When you think of classic action movies, the first name that undoubtedly comes to mind is Sylvester Stallone. The 77-year-old actor once dominated Hollywood with iconic action movie franchises like Rocky, Rambo, and The Expendables. Interestingly, even today, all these franchises continue to release new movies, but the once glorious genre of action movies seems to be fading away.
Stallone claims that the advent of superhero films has diminished the audience’s interest in real action stars. Surprisingly, he made these observations even before the rise of billion-dollar superhero franchises like the MCU and DCEU.
Sylvester Stallone Blamed Batman 1989 For Ruining Action Movies
According to Sylvester Stallone, action movies lost their momentum due to the emergence of superhero films. The Escape Plan actor particularly pointed to Michael Keaton‘s Batman 1989 as a turning point that introduced technology into the action hero genre:
“It was the first Batman movie. The action movies changed radically when it became possible to Velcro your muscles on. It was the beginning of a new era. The visual took over. The special effects became more important than the single person. That was the beginning of the end.”
The Demolition Man actor shared that the technology was making him expendable. Stallone stated that anyone could become a major action star without having to work hard on their body like he did. The genre had opened the door for anyone, including kids, to become action heroes.
Sylvester Stallone’s ‘Real’ Muscles Could Not Compete A Superhero’s ‘Velcro’ Muscles
Furthermore, Stallone sarcastically shared that having access to such technology would have made it much easier for him to avoid spending hours in the gym to prepare for his roles.
“This genre, unfortunately, is becoming … let’s just say it’s fading away. You have the superheroes today which are possessed with all extraordinary powers; they can blink, and a fireball comes out of there. It’s great. And then you have a bunch of us, which is just your basic male-pattern badness. … Kind of like hands-on action.”
The Tulsa King actor jokingly remarked that he could have simply put on a Velcro suit for his roles, eliminating the need for intense physical training.
Sylvester Stallone Could Have Been Your Favourite Superhero
Despite his initial reservations about superhero movies, Sylvester Stallone eventually joined the genre when he starred in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. His response suggests that the devout action hero has a fondness for the MCU, calling it “the next generation’s mythology”:
“Early on in my career I became fascinated with mythology. Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces, and so on and so forth. When I started doing Rambo, [I came to understand] there’s an evolution that takes place. Every generation has to find itself, define its own heroes, define its own mythology. And [the MCU] is this generation’s – and maybe even the next generation’s – mythology.”
Ironically, Stallone’s career as a superhero movie actor almost began decades earlier. He was on the verge of landing the lead role in Richard Donner’s Superman, one of the most significant superhero films in cinematic history. Most recently, Stallone starred in the titular role in the movie Samaritan, playing an old-age superhero.
Source: LA Times
