Sylvester Stallone is one of the most sincere artists out there. With the Rocky franchise, Stallone proved he is an underrated screenwriter too. During his prime years, Stallone starred in iconic action movies like Cliffhanger, Demolition Man, and Daylight. He often includes real-world elements in his films to enhance their authenticity. Stallone believes that today’s superhero movies rely heavily on CGI (computer-generated imagery), which is not uncommon.
But the actor felt his era of blockbusters had something that current franchises like Marvel lacked. Although it’s every actor’s dream to star in an action movie, and even these movies bring billions of dollars at the box office, Stallone has some cruel thoughts about these movies (especially Marvel movies) for their reliance on CGI.
Stallone Slammed Marvel Movies Around the Time When Avengers: Endgame Dropped
Avengers: Endgame made history, earning over $2 billion globally and setting a new standard for action films. Sylvester Stallone, however, views these movies as just “fireworks” where “machines” handle everything. He once told Variety:
“These films now are scientific. They’re made by techno-wizards. They don’t have to interact with actors to the extent you used to, because the machines do the work. And that’s not to denigrate the actors. In a Marvel film, you’re not going into the subtleties. You’re dealing with a canvas so big, so huge, that it becomes to me almost like watching a fireworks show.”
Stallone hoped to achieve a similar effect with his last Rambo film. After four decades, the film remains the finest in its series and one of the greatest action films ever. He said:
“With this Rambo I’m looking at something much more simplified: Like man-on-man, in cave. It’s pretty simple. Really basic, no CGI.”
He once told the Hollywood Reporter, “Great action movies are like buying a vintage watch.” Stallone also praised classics like Dirty Harry and Bronson, where characters drove the action and the movie without relying on CGI.
Sylvester Stallone Has Issues with Superhero Movies, But He Made Few Exceptions
While Stallone had certain issues with modern superhero movies, he made some exceptions. He was featured in one of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy films and lent his voice to King Shark in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. In 2019, he starred his own superhero movie, Samaritan, which was available on Amazon Prime and had no connections to Marvel, DC, or other comic book universes. The actor to SyFy Wire:
“It’s not set in some super fantastic universe. It’s set among brick and concrete and identifiable situations in the neighborhoods we live in. And that’s what I liked about it. You could be standing next to him on an El or a bus and not even know you’re sitting next to some fella here that can literally lift the bus up. There’s a kind of simplicity to it, and it’s a simmering boil.”
The Samaritan presented a completely fresh concept, with Stallone portraying an aging, retired superhero. He was attracted to the project because the movie differed from any typical big-budget superhero movie. The film was smaller in scale, which resembles the action films he used to be part of earlier.