Sylvester Stallone believes Sylvester Stallone action movies went on to dominate the box office throughout the 1980s and 1990s, even though he made his share of duds like Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. He also went on to front four Rambo sequels.

Outside of the original, the Rambo movies tended to meet a cold reception critically. After Stallone's career hit a slow period during the early 2000s, he made a comeback by reviving both the Rocky and Rambo sagas, with 2008's Rambo seeing the title soldier on a rescue mission in Burma. Even by the standards of previous entries, Rambo is teeth-gnashingly violent and brutal. It's a film where men, women and children die horrible deaths, and human bodies all but explode when hit by .50 rounds.

Sylvester Stallone Believes 2008's Rambo Is His Best Action Movie

Rambo is one of Stallone's best action films of the last 20 years

Stallone also wrote and directed Rambo, which by all s was a tough production. It's a sequel the star is very happy with, however, as Stallone told The Hollywood Reporter in 2022 that Rambo is one of his personal favorites of his own action movies.

One film I’m truly proud of — it’s the best action film I’ve ever done because it’s the most truthful — is Rambo IV, dealing with Burma, where they’ve had a civil war for 67 years. But I got excoriated because the movie’s so violent. And it is violent. It’s horrifying. It’s children being burnt alive. That’s what makes civil war worse than anything: It’s your neighbor, all of a sudden, killing you. I was really happy with that film, and I never thought it would ever reach the theater. I thought, “They’re never going to show this."

Stallone had spent years trying to find the right story for a fourth Rambo outing. At one point, Stallone planned to turn the book Homefront into Rambo 4, before deciding against it and retooling the adaptation as a Jason Statham vehicle instead. It was researching the conflict in Burma that inspired Stallone to set the story there, and he felt the intensity of the violence had to reflect reality. Rambo can be a tough watch for that reason, though it also features some expertly crafted setpieces.

Despite having a minimum of dialogue, Rambo features one of Stallone's best acting performances as the character. As a piece of action filmmaking, Rambo is certainly one of the best things Stallone has made in the past two decades too, beating out The Expendables or Escape Plan by a comfortable margin. It's disappointing that the series didn't end with Rambo, as the final entry, Last Blood, was a grim, self-serious closer for the franchise.

There's A Lot Of Competition For Stallone's Greatest Action Film

Rambo isn't even the best Rambo movie

It's great Stallone is so proud of his work on Rambo, but it would have to beat out many other films to be considered his best. Stallone once called First Blood his best action film, and there's a very strong case to be made that it is . The original Rambo features one of Sly's best physical performances and is loaded with taut setpieces and great ing performances. Rambo: First Blood Part 2 is the lesser movie, but it features some terrific action, while Stallone's Dirty Harry homage Cobra is one of action cinema's best guilty pleasures.

In 1993, Stallone delivered the one-two punch of Demolition Man and Cliffhanger, with the latter featuring some jaw-dropping stunts from its leading man. Tango & Cash is a buddy cop gem that paired Sly with a scenery-devouring Kurt Russell, while 1995's Assassins is an underrated hitman flick from the late, great Richard Donner. The Expendables movies never fully lived up to their potential, but the second instalment featured the best ensemble (including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Van Damme) and setpieces.

Even some of Stallone's more obscure offerings like Bullet to the Head make for a solid night's entertainment. The question of what is Sylvester Stallone's best movie will always come down to personal taste, but the trio of First Blood, Cliffhanger and Tango & Cash are hard to beat. Rambo deserves a spot on the top ten list, but outside of Stallone, it's doubtful many would place it in the top spot.

Source: THR