One of Sylvester Stallone‘s most underrated movies deserves to be revisited, especially after the success of his recent gangster show, Tulsa King. Sylvester Stallone has received widespread acclaim for playing Dwight Manfredi in Tulsa King. Some critics have called it his best acting in years, and he’s easily the strongest part of the cast of Tulsa King. It’s also been wildly successful for him, and Tulsa King season 3 was confirmed just months after the previous season ended. In fact, Tulsa King is so good it’s caused some viewers to reevaluate Stallone’s earlier work.
Recently, Stallone compared Tulsa King to Get Carter, his 2000 remake of Michael Caine’s 1971 gangster thriller. He even went as far as to call Get Carter a “prequel” to Tulsa King, based on how similar the character Jack Carter is to Dwight Manfredi. That comparison came as quite a surprise, given Tulsa King has 89% on Rotten Tomatoes while Get Carter has just 11%. Stallone wasn’t just grandstanding, however, and his comments are the perfect excuse to revisit Get Carter and see if it was really bad enough to deserve all the hate it received.
Get Carter Is One Of Sylvester Stallone’s Most Undervalued Movies
Get Carter Doesn’t Deserve Its Critical Reception & Was A Serviceable Revenge Movie
While it couldn’t live up to Michael Caine’s cult-classic original, Stallone’s take on Get Carter was not, as Mark Caro of the Chicago Tribune put it, “an incoherent, irredeemable mess.” Critics utterly hated Get Carter – the film has just 11% on Rotten Tomatoes – but it doesn’t deserve all the vitriol it received. Stallone’s Get Carter may not be his best movie, but it was a serviceable revenge actioner and a better than average remake. It’s certainly deserving of some criticism, but Get Carter may well be Sylvester Stallone’s most overhated movie in his entire career.
Despite some valid criticisms of Get Carter‘s plot and some of Stephen Kay’s direction, the film has a lot of good things going for it. Stallone’s acting isn’t always perfect, but he had a few stellar scenes, such as when he nearly executed Alan Cumming’s Jeremy in the woods. Get Carter is also possibly one of Alan Cumming’s best performances, and if it hadn’t been so universally panned, he might have been in the running for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars. Their performances, coupled with the movie’s slick action scenes, made Get Carter enjoyable and far from horrible.
How Sylvester Stallone’s Get Carter Role Mirrors Tulsa King
In Addition To Being Gangsters, Jack Carter & Dwight Manfredi Share Several Similarities
Sylvester Stallone was also right to compare Tulsa King to Get Carter, as his characters in both have a great deal of similarities. Family and loyalty are among the most important things in the world to Dwight Manfredi, and the same can be said of Jack Carter. Dwight spent most of Tulsa King seasons 1 and 2 trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter, and Jack spent the entirety of Get Carter trying to find revenge for the death of his brother. Dwight and Jack also both know exactly how to intimidate their rivals in true gangster fashion, and they both have Stallone’s signature screen presence.
Get Carter (2000) is only available to rent or buy as of January 22, 2025.
As similar as they are, Jack Carter and Dwight Manfredi also had their fair share of differences. Dwight was much more of a power player than Jack was, and he preferred ordering his gangsters around and plotting mᴀssive takeovers to beating people senseless. Jack is also far more serious than Dwight, as he could never be seen cracking jokes about the band Phish or razzing his young ᴀssistant. Tulsa King certainly put Sylvester Stallone in a much more charismatic role, but it’s clear to see how Get Carter influenced his portrayal of Dwight Manfredi.
