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Stallone: 'Rambo' the Godfather of action flicks

Robert Denerstein, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 2, 2006 at midnight

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Hate action movies? Blame Rambo. Sylvester Stallone does.

The 60-year-old Stallone hit town Friday to talk about his new movie Rocky Balboa, which opens Dec. 20. It's the first Rocky since 1990's Rocky V.

Stallone, who says he loves the Rocky character, insists that Balboa won't be taking any more curtain calls. Stallone also admits that he got trapped in action-hero roles during the '80s, and appeared in the movie that may have launched the whole trend.

"I swear to you, the action didn't start until First Blood (1980)," said Stallone.

"If you read the book , it didn't register that big as action. The original character was despicable. He was a psychopath, and at the very end, he's killed. He had to be. He was a mad dog.

"By making Rambo likable, that was the birth of something that never would have had a birth. If Rambo had died there wouldn't have been that kind of big action film - and another one and another.

"I have this talk with Quentin Tarantino all the time," says Stallone, slipping into a dual personality.

As Tarantino: "He should have died."

As himself: "I know he should have died, but it's too late now."

As Tarantino: "I would have killed you."

As himself: "You weren't born. You'd have killed me with . . . ? With what? Your tricycle?"

For the record, Tarantino already had reached the advanced age of 17 in 1980.