"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows," Sylvester Stallone once said. After years of struggling as an actor upon arriving in New York City in 1969 and later in Hollywood in 1974, "Sly" Stallone finally won critical acclaim as an actor for his co-starring role in The Lords of Flatbush. Stallone then achieved his greatest critical and commercial success as an actor and screenwriter, starting in 1976 with his role as boxer Rocky Balboa, in the first film in the successful Rocky series (1976–present), for which he also wrote the screenplays.

In 1977, Stallone became the third actor in cinema to be nominated for two Academy Awards, for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor. From the mid-1980s through to the late 1990s, he would go on to become one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors of that era by appearing in a slew of commercially successful action films — despite the fact that they are generally panned by critics.

Update September 23, 2023: In honor of the release of The Expendables 4, this article has been updated with even more Sylvester Stallone films.

Stallone saw a decline in popularity in the early 2000s, however, but rebounded back to prominence with additional Rocky and Rambo installments. And then, of course, there were The Expendables films. Stallone is the only actor in the history of American cinema to have starred in a box office number-one film across six consecutive decades. With The Expendables 4 finally out in theaters, let's look at Sylvester Stallone's best movies.

13 Escape Plan (2013)

Escape Plan
Lionsgate

Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger star in the action-packed prison escape thriller movie Escape Plan, resulting in a really great movie for action fans. In the movie, Stallone's Ray Breslin and Schwarzenegger's Emil Rottmayer/ Victor Mannheim team up with some other fellow inmates to get out of a high-security prison, which is actually a massive ship floating in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Related: Rocky vs Rambo: Sylvester Stallone Details Who Would Win in a Fight

The movie has some great action sequences and a few twists that make it a really entertaining watch. The performance of the two lead actors was also great, as was the chemistry between them. The movie was not only well-acclaimed but a commercial success as well. This movie is also the first movie in the Escape Plan film series, which has two other movies, all starring Stallone in the role of Breslin.

12 Cliffhanger (1993)

Cliffhanger
TriStar Pictures

If there is any action star of the '90s that could have made a great action movie about a mountain climber interesting and thrilling, it's Sylvester Stallone. Be warned, if you do suffer from vertigo, we strongly encourage you to stay away from this flick. The '90s had no shortage of spectacular action movies, including Terminator 2, The Matrix, and even Stallone's own Demolition Man. These sadly led Cliffhanger to fall behind the greats, but that is not to take away from the films tension, thrilling action, and amazing '90s action movie cheese.

May we bring to account the tragic and intense scene of Sarah's death, which has been parodied many times, most infamously by Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. Cliffhanger was an expedition into what made '90s action movies so iconic, and is among Stallone's best from that decade.

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10 Nighthawks (1981)

Two men talking with a cityscape in the background
Universal Pictures

Nighthawks is a crime-thriller movie that follows a couple of international terrorists who end up in New York and a couple of police officers who are transferred to the Anti-Terrorist Action Command squad to deal with them. This neo-noir movie is filled with suspension and some great action scenes where Stallone, in the role of Sergeant Deke DaSilva truly shines. Billy Dee Williams in the role of Sergeant Matthew Fox, the right-hand man of DaSilva, and Rutger Hauer in the role of Wulfgar, a notorious terrorist, also make this movie a worthwhile watch.

9 The Expendables (2010)

Jason Statham and Silvester Stallone
Lionsgate Films

Sure, this action-packed epic, full of some of the best action movie stars in cinematic history, may not exactly be breaking any new ground or be as well-written and directed as Stallone's earlier movies, but The Expendables is one exciting thrill ride. If this movie is anything, it's a brilliant homage and culmination of many great action movies before it. Full of cheesy one-liners, over-the-top action, and a brilliant cast, The Expendables is an incredibly fun thrill ride. The biggest draw is the phenomenal cast, with Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis, to name a few. Seeing all these incredible action stars share the screen together is a dream come true for many action movie fans.

8 Tango and Cash (1989)

Tango and Cash
Warner Bros. 

Tango and Cash tells us the story of two rival cops from the LAPD: Westside's Raymond Tango (Sylvester Stallone), and Eastside's Gabriel Cash (Kurt Russell), who try to compete with each other even without ever having met. When they are framed for the murder of an FBI agent and go to prison together, they hatch a plan to clear their names and get out of prison. Even though their plan is not executed perfectly, in the end, they can clear their names and join the LAPD again. The movie, although filled with a lot of action, is essentially a buddy cop movie. The two main protagonists have really great chemistry and make this movie really entertaining with their banter.

7 Demolition Man (1993)

Demolition-Man-(1993)-1
Warner Bros.

Before they teamed up for The Expendables 3, Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes first starred in Demolition Man, which also features a young Sandra Bullock. Stallone plays John Spartan, a risk-taking police officer with a reputation for causing destruction while carrying out his work. After a failed attempt to rescue hostages from evil crime lord Simon Phoenix (Snipes), they're both sentenced to be cryogenically frozen in 1996. Phoenix is thawed for a parole hearing in 2032 but escapes. Society has changed, and all crime has seemingly been eliminated.

