Rambo Review

Posted by Chad Webb on 01.28.2008

The immortal John Rambo is back, and he draws fourth blood, fifth blood, and never stops to breathe!

Sylvester Stallone: John Rambo
Julie Benz: Sarah
Paul Schulze: Michael Burnett
Matthew Marsden: School Boy
Graham McTavish: Lewis
Reynaldo Gallegos: Diaz
Jake La Botz: Reese
Tim Kang: En-Joo
Maung Maung Kin: Tint
Sornram Patchimtasanakarn: Tha
Written/Directed By: Sylvester Stallone
Release Date: January 25, 2008
Running Time: 93 minutes







Rated R for strong graphic bloody violence, sexual assaults, grisly images and language.

The last time John James Rambo graced the screen was in 1988 for Rambo III when he went into Afghanistan to rescue Colonel Samuel Trautman and fight a fort full of evil Soviet Communists with the Muhjadeen. It has been 20 years, and our action hero has returned. To some, nothing will have changed except amped up gore, but let’s face facts; this franchise has never been high on critics’ lists. Stallone made this for the fans. Through all of the title's alterations from Rambo: In the Serpent’s Eye to John Rambo, the very plain Rambo is what was settled on. While this movie is certainly not a masterpiece, it is a wicked, bloody, and explicit send off for a man that makes John McClane look like a soft plush toy.

Mr. Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) still resides in seclusion in Thailand, and he hunts cobra snakes for money. As war wages in Burma, a group of missionaries approach Rambo for use of his boat to travel upstream. They are hoping to deliver some peace, medicine, and goodwill to a country that has been torn apart. While reluctant at first, Rambo leads them to their destination of choice. After leaving them, he goes back to his place. A couple weeks later, he learns from their pastor that the group has disappeared. With a band of hired mercenaries, they sail back to the devastated area in order to search for the missionaries and free them.

There are two actors I get rather defensive about when someone bashes them. Tom Hanks is the first, and Sylvester Stallone is the second. However, personal bias aside, I am willing to admit when one of my favorite performers submits a dud. Rambo was anything but in my opinion. Sly fits right back into the character as if he never left at all. This is an aging combat savior, one who has kept himself cut off from the rest of the world. What intrigued me in the beginning was how apathetic his attitude was. One line says it all, “Fu** the world.” This is a man who is still haunted by his past, and has refused to come full circle like Col. Trautman once advised. It is the cold and long stares with no dialogue that make Rambo so damn cool. Stallone understands this, and has turned in a vicious and rousing farewell portrayal of the loner who permanently scarred Brian Dennehy.

Besides Stallone, the acting elsewhere has always been, and always will be irrelevant. On the other hand, the supporting cast here is quite admirable considering any lines they squeeze out takes a back seat to the violence. Julie Benz from Dexter fame has lifted herself successfully out of the television niche if she wants to take advantage of it. As the female in this tale, she is more of a soothing conscience to Rambo. She is not a love interest thankfully. Benz supplies nothing that warrants huge praise, but she was definitely respectable. Paul Schulze, also known as Father Phil from The Sopranos, can nail a religious individual as brilliantly as anyone. He deserves a commendable pat on the back, and nothing more as a person who completely disapproves of Rambo’s methods.

It had been awhile since I revisited the Rambo saga, so I gleefully watched all of them again prior to sitting happily in this fourth installment. While the plot has remained true to Rambo’s previous escapades, the bluntness of the gore has been molded to this period. The complaint has been made that the mayhem contained is exaggerated and gratuitous. Hasn’t every Rambo entry since its inception had gratuitous violence? This newest film certainly tops the other three in terms of body count, but what choice did Stallone have? How would people react if this resembled the 80’s style actioners with cheesy special effects and shoddy set design? My guess is not positively and more in the vein of John Cena’s horrendous Marine. The action genre is in a slump with ridiculous explosions and car chases. They all look identical, and Stallone has knocked everyone off their feet with honest carnage no one saw coming.

