Sly
Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): November 3, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
VarietyOwen GleibermanSep 18, 2023
Throughout the film, he’s so calmly but blazingly articulate, so candid about the processes of moviemaking and his strengths (and weaknesses) as an actor, so wise about the meaning of his own stardom, that I realized, with a touch of embarrassment, a prejudice I’ve been carrying around for 47 years. Deep in my reptile brain, I still think Sylvester Stallone is Rocky. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleNov 3, 2023
Stallone, often tortured in his movies, is cinema’s most tortured optimist. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperNov 3, 2023
For those of us who fell in love with “Rocky” and have stuck with him, it’s pure documentary gold when Sly recalls how the film was shaped. Read full review
75
ColliderChase HutchinsonNov 2, 2023
While there is certainly still much that you feel like you want to know about Stallone at the end when it all neatly wraps up, Sly manages to be a documentary befitting of its subject with unexpected poignancy and just enough revelations to land some key punches before dancing away with a one-of-a-kind smile. Read full review
75
TheWrapSteve PondSep 18, 2023
Mixing familiar stories with fresh insights, Zimny’s film is a portrait in restlessness, a picture of a man who has been both wildly successful and thoroughly dismissed — sometimes simultaneously. Read full review
75
IndieWireKate ErblandSep 17, 2023
Mostly, it’s Stallone who impresses here, as a disarmingly open and self-aware icon whose hardest lessons have left a mark on him. Read full review
71
Paste MagazineJesse HassengerNov 3, 2023
Perhaps the most endearing aspect of Sly is how it re-emphasizes that the real Stallone is, in fact, a pretty chatty, even loquacious guy. Even his references to his own limitations name-drop enough artists to undermine that lunkheaded image. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDaniel FienbergSep 18, 2023
By the end of Sly, the star proves to be a good enough explainer of his legacy that the documentary finds effective insight and poignancy — despite however much he’s an overly protective custodian of that legacy, and however hesitant Zimny is to shake him off of his preferred course. Read full review
65
SlashfilmBJ ColangeloNov 3, 2023
There are a few talking heads, including some sincerely powerful stuff from Sly's brother Frank, but Zimny wisely lets Sly be the focus. His control of the narrative might mean the film is narrow in its scope, but by the time the credits roll, like a "Rocky" movie, you'll be begging for a sequel. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzNov 3, 2023
Sly is a frustratingly unrealized work, always hovering on the edge of real insight but rarely jumping into it. Read full review
60
EmpireJohn NugentNov 10, 2023
It might follow a linear storytelling path a little too strictly, but Sylvester Stallone is a bracingly honest documentary subject, and fans in particular will take much from this look at a life and career well lived. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriNov 3, 2023
As a movie, Sly is something of a mess. But as a portrait of a messy man, it can be quite moving. Read full review
60
The New York TimesNicolas RapoldNov 2, 2023
Stallone’s flair for words — and his references to Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge” and the 1968 dynastic drama “The Lion in Winter” — make one wish he’d talked about much more than his greatest hits and misses. Read full review
55
CNNBrian LowryNov 3, 2023
Sly possesses value as a pop-culture record, letting an influential talent tell their story to those weaned on their work. Compared to the best of that fertile genre, though, it’s more of a lightweight than a genuine contender. Read full review
50
The Daily BeastNick SchagerNov 3, 2023
Provides only some of his story, its up-close-and-personal view masking as much as it reveals. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyNov 10, 2023
It’s a nostalgic exercise in burnishing the Stallone brand, with the star on screen half the time in new interviews, between a slew of clips and outtakes. Read full review
40
The GuardianCharles BramescoOct 30, 2023
Zimny could have mined some more intimate profundity from Stallone’s determined political fence-sitting, the reluctance of a born entertainer to alienate any faction of his fandom with vocal partisanship. Read full review
More From This Movie

62 Critic Reviews

tbd User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL