Sylvester Stallone’s role as Dwight “The General” Manfredi in the Paramount+ crime dramaTulsa Kinghas been turning heads for all the right reasons, in contrast to the actor’s recent theatrical releases. The show also corrects a big-screen misstep Stallone took 25 years ago, when he starred in the American remake of the British mobster movieGet Carter. In both cases, he stars as a mafia heavy forced to move thousands of miles away from where he lives. ButTulsa Kingbrings the best out of Stallone as an actor, leaning into his imposing physical presence and harnessing his underrated comic timing.
Perhaps most importantly,Dwight Manfredi is a genuine character, someone with different layers, contradictions and likabilitythat the show’s audience can invest in getting to know. His mafia kingpin exploring the American Southwest is a welcome antidote to the aging action-man performances we’ve come to expect. Even better, Dwight still has plenty more to give, withTulsa King and Stallone returning for a third seasonthis year or next.
Tulsa King Has Similarities To Get Carter – But Is Far Better
As Dwight Manfredi, Stallone Gives One Of His Best Ever Performances
It’s true that elements ofTulsa King’s plot bring to mind Stephen Kay’s remake ofGet Carter, in which Stallone played the eponymous anti-hero. Jack Carter was a mob enforcer whose criminal connections got him wrapped up in avenging his brother’s murder and the rape of his niece, in the Northwestern city of Seattle. Dwight Manfredi, meanwhile, moves to the Southwestern city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, suffers the death of his brother, and avenges his daughter following her rape.Stallone himself has noted the comparison betweenTulsa KingandGet Carter, suggesting that the movie serves as a prequel to his latest role.
Tulsa King Season 2 Ending Explained
The season 2 finale of Tulsa King was packed with surprises and unexpected twists.
This suggestion considerably undersells his performance asManfredi, who commands his own mob fiefdom, like Tulsa’s answer to Tony Soprano. The 2000 remake ofGet Carterwas a mess of haphazard storytelling that completely mishandled its difficult source material, with Stallone directed more like a WWE wrestler than the protagonist of a gangster movie. InTulsa King, for the first time in what feels like a long time,Stallone actually gets to act like his best movies allowed him to. He throws punches when required, but he talks the talk as well as walking the walk.
Tulsa King Is Sylvester Stallone’s Most Important Role Now
He Should Leave The Franchises And Low-Grade Action Movies In The Past
After a raft of frankly appalling action movies, including two –ArmorandAlarum– with 0% scores onRotten Tomatoes, Sly Stallone has found his onscreen sweet spot once again. In addition, theRockyandRambofranchises are now behind him, as is his acting role in theCreedmovies, and theExpendablessaga is surely at an end after the disastrousbox-office showing of its fourth movieExpend4blestwo years ago. Stallone is free to concentrate on what could be a final flourish as a mafia kingpin of the Bible Belt.
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Alarum(2025)
Tulsa King’s sure footing is refreshing in so many ways, not least because the small screen has been in need of a character like Manfredi for more than a decade. Primarily, though, it’s Stallone’s central performance that gives the show its substance. It’s one he needs to keep on giving for as long as he can, both forTulsa King’s ever-expanding viewership and his own career revival.
