Rambo Review (2008)

The final Rambo movie?

So we are finally at the final film in the franchise. Again I have to ask, why the hell is this film called Rambo? So now we have a Rambo III, a Rambo but still no Rambo II? And Rambo takes place after Rambo III? Ah whats the point in even complaining about this, its just confusing, future generations aren't going to know what came first without doing some research before hand. Another complaint I have is that this films title suggests a reboot or remake, with most films that have been remade keeping the same title as those that came before it. Whatever on to the review.

From the get go I really like the real world approach that this film takes, setting it in Burma, a conflict ridden country even by today's standards and the idea that after Rambo III, in which Rambo finally came full circle, he retired and began to live a life of peace, without violence and without danger. Stallone looks aged now, and I am not sure how I feel about this. Should Rambo still be able to fight and kill at this tired age that he is at, and does this character have to even go back into the action this time around? No. This film was released during what I like to call Stallone's comeback, along with films such as "Rocky Balboa" and "The Expendables." So it has a similar triumphant feeling to it, although how much you enjoy it depends on how much you like the Rambo franchise or how much of a Stallone fan you are.
Rambo's reasoning for returning to fight the good fight this time around is due to a group of aid workers travelling to Burma are captured and taken hostage. This might be considered a good enough reason to go back, but Rambo already warned these people about the situation they were getting into, so why the hell does he go there in the first place? This man is aged and he knows, couple that with the fact that there is a group of mercenaries going in to rescue the aid workers and defeats all reasoning as to why Rambo would go there.

The canon fodder

I know it might feel like I am beating a dead horse here but Rambo of course gets brought back into the action, and at his old age, it doesn't seem like the best idea, surely this guy who fought in Vietnam would be so far past his prime that he wouldn't be able to fight. Lets just see how old Rambo actually is. If he fought in 'Nam which ended in '75 and the original film is set in 1982 and the book of which "First Blood" is based on and follows, states that Rambo was born in 1946 which would make him in his early 30's in the first film. Rambo then fights in the Afghanistan war of the 1980's which takes him to about 40 years of age. Follow onto Rambo which is set in 2008 a full 20 years after Rambo III and that makes John the ripe old age of 60! Would a 60 year old man actually be fighting in a war situation? No of course not and I can only suspend my disbelief so far!

The best end to the series

Now my rant is over, we see Rambo again going back to all the old survival techniques, using a bow and arrow and that excessively long and sharp Bowie knife and for the first time John uses more and more hand to hand techniques, crushing enemies throats and at some points it even gets down right disgusting with the amounts of violence (the film is labelled the goriest film of all time in the Guinness book of world records with over 250 deaths on screen.) I do have to say though that I did end up feeling sorry for the people caught in the midst of this bloody war, all of them mowed down by machine gun fire by the ruthless tyrant of Burma. Those scenes were people are forced to race across mine infested waters really gets to me too and you do have an attachment to them which is more than what can be said for the rest of the supporting cast who are just there to build up the death count and I never really cared about any of them.
I don't care much for the central bad guy in this film, sure he does a lot of bad things, but we aren't given any depth to this guy and I am not even sure that he is named that's how generic he is.

Fatality

Now the best thing about the whole film is the action and it really is awesome. Rambo using his bow with great efficiency and the climactic scene is by far the best in the entire series with a body count higher than anything I have ever seen before. Stallone actually turns in his best performance since "First Blood" with this instalment, showing how to play Rambo ruthless and calculative but also showing that this character has a soft side, with lines tat have meaning, "live for something, or die for nothing" has to be one of the stand out moments of the entire franchise.
I wish there was more to "Rambo" but in all honesty there isn't much else to say, its an action movie and that's all that director Sylvester Stallone wanted it to be, and whilst being a thoroughly entertaining action movie it doesn't have a lot of brain to it, truly a popcorn flick.

Well I did it! I reviewed all movies of the "Rambo" franchise, and whilst not necessarily being the smartest sequel.. or maybe it is, "Rambo" has to be my favourite sequel, and maybe its just me being sick but I really do enjoy this one. So steer clear of "Rambo: First Blood Part II" but the rest are an awesome way to spend your time.