Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Specialist

  • 19941994
  • RR
  • 1h 50m
IMDb RATING
5.5/10
66K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,585
595
Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone in The Specialist (1994)
Theatrical Trailer from Warner Bros. Pictures
Play trailer1:55
1 Video
99+ Photos
ActionDramaThriller
A woman entices a bomb expert she's involved with into destroying the mafia that killed her family.A woman entices a bomb expert she's involved with into destroying the mafia that killed her family.A woman entices a bomb expert she's involved with into destroying the mafia that killed her family.
IMDb RATING
5.5/10
66K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,585
595
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Luis Llosa
    • Writers
      • John Shirley(Specialist novels)
      • Alexandra Seros
    • Stars
      • Sylvester Stallone
      • Sharon Stone
      • James Woods
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Luis Llosa
    • Writers
      • John Shirley(Specialist novels)
      • Alexandra Seros
    • Stars
      • Sylvester Stallone
      • Sharon Stone
      • James Woods
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 150User reviews
    • 43Critic reviews
    • Awards
      • 4 wins & 7 nominations

    Videos1

    The Specialist
    Trailer 1:55
    The Specialist

    Photos123

    Sylvester Stallone in The Specialist (1994)
    James Woods in The Specialist (1994)
    James Woods in The Specialist (1994)
    James Woods in The Specialist (1994)
    Sharon Stone in The Specialist (1994)
    Sylvester Stallone and Eric Roberts in The Specialist (1994)
    Sharon Stone in The Specialist (1994)
    Sylvester Stallone and Brent Sexton in The Specialist (1994)
    Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone in The Specialist (1994)
    Sharon Stone, James Woods, and Rod Steiger in The Specialist (1994)
    Sharon Stone and Eric Roberts in The Specialist (1994)
    Sharon Stone and James Woods in The Specialist (1994)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Sylvester Stallone
    Sylvester Stallone
    • Ray Quick
    Sharon Stone
    Sharon Stone
    • May Munro
    James Woods
    James Woods
    • Ned Trent
    Rod Steiger
    Rod Steiger
    • Joe Leon
    Eric Roberts
    Eric Roberts
    • Tomas Leon
    Mario Ernesto Sánchez
    Mario Ernesto Sánchez
    • Charlie
    Sergio Doré Jr.
    • Strongarm
    Chase Randolph
    • May's Dad
    Jeana Bell
    • May's Mom
    Brittany Paige Bouck
    • Young May
    Emilio Estefan Jr.
    Emilio Estefan Jr.
    • Piano Player
    LaGaylia Frazier
    • Singer #1
    Ramón González Cuevas
    • Priest at Cemetery
    • (as Ramon Gonzalez-Cuevas)
    Tony Munafo
    • Tony
    Cheito Quinonez
    • Singer at Party
    Tony Tatis
    • Backup Singer
    Mercedes Enriquez
    • Pregnant Woman on Bus
    Yeniffer Behrens
    Yeniffer Behrens
    • Schoolgirl on Bus
    • Director
      • Luis Llosa
    • Writers
      • John Shirley(Specialist novels) (suggestion)
      • Alexandra Seros
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Assassins
    6.3
    Assassins
    Cobra
    5.8
    Cobra
    Tango & Cash
    6.4
    Tango & Cash
    Lock Up
    6.4
    Lock Up
    Daylight
    5.9
    Daylight
    Judge Dredd
    5.5
    Judge Dredd
    Cliffhanger
    6.5
    Cliffhanger
    Demolition Man
    6.7
    Demolition Man
    Over the Top
    5.8
    Over the Top
    Rambo III
    5.8
    Rambo III
    Get Carter
    5.1
    Get Carter
    Rambo: First Blood Part II
    6.5
    Rambo: First Blood Part II

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Sylvester Stallone had this to say on filming the shower scene with Sharon Stone:

      "OK. Let it be known, I didn't want to do this scene because Sharon was not cooperating. We get to the set and she decides not to take her robe off. The director asks only a few of the crew to remain, and she still won't take it off. I promised her I wouldn't take any liberties, so what's the problem? She said, 'I'm just sick of nudity.' I asked her if she could get sick of it on someone else's film. She was having none of it, so I went down to my trailer, brought back a bottle of Black Death vodka that was given to me by Michael Douglas and after half-a-dozen shots we were wet and wild."
    • Goofs
      The scene in which Ray sets a trap in his high rise balcony hotel room overlooking the water was spectacular, but from a construction or physics perspective it was preposterous. No amount of explosives placed on the surface of the floor, walls and ceiling could have caused the balcony to break off cleanly as depicted. Ray would have had to have hired crews to use heavy equipment to drill into the concrete and then place explosives inside the concrete. Obviously the hotel would not have cooperated with Ray's remodeling.
    • Quotes

      May Munro: You know, the next time you order a hit you might want to consider taking out your decorator.

