Stallone’s next action film may break his worst trend for the first time in 46 years

Sylvester Stallone’s upcoming thriller armor could finally break a bad cinematic habit that the actor has stuck with for 46 years. After the shock success of Rocky In 1976, Stallone was touted as the successor to actors like Marlon Brando. Unfortunately, many of his non-Rocky Follow-ups were duds, and the success of First blood saw the star being categorized into the action genre. Decades later, Sylvester Stallone’s action films are a subgenre of their own, with the 2023 film being one of the most recent examples The consumables 4.

It doesn’t look like the film legend will be giving up on the genre any time soon. Upcoming projects include the thriller Alarum next to Reacher Star Willa Fitzgerald and armor. The trailer for armor sees Stallone lead a gang of thieves who hold up an armored truck, only to find himself in a tense standoff with the guards trapped inside. The film looks like an exciting little thriller – even if the premise sounds basically identical to the underrated thriller from 2009 Armored.

Armor could break Sylvester Stallone’s “No Death Rule” after 46 years

Stallone hasn’t died on screen since 1978

Armour The trailer makes it seem like Stallone is playing a real villain who wants to kill the guards inside the truck (played by Jason Patric and Josh Wiggins) when it breaks in. The film represents a rare antagonist role for the star, and unless his character Rook is given heroic redemption, armor could feature Stallone’s first death scene since 1978 FIST The latter cast Stallone as a Jimmy Hoffa-style character who is shot in the film’s final moments.

However, Stallone did not agree with this decision and none of his characters died in the following decades. Of course this tradition could be maintained armor to. There are many possible outcomes for Stallone’s Rook, including an arrest or a change of heart and saving the day. Despite it, It would be cool if armor significantly undermined Stallone’s on-screen image and made him play a truly irredeemable character who gets the money they deserve in the final.

Stallone’s
Death Race 2000
The villain Machine Gun Joe was also killed in the finale of this cult film.

Netflix star Sly explained his rule on sad endings

Sylvester Stallone doesn’t want to upset his audience

Before the publication of The consumables 4There were reports that Stallone’s team leader Barney would die. This was supposed to make way for co-star Jason Statham as the team’s new leader, but that took time Consumables 4 While Barney “kills” in the first act, the ending reveals that he faked his fiery demise. This felt like a major blip, although given the overall poor quality of the fourth installment, it was far from the biggest problem. It was also added in 2023 Cunninga Netflix documentary in which Stallone discussed the ups and downs of his life and career.

In CunningStallone expresses his belief that audiences hate bad endings where the hero is killed or loses. That’s what he thinks FIST Director Norman Jewison’s decision to end on such a dark note hurt the film and conveyed the message that evil will always triumph. It is noteworthy that, like script and filming, First blood ended with John Rambo being shot by his mentor Trautman (via EW). Stallone always hated this ending and railed against it because he felt it signaled to Vietnam veterans that there was no hope for them.

It’s very interesting to analyze Sylvester Stallone’s entire career with his mantra of “No Death” in mind…

Fortunately, test viewers also despised this finale, so a new ending in which Rambo survives was used instead. It is very interesting to analyze the star’s entire career with his mantra of ‘No Death’ in mind. Even his remake of the dark Michael Caine thriller Get Carter twisted the original film’s dark finale so that the title character not only survived, but began a hopeful new chapter in his life.

Stallone’s no-death rule has tainted some of his films

Hopefully Stallone’s worst on-screen habit won’t affect Armor as well

The above Get Carter The remake seems to completely misunderstand the point of the 1971 film, right down to Carter emerging unscathed from his quest for revenge. Most of Stallone’s filmographies were blockbusters that wowed audiences, so it wouldn’t have made sense to end something like that cobra or Cliffhanger with the death of the protagonist. Despite it, Some films demand almost bleak results, but Stallone has shown he’s unwilling to deviate from his rule of death even if the story requires it.

Rambo 5 feels like it’s heading towards the ex-soldier’s inevitable death – instead, an end credits scene shows him getting on a horse and riding off into parts unknown.

Cunning contains a perfect example where Rambo, as filmed, died from his injuries in the final scene of 2019 Last blood. You can see the seriously wounded soldier rocking in his chair, which then stops. The star later changed his mind and used CGI to keep the chair moving. Considering the sequel was meant to end that Rambo In the film series, it feels as if the plot is building up to the ex-soldier’s inevitable death – instead, in an end credits scene, we see him mounting a horse and riding into parts unknown.

Another example is Rocky Vwhich was written with the titular boxer’s demise in mind. Given the new heights, the series would reach later in 2006 Rocky Balboa and the Believe Movies, it’s ultimately a good thing, the fifth movie not ends with Rocky dying after his fight with Tommy Gunn, but the hyped-up happy ending doesn’t fit Rocky Vs Final cut too.

Armor is Stallone’s first villainous role in 21 years

Stallone hasn’t played a villain since The Toymaker

Stallone was often open about his professional difficulties from the late 1990s to 2006 Rocky Balboahe was essentially forced out of Hollywood. The reason for this was several bombs, including Judge Dredd And Driven. At this time, he took on the role of the villain Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, which cast him as Agent Sebastian (aka The Toymaker), the designer of a dangerous virtual reality game. He hasn’t played a live-action antagonist since, and armor marks Stallone’s belated return to the role of villain.

Of course, only time will tell if Rook is truly a villain. It’s a shame that Stallone didn’t try out more villainous roles, as he can be genuinely menacing whenever a role calls for it. Rambo himself can be a bloodthirsty monster in battle and actually acts like a slasher villain in the final battle Last blood. Get Carter would undoubtedly have been a better film if his character had retained the villainous side of the original Caine version.

armor has a solid B-movie premise, but also has real star power in Sylvester Stallone. Unlike most low-budget action films, it actually looks like Stallone will have a starring role, rather than an extended cameo meant to lure in his fans. The film would carve itself a small but unique footnote in the actor’s filmography if Rook bites the bullet in the finale, however Considering how ironclad Stallone’s “no death” rule has been for nearly half a century, there are no guarantees armor will be the one to break it.

Source: EW