“Sly” is a documentary that looks at the amazing career of superstar Sylvester Stallone, who became famous through three big movie series.
Review: At the start, “Sly” is interesting, but when they talk about the “Rocky” and “Rambo” stories, it seems like they run out of new things to say. It feels like they’re just repeating what we already know about Stallone’s success in Hollywood. While “Sly” has potential, it eventually loses its way. A big part of the documentary is about Stallone’s relationship with his father and his famous “Rocky” and “Rambo” movies. They talk to famous people like Quentin Tarantino, Henry Winkler, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Talia Shire, which is cool, but the overall result is not that exciting.
The documentary does have some good parts, especially in the first half. There’s a touching moment when Stallone goes back to his old neighborhood in New York, where he grew up. He even goes back to the theater where “Rocky” first showed, a place he used to work at as an usher. But the documentary has some problems too. It mostly stays in Stallone’s home, and they don’t talk much about his family. Stallone talks about how “Rocky” was rejected by many producers, but it would have been nice to hear from Irwin Winkler, the producer of “Rocky,” who wrote about it in his own book.
Still, the documentary does a good job of showing Stallone’s softer and more human side. It’s touching when he talks about the next 20 years of his life and how hard he’s willing to work. His difficult relationship with his father is a big part of the film. Stallone also talks about how he decided to become an actor after seeing Steve Reeves in “Hercules,” and he got encouragement from a Harvard professor. The documentary also explores his friendships with actors Henry Winkler and Arnold Schwarzenegger, especially after they worked together in “The Expendables” movies.
The documentary is good because it gets Stallone to admit that he regrets spending so much time on his movies and not enough with his family. But it leaves out any mention of Stallone using steroids to keep his strong body for his movies. They briefly talk about two of his other movies, “Copland” and “Oscar,” but it would have been nice to hear more about them. While watching the documentary, you might wish there was more information about the important events in Stallone’s career. However, “Sly” is a nice gift for fans of Stallone, even if it might not be that exciting for others.