      Tomas Leon: You like to live dangerously, don't you?

      May Munro: A little danger never killed anyone. Right, baby?

      Tomas Leon: Sometimes.

    • Connections
      Featured in Gloria Estefan: Turn the Beat Around (1994)
    • Soundtracks
      Slip Away
      Written by Lawrence Dermer (as Lawrence P. Dermer)

      Produced by Emilio Estefan Jr. and Lawrence Dermer (as Lawrence P. Dermer)

      Performed by LaGantia Frazier

      Courtesy of Crescent Moon Records, Inc.

    User reviews150

    Review
    Top review
    4/10
    A terrible 'action' film that is more accidentally humorous than seriously suspenseful.
    Although Stallone was already a big budget Hollywood star with many a title under his belt with Sharon Stone who also had a few films (most noticeably 'Basic Instinct') going for her and James Woods, again, with some reasonably successful outings (most notably in my opinion a 'Simpsons' episode), 'The Specialist' fails to live up to its talent hype and attempt as a film noir come action film.

    What struck me upon looking this film up after seeing it was the director. He'd had hardly any experience previous to this film and thinking back to the film itself; it's no wonder it really turned out the way it did. A big budget and a big cast with a screenplay that wasn't terrible probably demanded a bigger and better director. I could kick around a few names like 'John Woo' but I won't get too into that.

    Fatally, The Specialist doesn't do right what it's supposed to do right. The camera work is bad (I actually spotted one instance of camera shake in this film), the fight scenes are poorly choreographed and badly executed, the dialogue is a bit iffy at best and is rather clichéd at times and the stereotypes of Colombian drug lords are laughable. With the action scenes, the extras just sit up waiting to be hit and are poorly put together in a way that you can see Stallone's next move as he wins the punch-up from a beaten position. The dialogue put across via the recorded phone messages feels forced and they snap back at one another too quickly. The character played by Rod Stieger is a little too stereotypical and his pronunciation of the word 'you' like 'jew' can only be taken seriously for so long before a serious scene involving intense dialogue is broken up by a smirk here and there.

    What makes the film also rather cheesy is the editing at some points. Early on in the film, a character threatens Stallone at knife point and asks him a question. Cut to a reaction shot of a silent Stallone and immediately, the character asks the question again – not even giving Stallone the time it takes to blink to reply. This was very noticeable and good editing, as they say, is un-noticeable. One other incident is where Stallone sneaks up on a pistol wielding guard during a hotel evacuation and knocks him out from behind in the lobby area. We keep on the same camera and pan as he runs away. From this, we see that for the entire time, people (extras) have been running right past, merely feet from the assault and don't even batter an eyelid at what just happened as Stallone runs off in the OPPOSITE direction.

    Every action film has its effects and this films' was poor. The blatant blue screen effect of the water getting closer and closer via the window as the suite breaks off the side of the hotel and falls to the sea as a guy waves frantically at the camera crashing towards him without trying to get away really brought out a long shake of the head from me. The fact when one of the bombs went off in the room, one guy fell down before the other was also laughable. These are the action scenes of the film and should be suspenseful and nerve-wracking – not humorous, instead.

    If you're looking for a decent Stallone action-based film from the mid-nineties, avoid this and see 'Assassins' instead. That film's particularly large cast rivals this one and the direction and script are a lot better.
    helpful•24
    18
    • johnnyboyz
    • Dec 9, 2006

    FAQ2

    • What is The Specialist about?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 7, 1994 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Chuyên Gia Chất Nổ
    • Filming locations
      • Great Falls Dam, Rock Island, Tennessee, USA
    • Production companies
      • Warner Bros.
      • Jerry Weintraub Productions
      • Iguana Producciones
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $45,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $57,362,582
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $14,317,765
      • Oct 9, 1994
    • Gross worldwide
      • $170,362,582
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 50 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone in The Specialist (1994)
    Top Gap
    What is the streaming release date of The Specialist (1994) in India?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    New & Upcoming Superhero Movies and Series
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    Fall TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    Double Take: Celebrity Twins
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Back to top
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more access
    Sign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.