Sly

"I was born with this snarl," says action-movie icon Sylvester Stallone in this documentary retrospective of the Rocky and Rambo star's life. He's not just talking metaphorically. Complications during his birth left him with facial paralysis, and while that resulted in an appearance that made him distinct in Hollywood, he did have difficulty landing roles early in his career. On a superficial level, the documentary delivers the broad strokes of Stallone's story with tabloid efficiency. It covers all the well-known bases, including his comedy failures and rivalry with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and there are a few surprises along the way, such as his love/hate relationship with polo. The film paints Stallone as a maverick genius, and there's no doubt that his titanic self-belief is what helped him to succeed. However, Sly is light on interrogative detail, and there's the sense that Stallone is the one calling the shots here. The result is a documentary that plays more like an actor shaping the story of his own legacy, without ever truly uncovering what makes the man tick.