Movie review – “Rambo”
Rambo is the third sequel to the 1982 film “First Blood.” FB was a staple of my childhood: I loved the story of a isolated/mentally disturbed ex-vietnam vet, drifting from town to town, who runs into a small town cop (Brian Dennehy) who pushes him too far. Of course: Rambo is a emotionless killing machine, and that fit right into my adolescent tastes. The sequel, Rambo (first blood pt. 2) was good, summer fare: an orgy of ruthless, military style killing. I don’t remember if I ever saw the 3d movie.
I didn’t expect much from the new one, but holy crap is it awesome! As the movie begins, Rambo is living in Thailand, an exile from his past, when a group of christian missionaries employ him to ferry them upriver to Burma, where they intend to provide medical care to victims of the long standing Burmese conflict. The missionaries are subsequently captured, and Rambo must choose between reliving his horrific past or walking away and leaving innocent victims to their fate at the hands of the Junta.
My favorite scene in the movie is where he wrestles with his conscience before deciding to go…”You didn’t kill for your country, you killed for yourself…the gods made you a killer, and they’ll never let you escape it..fact is, when your pushed, killin’ is as easy as breathing.” He decides that he’s a killer by nature, and sets off on a 90 minute bloodbath that rivels anything I’ve ever seen on film.
Arrow through some dudes eye? Check.
Machine gun ripping people (literally) limb from limb? Check.
Slashing soldiers’ throats (the good ol’ Columbian Necktie)? Check, Check, and check.
Ripping a soldiers throat out with his bare hands? You know it: Check.
High powered rifle shot to the head causing a soldier’s head to literally explode? Oh yeah, check that too.
Slashing someone’s midsection so their guts fall out before they keel over? Check.
Shooting children in the face? Check and mate, sucka!
The only thing missing is I was seriously expecting him to gut someone and strangle them with their own intenstines. I guess I can always hope for another sequel.
I love that this movie has just enough plot and character development to make it something other than a snuff film, but holy crap it delivers in a big way for fans of 80s style action movies. This movie doesn’t fuck around – it gives you exactly what you want from a Rambo movie.
“Heroes never die…. They just reload.”
You know… I had decided there was a 0% chance I would ever watch this… but now I must reconsider. Shooting kids in the face FTW!
It’s just been added to my netflix :)
I was really “meh” about the prospect of watching Rambo, too…until I watched it. It really kicks so much ass its hard to describe.
Shooting kids the face (multiple kids, multiple times) is the cherry on top…this movie doesn’t pull *any* punches when it comes to gore/violence/mayhem.
Okay… Just watched it, and that WAS pretty good violence! :) Not much character development, though — but that’s not what this was about.
Yeah, man! They developed the rambo character pretty good in the last 3, so at this point everyone pretty much knows what he’s about.
I did think it was funny they had a “main boss” bad guy – that general guy – but yeah, they didn’t develop his character at all.
I liked it tho – it gave you what you want if your a fan of 80s style action movies.
Heh… I only ever saw 1 of the Rambo movies… At my babysitters (while playing Zork), to put a date era on it. :)
Based on you review, you may want to check out “Soldier”. Not quite the bloodfest, but it shows extreme lack of emotion for indiscriminately killing innocent unarmed women children. Here’s the review I wrote on Netflix.
“I don’t even remember how this wound up on my Netflix.Honestly I had a pretty low expectation for this one. Especially with a cast like Kurt Russel and Gary Busey.
But wow, it rocked. Just the sheer brutality of it. Indiscriminate killing of women and children. Screw the guns, just bring in the flame throwers. The mentality of it is what really gets you. There’s no malice, simply the mentality of “Must follow orders”. No emotion, no regret, no guilt. And why? Just because they’re there.
I gave this one 5 stars on Netflix, which is a rare occurence.”
I’ll have to check that out. I remember seeing previews for it when it came out, but never got around to seeing it. Gary Busey is great – he’s so totally F’ed in the head, it’s not an act with him.
I hate how some movies try to moralize killing – i’d rather see indiscriminate killing. It’s just entertainment, after all.
“I’m With Busey” was a great series.. and it was created by/starring Adam De La Pena … who is now one of the writers for Code Monkeys.
Just got done watching Rambo. DAMN!. That’s all I can say. DAMN! I haven’t seen Saving Private Ryan in a while, but I would say the bloodfest at least matches, if not supersedes it. Once again, DAMN.
“Soldier” pales in comparison. However, I think the mentality for the killing in “Soldier” is still a little more fucked up. It’s not out of hate or ethnic persecution, it’s simply because, umm, they’re there.
Yeah man! Rambo delivers in a big way if your looking for ruthless killing without any pretentious BS.
I still want to see Soldier.
[...] [IMDB link] [Netflix link] We had to watch this movie within 48 hours of Evan reviewing it HERE. His review was that compelling. I don’t even watch Rambo movies usually! Last time I saw [...]
VIDEO: MOVIES: REVIEW: Rambo 4 (2008) « Clint’s blog said this on July 13, 2008 at 9:20 am |