Summary

• Stallone's workaholic nature has sometimes strained his relationships, which he its in Netflix documentary "Sly".
• "Sly" explores how Stallone used the Rocky movies to express his personal and professional struggles, with "Rocky Balboa" being his proudest achievement.
• Filming "The Expendables" took a serious toll on Stallone's health, causing him to suffer injuries that changed his approach to work and prioritize his family.

Sylvester Stallone has revealed in Netflix's documentary Sly that there's one hit movie he has physically never recovered from making. Just as the streamer did with their 2023 Arnold documentary, Netflix's Sly takes a look at the life and career of the titular star. It charts Stallone's tough upbringing to his becoming a movie star almost overnight following the release of Rocky, and his peaks and valleys in the decades since. It's an honest, intimate look at the movie icon, while also examining his complicated relationship to the business he's made his name in.

Sylvester Stallone's movie franchises are also explored, including how he used the Rocky movies to vent his own personal and professional struggles. He labels 2006's Rocky Balboa his proudest personal achievement as a filmmaker, both for the movie itself and for getting it produced in the face of serious opposition from studios. The movie's success led to a new chapter in his career and a franchise that would take a serious toll on his health.

Sly Reveals Stallone's Injuries On Expendables Changed His Life

Following the success of Rocky Balboa and Rambo, Stallone set about creating a new saga for himself. He decided to make a movie that gathered together all the biggest action stars of yesteryear into one movie and dubbed it The Expendables. Stallone not only wrote and starred, but he directed it too. The production was a famously grueling one for its leading man, and Stallone even broke his neck filming The Expendables during a scene where his character Barney fights Steve Austin's Paine.

In Netflix's Sly, the subject himself its "Truthfully, I've never fully recovered from Expendables 1. It did such a number on my body, I've never been the same." Aside from his neck injury, he dislocated his shoulders and suffered from bronchitis and thrush during filming. Given that he was the main star and director, this didn't give Stallone much wiggle room to rest and recover during filming either, so he had little choice but to push through to complete it.

Why Filming The Expendables Was So Stressful For Stallone

Stallone was no stranger to starring and directing movies, having helmed most of the Rocky sequels and 2008's Rambo. The Expendables was arguably the biggest film he's taken on, and in addition to all the other jobs he was doing, he performed many of his own fights and stunts too. As seen in the making of documentary Inferno, his other responsibilities left him little time to rehearse for his big fight with Austin, where he later fractured his neck.

Stallone's wife and daughters were also present for much of the production, and they had to watch him suffer and bleed for his art, which involved a few surgeries. The film turned out to be a major success and spawned The Expendables movie franchise, with Stallone having appeared in each outing. Nevertheless, Sly reveals the toll the experience took on both his health and work ethic. The star had injured himself many times in past action movies, but the first Expendables was the one that made him reexamine his work/life balance.

The Expendables Changed Stallone's Approach To Work

It's not a coincidence that Stallone hasn't directed anything since The Expendables, leaving that task to other filmmakers like Simon West. He was set to helm 2018's Creed II before that production was handed to Steven Caple Jr. The star said he realized part of the problem on Expendables was that he was still, despite his age, seeking people's approval, and working too hard to match their expectations. He realized he no longer needed the proverbial "pat on the head" for a job well done, and the damage he inflicted on himself wasn't ultimately worth it.

Sly reveals that after Expendables Stallone prioritized his family over work, which meant making fewer movies and taking less risks with stunts. Given his age, this was always going to be a smart move, but his injuries made it clear he was past taking the same chances. The fourth film featured barely any physical action for Barney, who claims to have hurt his back and is unable to get too rowdy.