He took a real chance insisting that he play the lead in Rocky. Anyone who can accomplish what he has in Hollywood and remain a pretty decent guy deserves accolades. Besides he's a paisan.
I think the unspoken tragedy of Stallone's career is that his break-out part was an Oscar-nominated, dramatic part...but the rest of his career oriented around action movies. Some were terrific, but really that pigeonholed him and in some cases, wasted that talent. The fateful period was the late 70s when dramas F.I.S.T. and PARADISE ALLEY flopped and FIRST BLOOD was his first hit non-ROCKY movie.
But even as an action figure, he sure made some dumb choices. What the hell was he thinking with OVER THE TOP, the world's sole (so far) movie about arm wrestling?
Still he was involved in some good movies. ROCKY, CLIFFHANGER, COPLAND, FIRST BLOOD, hell I actually enjoyed his recent BULLET TO THE HEAD which critics and audiences ignored. I also have a fondness for the flawed but entertaining DEMOLITION MAN.