Unlike the two silly sequels, which are guilty pleasures of many I assume, Rambo expresses some profound morals. This is a story about of how one decorated Green Beret’s stubborn mind-set became his infection over the years. Change is the key message within Rambo. Rambo himself is unwilling to bend when Sarah questions him on his notions of diminishing bloodshed and returning to the country he once called home. By the same token, Sarah and her friendly missionaries have not acknowledged that in some areas of the world, violence is inevitable and steadfast. True, the themes I have outlined are not priority numeral uno for Stallone. The sixty-one year old Rambo needed to prove to the public that grew up with his toys, video games, and costumes that he could still unleash fury better than any and every action champion. Stallone has not dismissed his past. He has embraced his iconic characters, developed them, and matured their personalities for this age reminiscent of Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven.

Rambo marks a first for Sly in that he has stepped into the director’s chair after Ted Kotcheff (First Blood), George P. Cosmatos (Rambo: First Blood Part II), and Peter MacDonald (Rambo III). He also produced and wrote it himself. Stallone has shown what lengths he will reach to for heightened effect. His action sequences assault the audience just like being hit by a barrage of bullets. They are not for squeamish to say the least. Limbs are decapitated, throats are slashed, and bodies are blown into oblivion and blasted back to the Stone Age. Your eyes will pop out of your head after enduring the intense machine gun exchanges. The pacing is masterful in that Stallone gradually builds the action from the onset. After a meeting with Burmese pirates, it accelerates from there, but it is never too much to handle. The blood drenched conclusion might be one of the most unforgettable in history. Do not expect computer generated imagery or corny weapons. Everything is genuine and bigger with John J. The bombs eliminate a larger area, the guns are more intimidating, the sniper shots will catapult the victim a mile through the air, and the knives will cut flesh seemingly like butter.

What prevents Rambo from being flawless is that it does not deviate enough from past story threads. This is not a completely unusual adventure, although it is important to note that the horrors of war issue are behind the character arc. While the main villain is not nearly as cartoonish (as a matter of fact, his name is virtually unknown), he is merciless and must possess a black heart. The conspicuous absence and no mentioning of Richard Crenna’s Col. Trautman is bothersome, but not an enormous problem. The word is that Stallone said this: "Trautman died the day my friend Richard died." James Brolin was prepared to replace Crenna, but the role was written out of the script. This was a wise decision. The recasting would have looked awkward. Another gripe is that the epilogue could have easily extended longer. Without spoiling anything, I’ll stop before I spill too many beans.

Rambo will not win over all audiences. Sylvester Stallone has almost reinvented this series, yet stayed faithful to the spirit that has emerged and improved over the course of more than two decades. The one-liners are hilarious, the action is crushingly powerful, and the subjects presented are relevant. John Rambo is a man in self-imposed exile, whose bulging muscles accentuate the tired and indifferent manner on his kisser. He has not weakened, but been transformed into a grittier and ferocious killing machine that inflicts unfathomable damage. People expected a deep finale like Rocky Balboa offered, and if that’s the case, you missed the point. These are two distinct franchises. Rambo was never about impressing the masses with insightful commentary of dramatic monologues. He is about entertainment in the form of action. To put it simply, “killing the bad guys.” This is an excellent piece of escapism that will stand as a fitting exit for a character who wanted to go out with his guns blazing.

The 411: Something that will make you laugh is the “Rambo Death Chart”, which lays out all you need to know about who Rambo massacred over each film. It amazes me that some people were hoping for a profound drama. Would we want this from John McClane or Conan the Barbarian? Of course not, so why criticize Stallone for pumping up the action? In my opinion, this is just a solid installment of a healthy action franchise. I never thought it would be perfect. I just wanted to have fun watching this legendary character return to his terrain. That is what we got, and I say thank you Mr. Stallone. From here on out, I will expect that he will move on.

Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]