Stallone has always been a fan of Demolition Man. While the critical response was a bit mixed when the sci-fi action film was released in 1993, Demolition Man has maintained a cult following over the years and is looked back at fondly by many of Stallone's fans as one of his best films. On Instagram, Stallone recently shared an image describing Demolition Man. The text on the photo says, "In 1993, most critics dismissed a one-of-a-kind movie as just a stupid action flick with 'excessive explosions.' Except that, it smartly predicted and joked about political correctness, toxic masculinity, racial bias, the hysteria around cancel culture, and even more. By now, it's obvious that the movie was brilliant. But it still doesn't get enough credit."

6 Oscar (1991)

oscar-1991

The 1991 movie Oscar stars Sylvester Stallone in the role of a former gangster named Angelo 'Snaps' Provolone, who leaves a life of crime to live a 'straight' life, like he promised his father on his deathbed. The movie is one of the very few instances of Stallone stepping out of his usual action genre films and step into a comedic one, and it is a success. Along with the rest of the cast, Stallone's performance in this movie is entertaining and hilarious. It is always fun to see a former gangster completely out of his element trying to juggle a life of honesty while also solving various family issues.

5 Cop Land (1997)

Cop-Land scene
Miramax Films

In Cop Land, the Sheriff of a suburban New Jersey community populated by New York City police officers slowly discovers the town is a front for mob connections and corruption. James Mangold's 1997 American neo-noir crime drama features an all-star cast with Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Peter Berg, Robert Patrick, and Michael Rapaport. Stallone portrays the sheriff who comes into conflict with the corrupt NYC officers. It's a subdued, quietly heroic performance by Sylvester Stallone and is not to be missed. It's no surprise, then, that the film went on to gross more than $63 million on just a $15 million budget.

4 First Blood (1982)

Rambo_Sylvester Stallone
Orion Pictures

Until 1982, Sylvester Stallone's films were not big box office successes unless they were Rocky sequels, and none received the critical acclaim achieved with the first Rocky. This changed with the successful action film First Blood, in which he portrayed the PTSD-plagued soldier John Rambo. Originally an adaptation of the eponymous novel by David Morell, First Blood’s script was significantly altered by Stallone during the film’s production. Stallone would play the role in a total of five Rambo films (1982–2019). In the first film, Rambo must rely on his combat and survival skills when a series of brutal events results in him having to survive a massive manhunt by police and government troops near the small town of Hope, Washington.

Related: 13 Best Action Movies From the 80s, Ranked

Initial reviews were mixed, but the film was a box office success, grossing $156 million at the box office. In 1985, it also became the first Hollywood blockbuster to be released in China, holding the record for the largest number of tickets sold for an American film until 2018. In addition to the handful of sequels, First Blood's success spawned a franchise that also includes an animated TV series, comic book series, novel series, several video games, and even a Bollywood remake.

3 Suicide Squad (2021)

suicide-squad-nanaue

One of the most recent successful movies from the DCEU is The Suicide Squad, which is a standalone sequel to the 2016 movie of the same name. The movie has a star-studded cast, including Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, Viola Davis, Joel Kinnaman, John Cena, and of course, Sylvester Stallone. Stallone lent his voice to the character of Nanaue, more commonly known as King Shark, who is a shark-human hybrid with the body of a shark but the legs of a human. Stallone did a fantastic job bringing the character of Nanaue to life and instantly became a fan favorite.

2 Creed (2015)

Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in Rocky
Warner Bros. Pictures

Creed was directed by Ryan Coogler (Black Panther) from a screenplay written by Coogler, Aaron Covington, and Sylvester Stallone himself — who wrote all the scenes and dialogues with his character in the film. Both a sequel and spin-off to the Rocky franchise, Michael B. Jordan stars as Adonis "Donnie" Johnson Creed, Apollo Creed's son, with Stallone reprising the role of Rocky Balboa and Tessa Thompson starring as Creed's love interest. The film reunites Jordan with Coogler after the success of 2013's Fruitvale Station.

Creed was released on the 40th anniversary of the date of the opening scene in 1976's Rocky. The film received critical acclaim, with praise directed at the performances (particularly those of Jordan and Stallone). For his performance, Stallone deservedly brought home the Golden Globe that year, as well as his first Academy Award nomination since the original film. Creed II was released in November 2018 to critical and commercial success. And we can't wait for Creed III, which has unfortunately been delayed and will be releasing March 3. Creed III is also said to be a completely different story, what this means, we will only have to wait to find out.

1 Rocky (1976)

Rocky
United Artists 

And then there's the original Philly boxer himself. Rocky tells the rags-to-riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), an uneducated, kind-hearted working-class, Italian-American and small-time club fighter who, while working as a debt collector for a loan shark in the slums of Philadelphia, gets a shot at the world heavyweight championship. The film also stars Talia Shire as Rocky's love interest "Adrian!", Burt Young as Adrian's brother Paulie, Burgess Meredith as Rocky's trainer Mickey and Carl Weathers as reigning champion Apollo Creed.

Made on a budget of just under $1 million, Rocky proved to be a sleeper hit, earning $225 million in global box office receipts and becoming the highest-grossing film of 1976. The film was critically acclaimed and solidified Stallone's career, beginning his rise to prominence as a major movie star. Critics consider Rocky one of the greatest sports films ever made, and the American Film Institute ranked it the second-best in the genre, after Raging Bull, in 2008. The film has spawned eight sequels, with more on the way!