When you think about action films today, most of them concern high-stakes, high-intensity visual spectacles, but in the old days, it was all about the unadulterated violence between fighters. Among the many stars that were specialists in this genre, Sylvester Stallone had the reputation of being at the top with only a handful of others that could compete with him.
His reputation and respect as one of the premier action stars of his time comes from the numerous action films and franchises he has been a part of, including none other than The Expendables franchise. But during a time, Stallone had other considerations for the franchise, until he was inspired by one of the most revolutionary Western films in history to make it into a hardcore action franchise.
How The Wild Bunch Inspired Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables To Be An Action Film
If you’re a fan of the old-school action genre of films as well as the good old action stars from back in the day, then you might just coincidently be a fan of Sylvester Stallone. Even today, the star is renowned for his contributions to the golden era of action films in the film industry, and may very well be in the future too. Having such a persona and a resume behind him, it’s almost absurd to think that The Expendables, one of his most ruthless and hardcore action films was first set to be a dark comedy until a Western film changed his mind.
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In a past interview, the Rocky star opened up about how he was planning to make the aforementioned film a dark satire, but when he was in the planning process, he was just shifting gears, until he decided he would make it a straightforward, testosterone-fueled action flick. His inspiration came from 1969’s The Wild Bunch, which was one of the most controversial yet revolutionary Western films of its time, more than the legendary Clint Eastwood‘s revolutionary Unforgiven, which made rage-inducing violence mainstream. Stallone said:
“This started out as a dark comedy; it started out as a satire. Then we thought, ‘Let’s make a really hard R’ — then I go back. It constantly was being just brutally changed. It wasn’t until a week before filming that I said, ‘Let’s just make it this kind of movie.'”
While it may have been exciting to see Stallone delve into his more humourous side, it’s safe to say that many people were glad that his creative gears changed for the film.
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What Was The Wild Bunch About?
Taking a step back in time to the good old days of Western films set in the Wild West, The Wild Bunch tells the tale of an aging outlaw named Pike Bishop, who due to his advancing years, decides to go on a last heist to set him off for the rest of his life. Along with him, he teams up with other trusted outlaws, but when they go to execute their plan, they figure out that it was all a setup by Bishop’s former partner Deke Thornton, which gives way to some next-level action and violent sequences that forever changed the action genre for the times to come.
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The Expendables, streaming on Netflix.
Source: Nola
