From his start as a struggling actor in Roger Corman-produced cheap exploitation movies to an Oscar winning movie in a matter of a few years is the type of Cinderella story that most actors dream of.
Yet, the problem with Sylvester Stallone has always been his inflated ego. Many times in his career spanning back to the late 1960s when he appeared as extras as he tried to make ends meet, Stallone has bounced back like his creation Rocky Balboa. And just like the 2006 movie, he wrote the line, “It’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving.”
There have been the Rocky, Rambo and Expandable movies each varying on how well they’re made. But there was one franchise he could’ve been involved with but he had to walk away. Following the hits First Blood and Rocky III, Stallone had the clout to do whatever he wanted. Yet, he decided to write and direct the horrible Staying Alive, a sequel to Saturday Night Fever in which he appeared in the quintessential cameo trope of passing by John Travolta’s Tony Manero as they give each other a look like they recognize each other.
The movie was heavily panned by critics but it made money and that’s all that matters. Then there was Rhinestone, which could easily be forgotten except Stallone admitted he turned down Romancing the Stone to do this movie. My guess is that he didn’t like the character of Jack Colton appearing about 20 minutes into the movie, even though many actors have said Kathleen Turner was difficult to work with.
But it wasn’t this franchise. No, it was Beverly Hills Cop, the movie that made Eddie Murphy the star he is. Stallone was approached with the script and was interested in doing it as long as he could rewrite it and make it more action-oriented taking out the comedy and having Det. Billy Rosewood killed off very early in the movie.
Stallone’s script revisions were too costly so he walked away. It’s interesting that even for an 1980s movie, the original BHC has minor action scenes that bookend the movie. It shows you how great Murphy has been at appealing to a mass audience.
It’s not that it mattered, because what worked in 1982 could work in 1985 as Stallone made Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rocky IV, which made a lot of money. So, he decided to revive what he wanted to do with BHC and made Cobra which is about a Los Angeles cop Lt. Marion “Cobra” Cobretti who works the “Zombie Squad” because he’s brought in to do what no one else wants to do.
The movie opens when Cobra being brought in to blow away a psychopath (Marco Rodriquez) who walks into a supermarket and starts blasting at people and the shelves with a pump-action shotgun. He threatens to blow up the place which Cobra replies with a deadpan, “I don’t shop here.”
It’s just that the killer was part of a “New World” being led by the “Night Slasher” (Brian Thompson), a hulking psychopathic killer. This movie was released almost a year after Richard Ramirez, aka The Night Stalker, was apprehended when a East Lost Angeles community nearly saved the state of California millions by beating him within an inch of his life.
It’s easy to see the similarities between Cobra and Dirty Harry as this seems like a revenge fanfiction against Ramirez. But while Clint Eastwood brought some depth to that iconic role, Stallone just turns Cobra into a thug with a badge. He does the normal gruff stuff like shoving a reporter’s face into the corpse of some innocent shopper killed at the supermarket as well as pushing a convertible Impala out of the way so he can park near his apartment. He also rips the shirt off the Hispanic driver upset, revealing his mic tape to his chest.
Both Cobra and Dirty Harry have Reni Santoni playing the partner of the main character. Here, Santoni is Sgt. Tony Gonzales who has a candy fixation and constantly seen eating candy bars. And their actions are invoking the ire of their bureaucratic supervisor, Monte (Andrew Robinson). Incidentally, Robinson also played the Scorpio Killer in Dirty Harry.
Originally, Monte was supposed to be part of New World, but this was cut. Hey, at least Robinson wasn’t cut out of the whole role entirely which would happen on his next movie Extreme Prejudice. A lot is done in editing process to make movies flow easier. But Cobra has become notorious as a victim of Stallone’s behavior.
It was released the week after Top Gun. And to ensure they could get more showings at the summer movie theaters, they cut the theatrical version down to a runtime of 89 minutes with credits. Stallone’s aides instructed the extras and even supporting actors not to look directly at him or speak to him. Thompson said during the climax, he had to read his dialogue to a production assistant off camera because Stallone was watching a basketball game.
Stallone had even become smitten with Brigette Nielsen on the set of Rocky IV and had her hired as his love interest Ingrid Knudsen, a model who becomes a target of the Night Slasher when she witnesses one of his murders. He reportedly would spend most of the time on set at the beginning wooing her and showing off. Ric Waite, who was the director of photography, on the movie took Stallone aside and told him he need to act more professional. Stallone shaped up briefly but by the end of the production, he had gone back to his old ways.
It’s been suspected that Stallone nabbed George P. Cosmatos as the director because the filmmaker would listen to Stallone’s “suggestions.” It’s been rumored Cosmatos acted as a “ghost director” to get past restrictions with the Directors Guild of America. Stallone and Cosmatos had both worked together previously on the second Rambo movie. However, it’s believed Stallone called the shots mostly on that movie as the unofficial director. He would also take the reigns on his Tango & Cash, another movie with a troubled production.
At the end of the day, this isn’t one of Stallone’s greatest movies but one of his cheesiest. My guess was that Stallone was trying to make Cobra is own version of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Commando which had come out while the movie was in production. But yet, Schwarzenegger’s Matrix in that movie is doing what he can to save his daughter’s life and that means running from the law. Here Cobretti seems to act like the rules don’t apply to him. Even Dirty Harry had to face the consequences for some of his actions.
Cobra is set at Christmastime but I’m guessing that’s because they didn’t want to spend time making new sets and just used it all as free production design.
Incidentally, both Schwarzenegger and Nielsen would later confirm they had an affair while filming Red Sonja. But the marriage of Stallone and Nielsen wouldn’t last and they divorced in 1987, the same year Beverly Hills Cop II was released. There’s also an in-joke in the movie where Rosewood (played by Judge Reinhold) has a Cobra movie poster in his apartment.
Cobra was a hit making $160 million worldwide. But the basic plot leaves a lot to be desired. What exactly is the “New World” supposed to be. Thompson does what he can with the role and you feel bad because he was just starting out. People say despite his deep voice and rough facial features, he’s actually a very nice guy but gets stuck playing bad guys and villains. The Night Slasher has his own love interest in Nancy Stalk (Lee Garlington), a police officer. I always found this a better story than Cobretti and Knudsen who just seem to be together because the story requires it.
Maybe they’ll release the original version like they did with the Rocky IV Director’s Cut.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 