Sylvester Stallone Opens Up About the “Half-Baked” Movie He Wishes He Never Made

Sylvester Stallone once opened up about one of his biggest movie regrets, the 1986 action thriller Cobra. Speaking with JoBlo.com at the Toronto International Film Festival, the legendary actor admitted that the film didn’t live up to his own expectations.

“Cobra to me, was half-baked, I could have done better, but I wasn’t concentrating enough,” Stallone said during the interview.

“I felt as though that’s something I should have directed, and I didn’t, and I regret that. That’s one thing about making movies, aside from watching your hairline recede, you go, ‘God, why didn’t I try harder?’”

Directed by George P. Cosmatos, Cobra was written by Stallone himself and was loosely based on Paula Gosling’s novel A Running Duck. The movie followed Los Angeles cop Marion “Cobra” Cobretti, played by Stallone, who tries to protect a witness from a violent criminal group. The film also starred Brigitte Nielsen, Reni Santoni, and Andrew Robinson.

At the time, Cobra came hot on the heels of Stallone’s huge hits Rocky IV and Rambo: First Blood Part II, and expectations were high.

While the movie did well at the box office, critics were far less kind. Many reviews slammed its excessive violence and shallow story. The New York Times called it hypocritical for pretending to criticize violence while glorifying it. The Los Angeles Times described it as “pretentious” and “dumb,” while TV Guide said Stallone’s character felt empty.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie holds a 17% approval rating, with a Metacritic score of 25 out of 100, both pointing to generally poor reviews. Still, despite the critical backlash, Cobra has gained a cult following over the years, especially among fans of ’80s action movies.

Interestingly, the movie marked the last on-screen collaboration between Stallone and Brigitte Nielsen, who were married at the time but divorced the following year. The script was reportedly inspired by an earlier version of Stallone’s Beverly Hills Cop screenplay, which he had written before leaving that project.

Even with all the criticism, Cobra found some defenders. Variety praised it as a “sleek and exciting police thriller,” while Gene Siskel compared it to Dirty Harry, saying it had a great opening but couldn’t maintain its momentum. The film even caught the attention of then-President Ronald Reagan, who screened it at Camp David shortly after its release.

Looking back, Stallone’s honesty about Cobra shows that even seasoned stars have projects they wish had gone differently. While the movie didn’t win over critics, it remains an important part of his filmography, a symbol of the bold, over-the-top action style that defined much of 1980s Hollywood.

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