Seth Rogen Weighs In on Stallone vs. Schwarzenegger Debate and Fans React

Seth Rogen has officially entered one of Hollywood’s most iconic action movie rivalries, and his comments about Sylvester Stallone are sure to stir up discussions.

A clip from a recent episode of ‘Funny You Ask with Ike Barinholtz’ went viral this week as Rogen and his ‘The Studio’ co-star debated the number of genuinely good films Stallone has made, landing on a figure that may not please fans of ‘Rocky’ or ‘Rambo.’

‘Funny You Ask’ is a weekly comedy-trivia podcast launched by Ike Barinholtz in March, featuring his famous friends in customized trivia battles based on their interests. The episode with Seth Rogen took a detour from trivia into a full-blown Hollywood film debate.

In the widely shared clip, Barinholtz suggested the over-under on genuinely good Stallone films was around four, prompting Rogen to share his own ranking. He included ‘Demolition Man’ as a good film, but noted that while ‘Tango and Cash’ is enjoyable, it doesn’t meet the standard of being a good movie.

The conversation quickly turned to comparisons with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and both men were candid in their assessments. Rogen argued that Stallone lacks a film equivalent to ‘Terminator 2’ or ‘True Lies,’ asserting that Schwarzenegger has starred in genuinely great films rather than just entertaining ones. Barinholtz went further, claiming that ‘Predator’ alone surpasses anything Stallone has created.

They also discussed Stallone’s challenging period in the late nineties and early 2000s, highlighting ‘Daylight’ specifically, where Stallone’s character, Kit Latura, is trapped in the Holland Tunnel, as a low point in his illustrious action career.

This critique may surprise some, considering Stallone is the only actor in Hollywood history to feature in a number one box office film across six consecutive decades, having defined the sports movie genre with ‘Rocky’ and the action genre with ‘Rambo,’ before transitioning to ensemble work in ‘The Expendables.’

Rogen and Barinholtz have collaborated closely over the years, currently co-starring in ‘The Studio,’ the Apple TV Plus satirical comedy about Hollywood that has been renewed for a second season and praised for its sharp humor and Emmy recognition. The casual, conversational nature of their Stallone take exemplifies the podcast format’s strengths, and the clip’s viral success shows that the Stallone versus Schwarzenegger debate still has plenty of life.

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