Sly

There are some actors who have a very magical screen presence, no matter what film category they choose to take on. To be able to have that something special you have to be able to play characters that people can relate to or feel a connection with. Just look at legendary actor Robert De Niro´s performance as Rubert Pupkin in Martin Scorsese´s classic The King Of Comedy. What can we relate with a character such as Rupert? I think if we especially know someone who is struggling with mental health, or had a difficult child hood not being like everyone else. The fact that Rupert is obsessed about becoming a star showed a realistic portrait of a man who is not in control, or know how to behave like a normal human being. Rupert is simply himself only, even though he should have gotten help a long time ago. If you have not seen this film on a physical copy or streaming you should check it out. Since i mentioned Robert De Niro we have to talk about a completely different legendary actor. One of those actors who have had an incredible career in Hollywood is of course legendary actor Sylvester Stallone. For most people he is of course mostly known for his iconic character Rocky Balboa, while some people think of Rambo of course. But there are so many other films Sylvester Stallone did in his career that it is easy to forget some of the classics you would find in the VHS rental stores. I personally like to think about the 1986 action film Cobra from director George P. Cosmatos ( who also directed Rambo - First Blood II ), where Stallone plays the cop character Marion Corbetti who protects witness Ingrid ( Birgitte Nielsen ) from a murderous cult. Cobra is filled with fun dialogue, plenty of action scenes and hits the right tone for a fun 80´s action film. Not that long ago we could see a documentary film on Netflix about action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger, and now it is time for Sylvester Stallone to get his very own documentary film as well in the Netflix documentary film Sly. Is this one of the better documentary films this year or is Sly not as powerful as we were hoping it would be?

In these days you barely see any Hollywood icons anymore. But back in the 70´s it was a whole different era of actors who made a huge impact on the big screen such as Clint Eastwood, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Gene Hackman and many more. But one specific actor created 2 very big franchises that have been loved by many generations of movie fans worldwide. Sylvester Stallone created Rocky and gave us Rambo as well. In a new documentary film calle Sly he tells his story how it all started, and how he actually thought about leaving acting.

To fully enjoy a documentary film such a Sly i think it helps to be a fan of at least some of Sylvester Stallone´s films. He talks a lot about how much the character Rocky Balboa means to him personally, but he also tell us how important this character is for fans worldwide. I think the most interesting part of his Rocky conversations is when he gets to the film Rocky V from 1990. A film that actually didn´t do very well at the box office and the film critics did not enjoy the film. You can tell that Stallone was struggling during this time period, because he had some big issues in his personal life that affected a lot of choices they made during the making of Rocky V. I actually would have liked to hear the director of Rocky V known as John G. Avildsen ( director of the first Rocky film as well as Karate Kid 1 - 3 ) talk about the making of this film in a longer interview clip, since Stallone seems to have regrets how this film ended up being. Even though it is fun hearing stories surrounding the rest of the Rocky franchise i personally think it is more interesting where Stallone bring up films such as comedies as Oscar and of course Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. It becomes very clear that this was a time period where Sly was struggling finding projects that he really enjoyed working on. I have seen both of these films and honestly they are not that good. Of course he knew he had to go back making action films again so he made a very wise decision taking on Demolition Man. We also find out some interesting details as well from Stallone regarding his praised performance in Cop Land, where he in my opinion made one of his best acting performances. I do feel that he should have said something more regarding Cop Land since this is a very unique film in Stallone´s career. Sly is definetely an interesting documentary film and to hear Stallone talking openly all the struggles in life. Remember how i mentioned the character Rupert Pupkin in The King Of Comedy? Stallone may not had the same mental problems as that character, but it becomes clear he suffered as well in many different ways. Sly shows from both sides of his life, his Hollywood life and his personal life filled with struggles. If he only could have given more depth regadring making Cop Land i might have given this documentary film a higher rating but it definetely is worth checking out. Sly is a personal portrait of a true Hollywood legend and will definetely give you a a different perspective on him as a family man. Not sure what to watch this weekend? I suggest you head over to Netflix and give director Thom Zimny´s well made film Sly a watch.

Rating: DDD