Product Description

Sylvester Stallone, Jake LaBotz, Julie Benz, Tim Kang, Graham McTavish, Ken HowardDirector: Sylvester Stallone

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4704 in DVD
• Brand: Blu-ray Action & Adventure
• Released on: 2008-06-23
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Format: Widescreen
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .26 pounds
• Running time: 91 minutes

Synopsis
Following 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

Action-packed and ultra-violent
After nearly 20 years, Sylvester Stallone returns to the role of John Rambo as he battles dozens of ruthless soldiers in search of a group of salvation workers who have gone missing.

If there was one word to sum up this film it would be "violent". The first three movies were violent back in the day, but with today's special effects, this film is ultra-realistic and disturbing when it comes to the explicit and brutal gore in this movie. The action is literally non-stop from the start and being at just over an hour and a quarter (not including the end credits) there's no time for this film to slow down at all and all the better for it. Sly is great as Rambo and is as good as he was back in his prime in the 80s and it feels like he's never been away from the role.

The Blu Ray quality is superb with perhaps one of the best discs for picture quality as everything looks just so sharp and is really clear. Even on the darker scenes there appeared to be next-to no graininess that I've noticed on other Columbia/Tri Star/Sony Pictures Blu Rays.

Overall it's not the most intelligent of movies but the Rambo series never has been, but it makes up for this with some great action and excitement and some great special effects (even if they are a bit sick). I recommend this film to anyone who loves old 80s action films and anyone who doesn't get shocked too easily.

Hi-Def throwback to the good ol' days; brutal but enjoyable
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. In hi-def you get bigger bang for your bucks -- so if you have a Blu-ray player it's hard to see why you'd opt to watch the standard version of this film. There are some excellent effects (the inevitable arrow moment; the monster big boom) which really benefit from having sharp visuals and the sound system turned up to 11...

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.

Movie: 4.25/5 Picture Quality: 4.5/5 Sound Quality: 4/5 Extras: 3.25/5
Version: U.S.A / Lionsgate / Region Free
MPEG-4 AVC BD-50 / High Profile 4.1
Protection: AACS
BD-Java: Yes
Running time: 1:31:31
Movie size: 26,384,185,344 bytes
Disc size: 46,855,015,149 bytes
Average video bit rate: 26.82 Mbps

DTS-HD Master Audio English 5516 kbps 7.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 5217kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 1536kbps)
Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 640kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps

Subtitles: English SDH / Spanish
Number of chapters: 16

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Version: Germany / Warner Brothers
VC-1 BD-25 / Advanced Profile 3
Running time: 1:31:13
Movie size: 18,359,592,960 bytes
Disc size: 20,119,118,800 bytes
Average video bit rate: 17.97 Mbps

DTS-HD Master Audio English 2653 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 2653kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 1536kbps)
DTS-HD Master Audio German 4432 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 4432kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 1536kbps)

Subtitles: English / German
Number of chapters: 12

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