Rambo review

I take no shame in the fact that I'm a huge fan of 80's action flicks, starring the likes of Schwarzenegger, Stallone, and Seagal. No, fuck Seagal. On a broader scale, I've always been a fan of ol' Sly Stallone himself, being a fan of such hit movies as Rocky, First Blood, and Oscar. No, fuck Oscar. Anyway, there's been a recent trend in Hollywood recently, a trend I actually like. Old franchises that I grew up with are now suddenly getting new life for not only a new generation, but for fans of the originals. Since 2003, I've been treated to a Terminator 3, a Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street movie rolled into one, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a Rocky 6, a Die Hard, and a Halloween. Well technically there was a Halloween in 2002 too, but let's not count Resurrection, that sucked ass.

Rocky Balboa was a great addition to the series. It lived up to everything I expected, it paid homage to the previous films, and it was an excellent wrap up to the series. Understandably, I had high hopes for Rambo going into it, Stallone fan that I am. Stallone's always been an underrated actor in my opinion, and the Rambo series often misunderstood. Take a look at the original film for example, First Blood. While definately containing a lot of action, First Blood was more of a drama, and John Rambo only killed one person in the entire movie, and it was kind of by accident. More than that, though, Stallone delivered some of his finest acting in the final scene of the movie, where Rambo delivers a heartfelt monologue. I will admit though, before continuing, that Stallone is often either hit or miss with his movies, and he's either great (Rocky) or a frequent Razzie nominee (most of his 90's work.)

It was with First Blood 2 and Rambo 3 that the structure of the films became more of a traditional action movie, with Rambo killing hordes of enemies at a time because he was a badass. It's the Rambo in the sequels that the casual public keeps in their mind and perceives, with the term 'Rambo' itself becoming a popular pop culture phrase for someone or something with little regard for safety and a high regard for action. With the general public, as is often the case, the original First Blood is often misperceived as being more of the same, and anyone who hasn't seen it would probably never guess it's a 'deep' movie.

When I first heard a new Rambo film was being made, I thought great, even if it's not good it'll be cool to see the character of John Rambo after all these years. But then the film's title went through a million changes and it confused me about what it would be about and when it would take place. The final title, Rambo, is just as confusing, and if you're not a fan, I reccommend watching the Angry Video Game Nerd's Chronologically Confused video here to see why. Anyway, the title doesn't matter at all in the end, because the movie can sort of stand on its own. Besides the character of Rambo, no characters from previous movies are included, which is fine, because they're either dead or wouldn't fit in with the plot anyway. Richard Crenna passed away a few years ago, so his mentor character Colonel Trautman is understandably not included. The film's plot stands on its own, which is again fine, as it follows similar conventions to its prequels. The end scene actually seems to be paying homage to the original film, which I thought was a kind of cool touch, but it still confused me a little.

With all that being said, by the end of the movie, I felt like clapping. It was so nostalgic, and generally just a really fun movie. I can imagine audiences cheering and "oohing" with each of Rambo's kills, and trust me, there are very many. In fact, there may be a little overkill there, but I don't care. This is a straight up 80's type, real man's man action movie, the type of movie I loved as a kid. It's great that it's seeing a bit of a revival recently, because most action movies of this decade have been pathetic.

This is also definitely the goriest and most violent Rambo film, bar none. It's a giant gore fest through and through, with nameless enemies frequently getting dispatched in visceral fashion. Understandably, all this talk about action and killing will lead you to understand that Rambo is more like its sequels than the original First Blood, but that's fine. It's the archetype that people perceive Rambo to be, mowing down random soldiers left and right. And honestly, with all this killing, you'd naturally believe there's not much to the story, but I disagree. Rambo's not going to win any storytelling awards this year, but the script that Stallone has written is solid for the genre. It feels darker than the previous sequels, but with a natural modern twist. Here, John Rambo is all business, and he actually keeps his shirt on for the duration of the movie.

If you're not a fan of Stallone, 80's style action movies, or gore, you'll hate Rambo. You may also be a woman. It's definately a trip down memory lane, and that's some of the appeal, but on its own I really enjoyed Rambo. Now let's hope a John Spartan: Demolition Man 2 isn't far behind.