From Hollywood to Television, How Do Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone’s Netflix Documentaries Stack Up?

Despite being in their late 70s, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone show no signs of slowing down. In May 2023, Arnold Schwarzenegger ventured into the realm of television for the first time in his career with Netflix’s FUBAR. Immediately afterward, Arnie surprised fans with a Netflix docu-series, Arnold. No one was surprised when his old Hollywood arch-rival Sylvester Stallone appeared in the docu-series.

Later in September, Sylvester Stallone joined his rival-turned-friend as part of the Netflix roster with a documentary of his own, Sly. After Stallone had appeared on Arnie’s documentary, people anticipated that The Terminator would appear in Rambo’s documentary. Schwarzenegger didn’t disappoint. The Rocky actor also starred in his own hit TV series, Tulsa King, in 2023. However, decades after putting their captivating rivalry to rest, how did the audience receive the legacy of two action heroes who defined a genre?

Arnie and Sly are still going head-to-head

Arnold hit TV screens on 7 June 2023 to positive reviews. Not just the audience but the critics also had good things to say about the three-part limited series on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s eventful life. IMDb users rated Arnold 8/10, and over 20,000 fans voted. It also maintains a higher popularity ranking on the website compared to Sly, which was released four months later.

Arnold scored an aggregate of 70% with 27 critic reviews on popular review site Rotten Tomatoes. However, the audience score stands much higher at 93% with over 100 reviews. The big difference between Arnold and Sly is that the Sylvester Stallone biopic isn’t a series, but a documentary film. While Arnold tells the Austrian’s story in three parts as the athlete, movie star, and politician, Sly charts the actor’s life and career in just 95 minutes.

The Stallone film scores slightly lower on IMDb with 7/10 and has a lower popularity ranking. On the other hand, critics seemed to have liked it more. Sly is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a critic rating of 81%. However, it scores lower than the Arnold Schwarzenegger docu-series, with an audience score of 89%. The scores show that audiences liked the biographies of the 80s action icons almost equally. Both biopics trade blows when it comes to the ratings. Besides the biopics, the two actors also starred in their respective TV series in 2023.

Arnold Schwarzenegger starrer FUBAR climbed to the top of the US Netflix charts. People loved Arnie’s television debut, and the streaming giant swiftly renewed it for a second season. Similarly, the Rocky actor starred in Tulsa King on Paramount Plus. The showrunner of the critically acclaimed Yellowstone TV series, Taylor Sheridan, helmed Tulsa King.

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Tulsa King, like FUBAR, was also a hit and has been renewed for a new season. While Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone are no longer rivals, they are still going head to head on a different entertainment medium.

How Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone evolved

76-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger and 77-year-old Sylvester Stallone have come a long way from their first meeting. The duo met at the 34th Golden Globe Awards. The then-young stars landed on the list of nominees. Stallone had earned multiple nominations in several categories for Rocky. Meanwhile, Arnie was the nominee for a special category. The two started on the wrong foot when Schwarzenegger teased Stallone for losing out on all but one category, the Best Motion Picture.

Schwarzenegger boasting about winning the New Star of the Year while sitting opposite Sly didn’t help. The pair nearly came to blows. Hence, the 1977 Golden Globes kickstarted the iconic rivalry that defined the 80s. Throughout the 80s and most of the 90s, Arnie and Stallone fought tooth and nail for box office dominance. However, after their primes, the duo started warming up to one another. They started seeing their rivalry as childish.

“We were like little kids. Who uses bigger knives?… Uses the biggest guns and holds them in one arm? Who has more muscles… (and) more muscle definition… less body fat? We fought over stupid stuff,” Arnod Schwarzenegger explained in Sly. Similarly, in Schwarzenegger’s docu-series, Stallone explained what he thought of the Austrian Oak in the 80s.

“He was superior. He just had all the answers, he had the body, he had the strength, that was his character,” said Stallone. However, by 2010, the action stars had put their rivalry behind them. Arnie and Stallone even starred in Escape Plan (2013) as joint leads, and the film made bank overseas.

While they remain competitive, Arnie and Stallone don’t work to undermine one another’s success anymore. Instead, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone look to collaborate at every opportunity. Hence, the Hollywood veterans appeared in one another’s documentaries. While the documentaries charted their journey so far, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone are still busy writing their legacies.

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