Warning: Spoilers for Alarum below!After his new movie,Alarumscored a bleak 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it might be time for Sylvester Stallone to return to a dependable franchise. Sadly for fans ofSly Stallone’s action movies, the last ten years have been slim pickings.Stallone hasn’t made a good action movie sinceEscape Plan, and Sly has been on a record run of duds since 2013.Expendables 4was a critical and commercial disaster in 2023, while his Prime superhero flickSamaritanwas quickly forgotten.
Stallone’sEscape Plansequels and the STV thrillerBacktracealso earned poor critical notices. His most successful movies in recent years have beenGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2and3andThe Suicide Squad, but he only made cameos in the former series and was a voiceover in the latter. Whilethe ending ofAlarummight set up a potential sequel, the film’s critical panning and lack of buzz make that doubtfulfor now. He also pulled out of aCliffhangersequel, which was later retooled as a reboot.
Sylvester Stallone’s Alarum And Armor Both Scored 0% On Rotten Tomatoes
Stallone’s most recent action movies are among his worst
Stallone is having fun inAlarum, but the surrounding action/spy thriller is a visually drab slog. Any hope it might have redeemed his previous movie was also in vain, asbothAlarumandArmorearned 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. WhileArmorisslightlybetter than its critical reception indicates, both are a long way from the star’s best efforts. Both movies are content to recycle better action flicks that came before them and are lacking in imagination and budget.
The various shootouts inAlarumare neutered by obvious CGI gunfire and squibs, while the editing is far too choppy. Stallone did what he could to elevate both films, but with the core issue being undercooked, derivative screenplays and tiny budgets, he can only do so much.Alarum’sresponse caps off a cycle of disappointing action films for the screen icon, withExpendables 4only nabbing 14%, whileSamaritanearned 38%.
Rambo 6 could fix Stallone’s action slump
In 2023, Stallone revealed at a Toronto International Film Festival Q&A (viaJoBlo.com) that producers were still interested in making a newRambo. The star, on the other hand, wasn’t as keen, quipping “What am I fighting? Arthritis?” He felt the character was pretty much “done,” following the events ofRambo: Last Blood. That 2019 outing closes with a badly wounded Rambo riding off on his horse from the battlefield that was once his family farm, leaving his fate ambiguous. It might be the time to give Rambo one last ride, however.
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Alarum(2024)
Unfortunately,Last Blooditself was a letdown too, and undid what was already a great finale for the character with the final scene of 2008’sRambo. The fifth film was critically derided, with evenFirst Bloodauthor David Morrell - the creator of Rambo - voicing his dislike of the sequel.Rambo deserved a better final chapter, but Stallone still has the chance to bring the ex-soldier out of retirementfor one final mission.
… it would be nice to see Stallone in a theatrical release where he’s the undisputed leading man afterExpendables 4andAlarumkept him on the sidelines.
The types of action movies stars like Stallone and Schwarzenegger rose to fame are becoming rarer on the big screen.WithRambo 6, Stallone would at least get a guaranteed theatrical push, and a larger budgetthan the chintzy likes ofAlarum. Stallone is still more than convincing when it comes to performing action too, and it would be nice to see him in a theatrical release where he’s the undisputed leading man afterExpendables 4andAlarumkept him on the sidelines.
Stallone Should Step Away From “Geezer Teaser” Productions
These low-budget STV movies are seriously lacking in quality control
ALos Angeles Timesfeature revealed thatArmorwas filmed in only nine days, with Stallone earning a reported $3.5 million for a single day of filming. That’s a very lucrative day’s work by any measure - and is all the more impressive considering how much screentime the filmmakers squeezed from it.Armorbelongs to the “geezer teaser” subgenre, which involves nabbing a recognizable name (e.g. Stallone, Nicolas Cage, etc), paying them a lot of a day or two of work, and then selling it like they are the starsdespite minimal screentime.
Alarum Review: Sylvester Stallone’s Streak Continues With This Ludicrously Awful Action Thriller
Alarum may have a solid premise and cast, but the fun stops with this subpar action thriller that fails to tap into the talent’s potential.
Stallone has partaken in a few of these projects in the last decade, includingAlarumand hisEscape Plansequels. In his defense, he always appears engaged and never phones them in - but the surrounding films never meet him halfway.They’re uniformly mediocre to bad, and if Stallone wants to pull out of his current slump, he should avoid these “geezer teasers"altogether.
Stallone needs to redirect his focus to finding good material, and he still has some promising projects in development. There’s his long-mooted adaptation of the action/horror novelHunter, where he plays a tracker chasing down a government created monster. There’s also the dystopian thrillerLittle America, set in a future where America has gone bankrupt and many have fled to “Little America” in China. Seeing Stallone pop up in another STV filler movie won’t do his RT rating any good, so he needs to put attention on promising scripts.
What Rambo 6 Could Be About
A new Rambo could take several directions
Rambo: Last Blood’sendingdidn’t directly set up another movie - aside from the vague notion of John becoming a fugitive.Stallone later suggested Rambo could flee to a reservationsince the character is of German and Native American heritage. He could hide out there until the smoke clears over the events ofLast Blood, but there’s still a question over who or what Rambo would be fighting. If nothing else, it would open up John’s backstory some more.
Rambo 6could also resurrect Stallone’s controversial attempt to turnHunterinto a sequel. He briefly attempted this with the fifth movie, butthe concept of Rambo fighting an actual monster led to an online backlash and the star dropped the idea. If he’s having difficulties gettingHunteroff the ground, wrapping up it up inRambopackaging and using the beast as a metaphor for John’s dark side could have potential. Author David Morrell (viaFlashback Files) also described how he and Stallone once worked on a “heartbreaking” idea forRambo 5that was rejected.
The year [Stallone] made CREED in Philadelphia, he called me one day. He wanted to make a final Rambo film. And for weeks we worked out a plot that was heartbreaking. This was a film festival movie, an award movie. I can’t talk about what the story was, but it was a perfect ending.
Stallone could return to Morrell’s concept, and give the soldier the send-off he deserves.Rambois really the only viable franchise return Stallone can return to right now; he’s feuding with the producers ofRocky, while the failure the fourth movie killedThe Expendables. ARambo 6that sticks the landing could redeem the last movie and the star’s run of bad luck at the movies - it’s certainly a better prospect thanAlarum 2.
Alarum
Cast
Alarum, directed by Michael Polish, follows two rogue spies who have gone off-grid and married, triggering a global pursuit by international spy organizations. Set in a winter honeymoon cabin, they become targets as they are suspected of possessing a vital hard drive linked to the network known as Alarum.
Rambo
Beginning with the novel and the film First Blood in 1982, Rambo is an action-adventure franchise starring Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, a Vietnam War veteran embroiled in violent conflicts that test his survival skills. The series has enjoyed critical success over several decades, branching into comic books, video games, and more.
