Nighthawks (1981)

 

Staying Alive (1983)

 

Five years later, Tony Manero's Saturday Night Fever is still burning. Now he's strutting toward his biggest challenge yet: succeeding as a dancer on the Broadway stage. 

Stolid sequel of Saturday Night Fever doesn't live up to the quality of its predecessor, even annoys with Travolta as a dislikeable nag and with a third-rate 80s soundtrack; the show finale is a bit amusing, though.

Halliwell  (no star): "Fragile sequel to Saturday Night Fever, with some of its frenetic quality but none of its impact." 

Maltin**: "...fashioned by director/cowriter Stallone into a ROCKY-type vehicle for Travolta...Broadway show finale, Satan's Alley (billed, with amazing accuracy, as a musical trip to Hell), is a camp classic, but neither the script nor the music...are in a class with the original 1977 film."

 

Lock Up (1989)

 

 

With only six months left of his sentence, an inmate is transferred from a minimum security prison to a maximum security prison by a vindictive warden.

Tough prison camp thriller is watchable for its cast, but adds nothing new to the genre.
 

Halliwell (no star): "Nasty and sadistic, with no redeeming qualities."

Maltin*1/2: "Missing are Linda Blair, John Vernon, a lesbian guard, and 15 gratuitous showers; you do get a body-shop montage backed by Ides of March's "Vehicle." Bottom of the world, ma." 

 

 

Escape Plan (2013)

When a structural-security authority finds himself set up and incarcerated in the world's most secret and secure prison, he has to use his skills to escape with help from the inside.

Mainly efficient, but unambitious sci-fi actioner is watchable for its nice pairing of Stallone and Schwarzenberger.

Maltin**1/2: "Better-than-expected prison drama...Blessedly old-fashioned vehicle for Stallone allows him to be tough as nails...Totally ludicrous but entertaining on its own terms. It's fun to watch Sly and Arnold together."

Rocky III (1982)

After winning the ultimate title and being the world champion, Rocky falls into a hole and finds himself picked up by a former enemy.

From memory: It's the same per aspera ad astra story all over again; not really bad, but quite redundant.

Halliwell (no star): "Unnecessary regurgitation of bits and pieces from the first two Rocky movies."

Maltin**1/2: "Stallone's got a winning formula, but enough already."

Sylvester Stallone

Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvester_Stallone

Rocky II (1979)

Rocky struggles in family life after his bout with Apollo Creed, while the embarrassed champ insistently goads him to accept a challenge for a rematch.

From memory: More mediocre remake than sequel is at times rather saccharine, but the boxing match is well staged.

Halliwell (no star): "Over-inflated but under-nourished sequel with absolutely new to offer."

Maltin***: "Officially a sequel, this slightly silly film is more of a rehash, but the climactic bout (and build up to it) hits home."

Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

Bullet to the Head (2012)

After watching their respective partners die, a New Orleans hitman and a Washington, D.C. detective form an alliance in order to bring down their common enemy.

Violent, but unoriginal actioner with a buddy team that doesn't fit together too well.

Maltin**: "Old-school action yarn asks you to check your brains at the door, which is the only way to derive any enjoyment  from it. Kang is a weak partner for Stallone, a larger-than-life cartoon character in this would-be buddy action film.And most of the "action" is extreme violence."

Death Race 2000 (1975)

Halliwell*: "Cheaply made macabre satire,quite well enough made to please addicts of the blackest of black comedy"

Blatantly exploitative satire with over-the-top black humour; quite entertaining for fans of the genre.

Maltin**1/2: "Outrageous tongue-in-cheek action film...Fast-paced fun, marred by unnecessary gore."

Michael eldon/Psychotronic: "This cartoonish fantasy-comedy remains a popular favorite while its serious and expensive model, Rollerball, is forgotten."

Nighthawks (1981)

A conservative street cop reluctantly agrees to terminate an international terrorist who has demanded media attention.

Effective, but simple-minded thriller offering a psychopath terrorist without a cause and a gutsy cop; Keith Emerson wrote the interesting (and dated) score.

Halliwell (no star): "Kojak-style thriller with a rather glum attitude to its subject."

Maltin***: "Exciting story...On target from the first scene to the fade-out, with plenty of hair-raising moments along the way."

Grudge Match (2013)

A pair of aging boxing rivals are coaxed out of retirement to fight one final bout -- 30 years after their last match.

Only mildly entertaining star vehicle with a lot of flat jokes; its attraction are the two stars, but one wishes they had got a better script.

Maltin**: "Watchable but awfully contrived vehicle for two aging but agile actors; they deserve better material than this connect-the-dots formula picture, a feeble follow-up to RAGING BULL and ROCKY."

Cliffhanger (1993)

A botched mid-air heist results in suitcases full of cash being searched for by various groups throughout the Rocky Mountains.

Over-the-top actioner with some spectacular, but very unlikely mountaineering stunts; quite entertaining, if you don't take it too seriously.

Halliwell*: "Enjoyably silly action adventure, with some spectacular, edgy stunts, although it never touches reality at any point and has one of the more ludicrous lip-smacking villains this side of melodrama."

Maltin***: "Eye-popping photography.., white-knuckle stunts, a swift pace, and entertaining characters add up to what a well-made action film should be: tons of fun. Story is thin, though."