Rotten Tomatoes critics are going scorched earth in their reviews of Sylvester Stallone’s latest movie. Armor, the Stallone film in question, was quietly dropped on digital streaming services on November 22nd. To date, Rotten Tomatoes critics have given the film a 0% based on around 20 total reviews. Before Armor, Stallone’s lowest-rated film was 2014’s “Reach Me” with a score of 4% from 23 reviews. Several reviews noted that the film feels padded and overtly mediocre throughout its entire runtime.
Sylvester Stallone’s Armor Had Potential
Despite its horrific reception on Rotten Tomatoes, many reviewers did concede that the film had potential. Aaron Peterson of The Hollywood Outsider notably said that there are moments where the underlying promise shines through. However, he also says that Armor rarely meets the potential its concept had. A notable comment is that Stallone does his best to elevate the film. But, the overall experience is never more than a neutral one despite his best efforts.
Stallone’s Characters and Death
Any longtime fans of Stallone’s works will notice a running trend: his character never seems to die. Be it an outlandish action movie or thriller, the starring character always makes it to the end. Regardless of how little sense it makes for them to face no consequences for their actions. In Armor, Stalone’s flagship villain just walks away with no consequences for his actions during the film. In any other similar action movie, he would have died.
However, Sylvester Stallone has a longstanding rule that he will never kill off his character. He has had this as a rule he enforced for over 50 years now. He hasn’t died onscreen since 1978 and doesn’t like it when his characters die. The problem is in the characterization of Rook in the film as a mercenary and antihero. Given this, the fact that Rook can invalidate any consequences for his actions feels wrong.
Armor Isn’t as Bad as It Seems
The main problem with Armor is its lack of self-awareness in almost every aspect. It is another example of the movie formula referred to as a “geezer teaser”. The idea is to hire a star briefly and promote the movie with their name and fame. This subgenre tends to get trashed by critics for its reliance on name branding to sell tickets. Despite the issues with this formula, Armor is better than its Rotten Tomatoes rating suggests. The film is quite straightforward and sticks to its main narrative without getting distracted by unrelated subplots.
Final Thoughts
To say Sylvester Stallone’s film Armor was badly received would be an understatement. It managed to surpass 2014’s “Reach Me” in a race to the bottom. With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 0% from 20 overall reviews, the film was not positively received. Despite this, the film is not entirely bad and does have some good parts. It is extremely straightforward and sticks to the main plot without getting bogged down in side stories. Some characters also manage to be interesting despite the lackluster story and questionable decisions.
The problems that have resulted in this score are mostly that Armor does nothing new or exciting. Although, the main character entirely escaping consequences for his actions for no well-explained reason also doesn’t help matters. Another factor is Sylvester Stallone’s refusal to kill off his character. His last onscreen death was in 1978 and Armor continues this trend, logic and sense aside.
The fact that his survival invalidates any consequences for his actions doesn’t sit well with some critics. While an enjoyable watch, the movie is also rather contrived. It comes down to what a viewer expects out of it. Explosions and action scenes are certainly delivered on but a compelling plot, decidedly less so.
