylvester Stallone Characters.  I love lists, so I decided to play along.  Using just Lillejord’s choices, I ranked the same characters. (Please note that the higher on the list, the more underrated.)  Afterwards I mention three Stallone characters that didn’t make her list, but would have made mine.

Lillejord

Zablo

10/10 Sergeant Joseph “Joe” Bomowski from Stop or My Mom Will Shoot

10/10 Sheriff Freddy Heflin from Cop Land

9/10 Sergeant Deke DaSilva from Nighthawks

09/10 Sergeant Deke DaSilva from Nighthawks

8/10 Judge Joseph Dredd from Judge Dredd

08/10 Gabriel “Gabe” Walker from Cliffhanger

7/10 Frank The Repairman from Las Vegas

07/10 Lieutenant Marion Cobretti from Cobra

6/10 Sheriff Freddy Heflin from Cop Land

06/10 Frank The Repairman from Las Vegas

5/10 Gabriel “Gabe” Walker from Cliffhanger

05/10 Lincoln Hawk from Over the Top

4/10 Lieutenant Marion Cobretti from Cobra

04/10 Ray Tango from Tango & Cash

3/10 Sergeant John Spartan from Demolition Man

03/10 Sergeant John Spartan from Demolition Man

2/10 Ray Tango from Tango & Cash

02/10 Judge Joseph Dredd from Judge Dredd

1/10 Lincoln Hawk from Over the Top

01/10 Sergeant Joseph “Joe” Bomowski from Stop or My Mom Will Shoot

Characters that didn’t make Lillejord’s list that would have made mine:

  • Jack Carter from Get Carter:  Jack Carter has so much potential plus Sly had scenes that showcased some of his best acting.
  • Cosmo Carboni from Paradise Alley:  Wise-cracking and cynical but with a kind heart.    
  • Robert Rath from Assassins:  Sly played an intelligent assassin who wanted out.  This character had a lot of potential.
  • Jimmy “Bobo” Bonomo from Bullet to the Head:  Sly played an assassin who came up from the streets and wasn’t ready for the “modern” world.  I liked the character and would have liked to have seen more.

Who’d I miss?

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

Craig / / 2021, Celebs, Cliffhanger, Cobra, Cop Land, Demolition Man, Family, Jennifer Flavin-Stallone, Judge Dredd, Las Vegas, Nighthawks, Over the Top, Rambo, Rocky, Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot, Tango & Cash

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

Craig / / 2020, Celebs, Cliffhanger, Cobra, Cop Land, Creed, Demolition Man, Escape Plan, Expendables, Expendables 3, Expendables II, First Blood, Honors, Lords of Flatbush, Nighthawks, Over the Top, Rocky, Rocky IV, Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

Craig / / 2020, Celebs, Cop Land, Creed, Escape Plan, Expendables, Expendables II, Family, First Blood, Hunter, Jennifer Flavin-Stallone, Nighthawks, Rambo, Rocky IV

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

James Mangold on the Making of “Cop Land”

Craig / / 2020, Celebs, Cop Land

Bilge Ebiri at Vulture recently interviewed James Mangold about his experience directing Cop Land for Miramax.  Mangold details the behind-the-scenes action to get the script sold and the film made.

It’s interesting to note that Cop Land went from being a script that didn’t sell to one of the hotest scripts on the market.  Companies wanted just the script, actors wanted to star in it and Mangold wasn’t about to sell it without him at the helm.

The amazing cast – Stallone, DeNiro, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Michael Rappaport, Annabella Sciorra, Robert Patrick, and Janeane Garofalo – also may have actually overscaled the film.  Also, despite the amazing performance by Stallone, his Rocky/Rambo fans didn’t get what they were used to and non-Stallone fans thought it would be another typical Sly action film so they avoided it!

Check out what Mangold has to say in Behind the Fantasy of the 1997 Movie Cop Land.