Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone are the two titans of cheesy, brilliant action films: Terminator and Rambo, Cobra and Dutch.
At 72 and 73 years old, they’re still tussling with bad guys at the movies: Schwarzenegger is due to reprise his role as the walking death machine in Terminator: Dark Fate, while Stallone has sharpened his knife for Rambo: Last Blood, the fifth and final film in the series.
To mark the latter film’s release, Stallone signed one of Rambo’s knives to charity. Like any good pal, Schwarzenegger was quick to chime in.
Check out the funny video below:
In the video posted to Schwarzenegger’s Instagram, while standing next to the donation, he says: ‘Sly, I just saw your knife you’ve signed for charity… it’s unbelievable, look at this knife.’
Then, in a nod to Crocodile Dundee, the Kindergarten Cop said:
But this is not a knife. Now this is a knife.
This is what we used in Predator. It’s just a little larger than yours, but don’t worry about it
The pair used to be fierce rivals, with anything but a healthy relationships. As they both vied to be the Last Action Hero, tensions brewed – their hatred for one another lasted for the best part of a decade.
While speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in 2014, The Economic Times reports, Schwarzenegger explained:
We hated each other in the 80s because we were both in the same business, we wanted to outdo each other. It was all out war. It was a competition of who has the most muscles, who kills the most people on screen, who kills in the most unique way, who makes more money at the box office.
Finally, in the ’90s we became kind of friends, and ever since then we have been friends. Initially, you need a competitor, someone that you hate… because that’s what drives me.
The video was all in good spirit: after heartily laughing with the people in the room, Schwarzenegger said: ‘In all seriousness, all the best of luck with Rambo this weekend, okay? You’re going to be a hit. It’s gonna be a smash. You’re the best.’
It didn’t take long for his cohort to notice the video. Stallone shared it on his Instagram, writing: ‘Thank you very much big man. You’re a great friend, and a great star, but my knife is always going to be sharper than yours! #RAMBO.’
Rambo: Last Blood sees the return of one of cinemas most iconic characters. It’s been 37 years since First Blood hit cinemas: a tremendous thriller which pits John Rambo against the cynical attitudes of post-Vietnam small-town America.
Funnily enough, he may injure many, but he doesn’t kill a single person. That murder-free legacy didn’t last forever, though.
Through First Blood: Part II, Rambo III and especially the fourth Rambo in 2008, in which he literally spills out multiple enemies’ guts onto the woodland floor, the violence was significantly upped – and Last Blood looks no different.
Check out the trailer for Rambo: Last Blood below:
The official synopsis for the film is as follows:
Almost four decades after they drew first blood, Sylvester Stallone is back as one of the greatest action heroes of all time, John Rambo. Now, Rambo must confront his past and unearth his ruthless combat skills to exact revenge in a final mission.
A deadly journey of vengeance, Rambo: Last Blood marks the last chapter of the legendary series.
Whereas Schwarzenegger is keeping to his word. He said he’d be back – Terminator: Dark Fate hits UK cinemas on October 25.
The film sees the return of James Cameron as a producer, and acts as an official sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day (thereby making all films after that, including Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, obsolete in storytelling terms).
Check out the trailer for Terminator: Dark Fate below:
Linda Hamilton is back as an older, harder Sarah Connor, who must work with a human-cyborg hybrid (Mackenzie Davis) to protect a young girl from a new breed of Terminator.
Hopefully the legendary pair will come together for a film again one day. Dutch and Rambo vs Predator – now there’s a film I’d watch.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.