Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3342 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-06-23
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 88 minutes

Amazon.co.uk review

If you've been wondering what ever happened to ex–Green Beret super warrior John Rambo since he singlehandedly shot up a Pacific Northwest town (First Blood, 1982), returned to the jungles of 'Nam to free U.S. POWs held long after war's end (Rambo: First Blood Part II, 1985), and interrupted the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan long enough to blow lots of stuff up and rescue his old commandant from the Reds (Rambo III, 1988), then Rambo (2008) is for you. Without so much as a IV to dilute the brand name, Rambo --which is what most of us called the second, most iconic film in the series--may aspire to open a new era for a pop legend. But it's a thoroughly mechanical attempt to re-animate a franchise that, absent the anger, frustration, and self-loathing of the post-Vietnam years, has no meaning or purpose. For some time now Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) has been putt-putting along the Thai-Burmese border in a longboat, catching exotic snakes to sell. As for the 60-year civil war in Burma between the brutal government and the Karen independence movement, he ignores it. Enter a party of American missionaries whose dewy blond spokeswoman (Dexter's Julie Benz) asks Rambo to haul them upriver so that they can bring medical aid to the insurgents. After the requisite number of monosyllabic refusals, he does. Soon afterward the do-gooders are in a world of hurt, and he's summoned to lead a squad of mercenaries on a rescue mission.

As storytelling, the latest Rambo is the most bare-bones of the bunch. Rambo has little to say, so it's especially galling that Stallone, as director and co-writer, obliges him to have essentially the same conversation at three different points (the final distillation: "Live for nothing or die for something"). The Burmese army goons seem in competition to commit the most hideous atrocity (e.g., child skull-crushing underfoot), the better to justify the eventual, lovingly protracted spectacle of them being eviscerated by high-powered weaponry. Although shot in Thailand, the movie has mostly been photographed in brown, reducing any particular sense of place but, perhaps, perversely increasing our gratitude for the splashes of purple whenever hot metal tatters flesh. --Richard T. Jameson

Synopsis

Twenty years after the last film in the series, John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) has retreated to northern Thailand, where he's running a longboat on the Salween River. On the nearby Thai-Burma (Myanmar) border, the world's longest-running civil war, the Burmese-Karen conflict, rages into its 60th year. But Rambo, who lives a solitary, simple life in the mountains and jungles fishing and catching poisonous snakes to sell, has long given up fighting, even as medics, mercenaries, rebels and peace workers pass by on their way to the war-torn region. That all changes when a group of human rights missionaries search out the "American river guide" John Rambo.

When Sarah (Julie Benz) and Michael Bennett (Paul Schulze) approach him, they explain that since last year's trek to the refugee camps, the Burmese military has laid landmines along the road, making it too dangerous for overland travel. They ask Rambo to guide them up the Salween and drop them off in order to deliver medical supplies and food to the Karen tribe. After refusing to cross into Burma, Rambo changes his mind and takes them, dropping them close to one of the Karen villages.

Less than two weeks later, he receives a visit from a pastor tellng him the aid workers did not return and the embassies have not helped locate them. The pastor has mortgaged his home and raised money from his congregation to hire mercenaries to free the missionaries, who are being held captive by the Burmese army. Although the United States military trained him to be a lethal super soldier in Vietnam, decades later Rambo's reluctance for violence and conflict are palpable. However, the lone warrior knows what he must do...

Synopsis
Coming off the success of 2006's ROCKY BALBOA, action star Sylvester Stallone revisits yet another of his iconic characters from the 1980s, John Rambo. Now living like a hermit and wrangling rattlesnakes in Thailand, Rambo is drawn back into the action by a group of missionaries who want the taciturn, possibly psychotic, Vietnam vet to ferry them upriver into Burma. Though he initially proves reluctant--'Burma's a warzone'--Sarah, played by Julie Benz, convinces Rambo of their noble intentions. Doesn't he want to relieve suffering and stop ethnic cleansing? But when the group of idealists gets captured by the Burmese army, it's up to Rambo and a team of multinational mercenaries to save the day. What follows is an exhilarating, hypnotic explosion of violence as Rambo fights genocide with genocide, destroying men with high-powered machine guns, well-placed bombs, razor-sharp machetes, and, the most deadly weapon of all, his bare hands.
Rather than trying to update the character, RAMBO succeeds largely by returning to the 1980s values that made its hero so iconic in the first place: his pathological obsession with laying waste to emphatically evil characters in increasingly grotesque ways. Indeed, the film's action sequences recall the opening of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, as bodies turn to reddish slush, entrails pour forth with abandon, and limbs are severed with bewildering frequency. Stallone (who also wrote and directed) perfectly embodies his role as a muscular, mumbling killing machine.

Customer Reviews

Blood-splatter throwback to the good ol' days?
Just like the recent Die Hard revival, Rambo proves that you can re-visit old themes with an older actor and come out with an all-out action winner. This isn't a 'modern' film for folk who enjoy hand-wringing, heartache about the rights and wrongs of any situation. You don't need to engage your intellectual and moral centres to enjoy the action.
This is a shoot-em-up and kill-em-all, old fashioned, rat-a-tat movie. And despite the snobbish reception it got from the film critics, it is definitely worth watching if you enjoy action/adventure films with traditional, macho heroes.

