Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Tulsa King season 2.WatchingTulsa Kingmakes me wonder why it took so long forSylvester Stalloneto show how great he is at playing a gangster. Stallone stars inTulsa Kingas Dwight Manfredi, a capo from a New York City mafia who was sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma to start his own criminal empire.Tulsa Kinghas also been a massive success for Stallone, and it’s one of thebest shows on Paramount+. I’m a big fan of bothTulsa Kingand Stallone, but the show has also highlighted something really confusing about the actor’s career.
Sylvester Stallone is one of the most legendary actors in Hollywood. He’s been an icon of both the action genre through hisRambofranchise, and the sports genre throughRocky. ThoughStallone’s best moviesoften dominate their genre, there’s one area he’s only recently broken into throughTulsa King: the crime genre. Though it’s a genre full of legendary actors like Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and even Denzel Washington, I can’t help but wonder why Stallone never got into it earlier, especially considering how good he is inTulsa King.
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Sylvester Stallone Plays A Great Gangster In Tulsa King
Tulsa Kingis, simply put, Sylvester Stallone’s best performance as a gangster, and it might be one of his best performances in general. Watching Stallone play Dwight makes me think he was purpose-built to play a mobster. He has everything a good gangster needs:Stallone is oozing with charisma to charm both enemies and allies, he’s more than capable of being an intimidating and imposing figure in suspenseful scenes, and he’s nearly perfect at proving how important and powerful Dwight is.Tulsa Kinghas also drawn out one of Stallone’s most emotional and versatile performances in years, and it’s shown me a side of the actor I rarely get to see.
What Time New Episodes Of Tulsa King Season 2 Release On Paramount+ (& When The Finale Is)
Sylvester Stallone’s time as an Oklahoma gangster is set to continue in Tulsa King season 2, and the new season is set to begin in September.
Stallone doesn’t just serveTulsa Kingwell, though, as the show also serves him. There have been a few great moments, like theending ofTulsa Kingseason 2, episode 3, where Stallone got a chance to play out some fantastic gangster scenes.Whether the show has him in a gunfight with a rival gang or in an attempted hit, Stallone has proven he can make a gangster scene as well as the likes of De Niro or Pacino.Tulsa Kingis so good, in fact, that I can’t help but wonder why Stallone never broke into the crime genre in the prime of his career.
Sylvester Stallone Has Played Gangsters Before - To Mixed Reviews
WhileTulsa Kingis certainly Stallone’s most recent outing as a gangster, it isn’t his first time playing a Mafioso.Stallone has played a handful of mobsters over the years in films likeOscar,F.I.S.T.,Avenging Angelo, andGet Carter. Most of those films, however, didn’t really capture just how well Stallone can play a gangster. Aside fromF.I.S.T., which was fairly well-received, the highestRotten Tomatoesscore Stallone received for a crime project beforeTulsa Kingwas 13%. With one notable outlier, most of Stallone’s gangster roles have been in underwhelming movies.
11%
67%
13%
Dwight “The General” Manfredi
89%
Another problem with Stallone’s previous crime movies is that he never played a gangster in the traditional sense.Avenging Angelowas an action-comedy that saw Stallone play a bodyguard for the mob, whileF.I.S.T.saw him as a blue-collar worker who ran his trucking union like a mob. Even the two movies where Stallone played proper gangsters don’t fit well into the crime genre:Oscarwas a comedy, andGet Carterwas more of a revenge actioner than a crime film.Tulsa Kingjust proves that with the right script, Stallone can play an amazing gangster.
Sylvester Stallone Could Have Been An All-Time Great Crime Actor
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching Stallone inTulsa King, but it also highlights something I find extremely disappointing: Sylvester Stallone could have been an all-time great crime actor.Tulsa King- and evenF.I.S.T.to an extent - is proof that Stallone has had the chops to play a gangster for most of his career.If he had started acting in the genre earlier, and taken roles in better movies, the name “Stallone” would be just as synonymous with mafia movies as Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Al Pacino or any of the other greats.
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I feel like the crime genre has been robbed of Stallone’s talents for decades, specifically because he could have told some great stories those other actors weren’t necessarily capable of. Stallone, for most of his career, was known for his physicality and strength. He could have filled a unique niche in the crime genre, and he could have played a mob boss who also served as his own muscle.I can only imagine how good a young Stallone would have been in a Martin Scorsese movie, and it’s a shame that we’ll never get to see that.
Tulsa King
Cast
Tulsa King follows New York mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi, who, after 25 years in prison, is exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, by his boss. Faced with the possibility of betrayal, he assembles a crew of unlikely characters to establish a criminal empire in unfamiliar territory.
Even though Stallone didn’t break into the crime genre in his acting prime,Tulsa Kingproves the old adage “better late than never” true. It’s been a treat to watch Stallone take over Oklahoma, and I’m glad that he’s gotten a chance to play a mob boss for two full seasons. The possibility ofTulsa Kingseason 3is also really exciting, just because I’ll take as much of Stallone playing a gangster as I can get. While it’s not the same as a Scorsese movie, I’m still glad thatTulsa Kinghas givenSylvester Stallonea chance to prove how good of an actor he is.
