“The Specialist” (1994) starring Sylvester Stallone & Sharon Stone / Z-View

The Specialist (1994)

Director: Luis Llosa

Screenplay: Alexandra Seros based on THE SPECIALIST novels by John Shirley

Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, James Woods, Rod Steiger, Eric Roberts, Mario Ernesto Sánchez, Emilio Estefan Jr. and Tony Munafo.

Tagline: The government taught him to kill. Now he’s using his skills to help a woman seek revenge against the Miami underworld.

The Plot…

May Munro (Stone) wants revenge.  When May was a young girl, hidden in a closet, she witnessed Thomas Leon (Roberts) brutally murder her mother and father.  Leon is the son of Joe Leon (Steiger), a notorious organized crime boss.  To get close enough to kill him will be impossible.  So may seduces Ray Quick (Stallone) to do it.  Quick is an ex-CIA demolition expert.  Although reluctant at first, Quick can’t resist May’s charms.  What Quick doesn’t know is that May is playing him… or is she?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Reportedly at one point David Fincher was set direct.  Stallone was on board with Fincher at the helm, but the studio balked due to the box office of Alien 3.

In 1993, The L.A. Times reported that The Specialist was the best unproduced thriller script in Hollywood according to a poll of agents, producers and studio executives.

Sharon Stone plays a character much younger than she was at the time of filming.  Stone was supposed to have witnessed Eric Roberts kill her parents when she was a child.  Roberts is just two years older than Stone.

Sly Stallone wrote the scene where Eric Roberts threatens him with a knife.  He wrote the scene since otherwise they had no scenes together.

The cat that Stallone adopts in the film also would go on to appear in Assassins, another Stallone movie.

It’s no secret that I’m a Stallone fan, so keep in mind your mileage may vary.

The Specialist (1994) rates 4 of 5 stars.