The scenario is very straightforward; John Rambo is retired and lives near Burma. He's an ex-Green Beret military killer, scarred by years of combat. He's not having a particularly nice time but he knows a dumb idea when it's suggested to him. And when a bunch of do-gooders want to go into Burma to help the people being slaughtered and oppressed by the bad regieme, he knows it's a bad idea. But, inevitably...
Won't go into the details because there is a plot, and there are a couple of great 'ouch!' and 'wow!' moments. But fans of the earlier First Blood movies will be rewarded by the return of death-by-arrow, the machete moment, plenty of sneakin' around the jungle action, some righteous laying waste to the bad guys and a simply magnificent explosion. (If you have surround sound then you should definitely switch it on, and you'll rattle the room at the right moment...)
The pleasure of films like this is that the bad guys are seen to be definitely bad and deserve everything the yget. Our hero is reluctant to take part, but unstoppable once he is engaged on a quest. And Sly has aged very well; he's in great shape for a bloke in his 60s and carries off the action sequences with complete credibility. The supporting cast are pretty good too, especially the ex-SAS Brit mercenary. He displays ultimate grit in the most gory sequence in the film...

If you want to watch a film which has an earnest debate about the rights and wrongs of military intervention in political situations then do NOT watch this one. If you want a full throttle, 90 minute romp which contains considerable violence and edge-of-the-seat YEAH! moments, then this is one to rent or buy. Rambo is fast-paced, well directed and cleverly nailed together. You might feel you're likely to be hit by the blood splatter in certain scenes... but that's half the point of watching, isn't it?
8/10: it's not art, but it is good film-making.

An epic finale to an awesome series
Hollywood seems to be going through a bit of a `bring back the good old days' phase right now as they set about resurrecting long-dead franchises like some kind of demented witch doctor. Or maybe it's the stars themselves that are trying to revive flagging careers by going back to their roots. It started with Rocky, closely followed by Die Hard, then suddenly Indiana Jones wanted in on the act too. And now one of the biggest symbols of 80's excess is dusting off his guns for one last blood-fest. Yes, John Rambo is back, and yes, it is most definitely with a bang.

Since the end of the last movie, Our Man Rambo has been living a quiet life in Thailand, catching snakes and shooting fish. However, his new life is changed when a group of Christian aid workers charter his boat for a trip into neighbouring Burma, where villagers are being terrorized by local warlords. Rambo reluctantly agrees to help, but a few days after dropping them off, is dismayed to learn that the aid workers have been taken prisoner by the Burmese army. Leading a small group of mercenaries upriver to rescue them, Rambo must once again go into battle.

It's a simple enough premise, and provides enough of a plot to facilitate the action sequences, which is really what this film is about. Fair play to Stallone - he knows what his audience wants, and he's happy to give it to them in spades. Promotional materials for this film have claimed that it has more deaths than the other three Rambo's combined, and frankly I believe them. The final battle is an orgy of death and destruction that makes Saving Private Ryan seem restrained. And it's not the cartoonish kind of violence we've seen in Parts 2 and 3. Oh no. Expect decapitations, mutilations, explosions, eviscerations, blood and guts aplenty.

Its hard to fault the film for its action scenes, but the parts in between, which I like to refer to as `plot', are a little less impressive. Stallone has shown with Rocky Balboa that he's able to make his former creations more human and grown-up, but Rambo feels like a wasted opportunity. Despite having the lion's share of the screen time, we're given remarkably little insight into the man. There's little evidence of the turmoil that characterised his appearance in First Blood, which makes the movie feel unfocussed and a little pointless. Having said that, Stallone's brooding portrayal of Rambo is surprisingly effective, and it's obvious he's still in great shape despite his age. Still hulking and muscular, though no longer an ultra-lean 1980's archetype, his slightly grizzled appearance actually makes him all the more menacing. This is a guy you most definitely wouldn't want to mess with.

The rest of the cast are adequate though hardly spectacular. Julie Benz acts as a pseudo love interest, though much like in Rocky Balboa, the romance isn't allowed to go anywhere. Paul Schulze is his usual stoic self, playing it straight down the middle. The only real standout is Graham McTavish, playing one of the more vociferous mercenaries. Sarcastic and aggressive, he strikes a good balance against Rambo's brooding silence.

This is an old-school action movie shot with modern techniques and effects - it's the kind of film that Parts 2 and 3 wished they could have been. And to be honest, it's refreshing to watch a film like this; a film where you can put your brain in neutral and just revel in the sheer uninhibited destruction; a film that doesn't try to be anything more than it is. Vietnam has largely faded from the public consciousness now, and its forgotten victims have been replaced by those of newer wars, but the fact that audiences still connect with a character like Rambo is a testament to the longevity of Stallone's creation. And if this proves to be Rambo's last battle, I can't think of a better way for him to bow out.

Great fun - forget the snobbery
I absolutely adored this movie; it took me back to the days of pop-corn action flicks like Predator, Commando and even Aliens. Back then; a film could be made that did not have deep routed moral undertones, realism and a political agenda so long as it's entertaining.

In the context of entertainment, this movie was the best trip to the cinema I've had in ages and I came out with a huge smile on my face; ready to watch it all over again.

I don't often write reviews on movies or music since both are incredible subjective and I'm sure that there are people out there who won't like this. However, many of the negative reviews are completely out of context with what the film was meant to be. If you want tense drama, watch Saving Private Ryan. If you want realism, watch the news. Whats more, comparisons with original Rambo are pointless. Neither the 2nd or 3rd were like the original so it wasn't likely that the fourth would be. As a movie series, First Blood is the anomaly, not Rambo 4.

This film has never made any pretention to be anything else than an action movie and as an action movie it succeeds.